Ronth

 

Ronth is another solid film from the Malayalam industry. The word Ronth means "patrol," and the movie follows two police officers—one a seasoned veteran, the other a rookie—as they patrol the city over the course of a single night.

We often hear that the police patrol the streets at night to ensure our safety, but we rarely think about what they actually go through during those hours. This film gives us a realistic, grounded look at what a night on patrol can involve. I had no idea so much could happen in just one night. It really made me appreciate how important their presence is for keeping the peace.

The movie is directed by Shahi Kabir, who won a National Award for his screenplay for Nayattu. I learned that he actually served as a police officer before becoming a writer and director. That background clearly reflects in his work—his stories about police life feel honest, grounded, and human. Unlike the typical commercial portrayals where police officers are shown as larger-than-life heroes, Shahi shows them with their vulnerabilities, as real people. His attention to the little details stands out, and maybe that’s because he’s lived that life himself. I also liked his previous film Officer on Duty, which is streaming on Netflix.

It’s quite rare and refreshing to see a former police officer turn into a storyteller and bring such authenticity to the screen.

Ronth not only shows what actually happens during a police patrol, but also explores the personal struggles these officers face in their own lives. Despite everything they’re going through, they still show up and do their duty.

Dileesh, who plays the senior officer, completely inhabits the role. He doesn’t act the character—he lives it. Roshan Mathew, who plays the rookie, is a familiar face from earlier films and does a great job too.

The music is good, the editing is sharp, and the cinematography is excellent. Like most Malayalam films, it’s shot entirely on real locations, which adds to the realism.

With movies like Ronth, there’s not really a "story" in the conventional sense—it’s more about experiencing the lives of these two officers. So it’s best watched without expecting big twists or turns. That said, I didn’t really like the ending. It’s shocking, yes, but it didn’t quite sit well with me.

Still, Ronth is yet another gem from the Malayalam film industry.

Kuberaa

 

Sekhar Kammula is one of the most sensible directors in Telugu cinema. He’s selective with his scripts and stays true to his core style—telling stories that are relevant to society and centered around common people’s struggles. Except for one or two exceptions, most of his films are love stories or youth-centric. After Love Story, he brings us Kuberaa. The title itself is intriguing and felt unique. With Dhanush playing a beggar and King Nagarjuna taking on a key role, the curiosity only increased.

When the teaser of Kuberaa dropped along with the lyrical video of “Nadi Nadi,” showcasing several cuts from the movie, it sparked even more interest. That’s when I decided to go watch it. Adding to the excitement, this is Sekhar Kammula’s 25th film—so expectations were sky-high.

The basic plot revolves around Neeraj, a filthy rich man who wants to become the richest in the world. To achieve this, he targets natural oil reserves under government control. The story unfolds around the lengths he goes to, whether he succeeds, and how characters like a CBI officer (played by Nagarjuna), a beggar named Deva (played by Dhanush), and a supporting role by Rashmika are all connected.

The film begins by introducing Neeraj—a powerful businessman with control over multiple companies. He discovers oil in the Bay of Bengal and sets his sights on acquiring it. This setup immediately hooks you, making you wonder how the other characters will fit into this narrative. Nagarjuna’s character Deepak is introduced next, and it’s refreshing to see him in such a grounded role. Then comes Dhanush as Deva, with a powerful scene that marks his entry. What stands out is how these intro scenes are crafted without leaning into their star images—they’re presented purely as characters, not stars.

Alongside Deva, several other beggar characters are introduced through a strong song sequence. It’s genuinely stunning to see a star like Dhanush treated as just another character in the crowd, and that’s what makes it even more powerful.

Rashmika’s character comes in much later but plays a significant role.

While many associate Sekhar Kammula with love stories, films like Anamika and Leader proved he’s also adept at thrillers. He applies the same strength here—delivering a gripping narrative with philosophical undertones. He explores the harsh realities faced by beggars and how society often ignores their humanity, all within an investigative thriller framework that keeps things engaging.

The film has some powerful dialogues and scenes that carry Sekhar Kammula’s signature. The music by Devi Sri Prasad is a huge asset—it felt fresh and different. The background score, especially the signature theme for Neeraj, is excellent and haunting. Unfortunately, it seems one or two songs were trimmed from the final cut, but even those songs were well-composed.

The lyrics of the songs are very well written. Especially “Nadi Nadi"—it reminded me of Sri Sri’s famous song “Nenu Saitham.” The lyrics are that powerful, and the music adds so much intensity to it. 

The locations feel authentic, with scenes shot in real places like Tirupati, Mumbai streets, and a dumping yard—all enhancing the film’s realism. The cinematography by Niketh Bommi is excellent. He captured the realistic scenes beautifully, using the right color palette to match the mood of each location and scene.

Performance-wise, Dhanush is the heart of this film. He fully immerses himself in the character and stays consistent, even though the shoot spanned a long period during which he worked on other projects. He proves again why he’s a national award-winning actor. Nagarjuna also delivers a solid performance, portraying internal conflict with grace. His look—graying hair and all—perfectly suits the role, and I’d love to see him in more such parts. Rashmika supports Dhanush’s character well and adds a bit of humor. Both Dhanush and Rashmika seem to have dubbed their roles. The actor playing Neeraj is outstanding, holding his own in intense scenes with Nagarjuna. Even Nagarjuna himself mentioned being on his toes while acting with him. The rest of the cast also did well in their roles.

Of course, there are a few drawbacks. The pre-interval scenes feel a bit stretched, with some repetitive shots of Dhanush walking through Mumbai streets. The climax delivers a great message and strong dialogues but feels a bit abrupt, leaving a few questions unanswered. The title Kuberaa also needed a stronger justification within the story.

Still, despite these minor issues, Kuberaa is a refreshing film. It’s great to see stars like Dhanush and Nagarjuna stepping away from typical commercial roles—no song duets or mass fight scenes—and simply becoming their characters. It’s very much a Sekhar Kammula film, blending thriller elements with philosophical depth.

Go watch it—you won’t be disappointed. My rating: 8/10.

Sinners

 

While visiting LA, I spotted the poster for Sinners outside the iconic TCL Chinese Theater. Right away, I recognized Michael B. Jordan, known for Black Panther and the Creed series. I was surprised—I hadn’t even heard of this new film. It didn’t seem to be publicized like big-budget movies such as Black Panther or Wakanda Forever, so it flew under the radar for me. But later, through word of mouth, I heard it was worth checking out—and that it was a horror movie. Since I enjoy the genre and this sounded different, I decided to give it a shot.

The film is set in the pre–World War I era and follows twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, who want to start fresh and open a juke joint—a kind of club for the local Black community. Their cousin Sammie, an excellent guitarist, joins them. But on opening night, they encounter a supernatural evil. What happens next, and how their lives change, forms the rest of the story.

The setup feels like a fresh spin on horror. Director Ryan Coogler brings his distinct style, portraying Black life with natural performances and realistic settings. He reminds me of our Tamil director Vetrimaaran—both are deeply rooted in showcasing the lives of underprivileged people. At the same time, they balance their storytelling with enough commercial appeal to reach a broader audience without feeling preachy.

Sinners is a good example of that balance. The horror and supernatural elements provide the commercial pull, while underneath, the film explores Black life of that era—how people lived and how important music was in their lives.

The music in the film is really good. Unlike Indian films, Hollywood rarely features strong song scores—usually it’s just background music or a couple of tracks during the credits. But here, the songs reflect the era beautifully. There’s a dance sequence at the juke joint that reminded me of the one in Titanic.

Coming to the horror elements: this is a vampire movie, so naturally there’s a lot of blood. They’ve taken some cinematic liberties, like in Evil Dead—even a small bite results in blood gushing out like it’s from a broken pipe. But I didn’t mind it. That’s part of the genre’s charm. Even the movie posters are blood red, staying true to the theme. I also liked the special effects and makeup—the eerie details on characters felt real, and I believe a lot of it was practical makeup, which added authenticity.

Michael B. Jordan was excellent, as always. I think this might be his first time playing twins. I’m curious whether the twin concept was in the script from the start, or if they changed it later so both roles could be played by him. Either way, the scenes with both brothers looked seamless. These things may be easier with today’s technology, but they still require careful planning to pull off convincingly.

Hailee Steinfeld played his girlfriend and did a good job. I was surprised at first to see a white girl in that role during that era, but then I learned the term “white-passing”—someone who appears white but is classified as Black. That was something new for me.

The rest of the cast, especially the vampires and Smoke’s wife, also did a great job. Overall, it’s a refreshing take on the horror genre. I’d love to see more directors like Ryan Coogler exploring different genres with their unique vision.

That said, I wish the horror parts had been developed a bit more. More action sequences and a broader setting beyond the juke joint would have added depth. The entire confrontation happens in just one place—they could’ve expanded it or explored the origins of the evil more. Also, the dialogues were hard to understand. I get that the dialect adds authenticity, as that’s how Black people spoke during the pre–WWI era. It reminded me of the Chittoor dialect in Pushpa, which even many Telugu speakers struggled with.

So overall, I liked Sinners. I’d give it an 8 out of 10.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the second part of Dead Reckoning Part One, which released in 2023. Part One was solid—it did a good job of setting the stage for this continuation. I won’t go into the storyline here since that’s easily available online anyway.

Tom Cruise is a true superstar. As someone who follows the Telugu film industry, I understand the power of star pull—and Cruise absolutely has it. Unlike Indian cinema, where stars drive the box office, Hollywood tends to be more studio- and director-driven. In recent years, it’s been dominated by superhero franchises, where the idea of a “star” gets overshadowed by capes and CGI. But Tom Cruise, along with a few others like Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman (yes, he’s also technically a superhero), still stands out. Just look at Top Gun: Maverick—it made a staggering $1.4 billion. Yes, it had strong direction, music, and a solid story, but it was Cruise’s star power that made it a massive hit.

The Mission: Impossible films are Cruise’s signature action-packed spy thrillers. Audiences flock to them not just for the story or action, but to watch Tom Cruise perform those heart-racing stunts for real. In the last movie, he pulled off one of his wildest stunts yet—riding a motorbike off a cliff. I saw the behind-the-scenes footage, and it was mind-blowing how many times they rehearsed that one-minute scene. That kind of dedication shows he never takes the audience for granted. It’s why he’s one of the last true stars in Hollywood.

Coming to Part Two—this film picks up where Part One left off. For the first several minutes, it’s mostly story and dialogue with very little action. I honestly felt a bit bored. We already know who the villain is—an AI called "The Entity"—so the rest of the plot becomes fairly predictable. We've seen AI villains before, and there’s not much freshness to the idea. It’s hard to build emotional tension with a faceless enemy, even though they try to bring in a human element through the character Gabriel.

There’s a long underwater sequence where Ethan tries to retrieve the “Podkova” module, which is central to the plot. It has its tense moments, but it felt overly stretched. And the much-talked-about airplane stunt with biplanes? While it’s impressive that Cruise did those stunts himself, it didn’t quite match the thrill of his earlier work—either from previous Mission: Impossible films or Top Gun: Maverick.

Honestly, the film feels unnecessarily long. I think the entire story could’ve been told in one movie without dragging so many scenes. That said, there are a few interesting character additions and some loose ends from earlier films that are tied up cleverly.

I also heard this is the most expensive Mission: Impossible film ever made. I really hope it does well financially, because movies like this are important—especially when the film industry is going through a tough phase.

The cast is solid. Ving Rhames shows a different side of his character, which I liked. Simon Pegg is excellent as always. Hayley Atwell’s character felt inconsistent, and her relationship with Ethan isn’t clearly developed. The editing could have been tighter—several scenes needed trimming.

In short, if you're expecting back-to-back action, you might come away disappointed. But if you're okay with a more emotional and story-heavy spy film, this one might work for you.

My rating: 7/10.

Thudarum

 

After Drushyam, I don’t recall Mohanlal acting in another family thriller. He’s mostly been focusing on pan-Indian or big action dramas like L2: Empuraan. While he’s done a few suspense thrillers here and there, they didn’t really fall into the family thriller category. Now, after several years, he’s back in that space with Thudarum. I wouldn’t compare it to Drushyam—even though many are drawing parallels—because this one has a unique story and a completely different screenplay. Still, it comfortably fits under the “family thriller” label.

What’s impressive is that Thudarum, made on a modest budget of around ₹30 crore, has already grossed over ₹200 crore. That kind of success clearly comes down to its strong story, direction, and screenplay.

Thanks to OTT platforms, I’ve recently been watching more Malayalam films, and honestly, the Malayalam industry feels like the Korean film industry of India. There’s a clear focus on storytelling and screenplay rather than just star power. Thudarum is another solid example of that quality. Of course, having a star like Mohanlal helps—it definitely contributed to the film’s reach and collections.

The film follows Benz, a taxi driver leading a simple life. He was once a stunt double in films, but after an accident involving a close friend, he had to leave that line of work. Now, a misunderstanding leads to his beloved taxi being seized by the police. Despite his repeated pleas, a stubborn officer, SI Benny, refuses to return the car. But Benz is determined to get it back, no matter what. That determination kicks off a series of unexpected events that shape the rest of the story—something you’ll want to experience firsthand.

True to the spirit of Malayalam cinema, Thudarum offers depth—both in characters and in the multi-layered screenplay. Each character feels real and well-developed, and the layered storytelling keeps you hooked throughout.

Mohanlal is fantastic. He completely disappears into the role of Benz. Whether it’s helplessness, frustration, quiet rage, or subtle emotion, he nails every shade. There are some commercial touches too—action scenes and fights—but they feel believable because Benz is established as a former stuntman. Shobana, who plays his wife, is excellent as always. But the real surprise is Prakash Varma as CI George Mathan. I can’t say too much without spoiling things, but his performance is one of the highlights.

Tharun Moorthy’s direction is top-notch, and the music adds to the film’s atmosphere. Editing by Nishadh and Shafeeque is sharp and crucial for a film like this—it keeps the pace tight without losing emotional depth.

Overall, Thudarum is another gem from the Malayalam industry. And with Mohanlal leading the way, the film strikes a balance between class and mass appeal. Both kinds of audiences will find something to enjoy here.

My rating: 8/10.

HIT3

 

HIT: The 3rd Case is the third installment in the HIT series, and this time, Natural Star Nani plays the lead. Nani has been on a solid streak lately—not just as an actor delivering back-to-back hits, but also as a producer, backing films like Court. He has that relatable, common-man charm, and he often says he listens to stories as an audience member first, not with any box office calculations in mind.

However, lately, he seems to be making a serious effort to rebrand himself as an action hero—with films like Dasara, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, and now HIT 3. This film feels like another attempt in that direction, but unlike his earlier efforts, it doesn’t quite land.

In his previous films, the strength of the story helped audiences accept him in intense roles. But HIT 3 lacks that grip. It feels like a mashup of various recent movies and internet stories, without a clear, fresh voice. Director Sailesh Kolanu had an interesting premise—mystery murders happening across India—but he failed to explore the characters deeply, especially the hero and the villain.

Nani plays Arjun Sarkar, a brooding, angry cop. But we never get a proper explanation for his rage. Is it childhood trauma? Personal loss? Without those layers, his character feels forced. For someone like Nani, who’s known for his boy-next-door charm and emotional depth, we need a well-written role to justify this kind of aggression—like in Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, where his intensity was rooted in a solid backstory. That kind of writing is missing here.

The villain is another big letdown. Why cast someone just because they’re tall and muscular when they can’t even speak proper Telugu? It’s not about appearance—HIT 2 had a villain who was just a regular dental doctor, yet he sent chills down the spine with his performance. That kind of impact comes from acting, not abs.

Also, I didn’t understand the need for so many cuss words. Is it to sound edgy? It just felt unnecessary. Big action films like KGF, Leo, or Vikram have intense violence and mass appeal, but they don’t rely on foul language to make an impact. It’s possible to be gritty without being vulgar.

Another misfire is the background music by Mickey J Meyer. I'm not sure who thought he was the right choice for an adrenaline-pumping action thriller. His music is generally soothing and melodic, which doesn’t match the mood this film needed. With the right BGM, several scenes could have had a lot more impact. Also, the track between Nani and Srinidhi Shetty feels too similar to something from a recent Venkatesh film. And that scene where Srinidhi uses AI to make Nani’s mother speak through an old photo? It was awkward and out of place. I don’t know how that made it past editing.

To be fair, the screenplay has its moments, especially in the action sequences. But overall, the film leans more on stylish stunts than strong writing or emotional engagement. The final sequence dragged on too long—I found myself checking my phone until the cameo appearances showed up. Introducing the HIT 4 hero at the end was a nice idea, but if Sailesh continues in this direction, it's going to be hard to build any real excitement around the series.

This film might still do decently at the box office thanks to Nani’s popularity. But as a movie, it’s just average.

My rating: 6/10

Officer On Duty

 

I watched Officer On Duty on Netflix after seeing all the excellent feedback online. Yet again, the Malayalam film industry delivers one of the finest thrillers. This is the fourth Malayalam movie I’ve watched this year that I really liked—all of them thrillers, action-packed, and story-driven. It’s amazing to see so many good films coming out in such a short time from the same industry. It really shows the strength of Malayalam cinema—especially the writing and direction.

The story revolves around police officer Hari, who starts off investigating a case of counterfeit jewelry. What begins as a seemingly small crime slowly unravels into something much bigger, affecting him both professionally and personally. The way this investigation ties into his personal life, and how it connects to drug rackets, is something best experienced while watching.

From the very beginning, the movie grabs your attention. It starts with curiosity, introduces Hari and the case, and then gradually builds up with twists and emotional layers. The screenplay connects all the dots beautifully by the climax. If someone narrates the plot in a straight line, it might sound like a simple story. But the way it’s told—nonlinear, revealing bits and pieces as it goes—makes it so much more gripping. That’s what sets Malayalam films apart. They don’t follow the usual Hero-Heroine-Villain formula. Instead, they focus on telling a good story in an engaging way. I really hope they keep making films like this. And I’m happy that this one also did well commercially.

The casting is spot-on. Kunchacko Boban, who plays Hari, is fantastic. Known mostly for his romantic roles, he completely transforms here with a calm yet intense performance. He carries the seriousness throughout the film so well—you wouldn’t think this genre is new for him. Priyamani, who plays his wife, also fits her role nicely. There’s also a group of friends in the film, and their connection to the story is something you should watch unfold. They all acted brilliantly and added a lot of tension and depth.

Like the hit film Pani, this movie also touches on the issue of drug use among today’s youth—how they’re getting pulled into crime for the sake of fun and thrill after getting high. It’s a disturbing trend, and the movie handles it without being preachy.

The background score by Jakes Bejoy is excellent—some beats even feel Hollywood-style. Roby Varghese Raj’s cinematography is brilliant. I watched some behind-the-scenes footage of the chase scenes, and you can clearly see the effort that went into filming those sequences on real locations. The color palette in many scenes also helps set the mood perfectly. The action choreography is also well done—neither too flashy nor too dull.

It’s hard to believe this is director Jithu Ashraf’s debut film. He handles everything with confidence—from the storytelling to maintaining the tone and character consistency. It never feels like a first-time effort.

Overall, this is yet another superb film from the Malayalam industry. If you enjoy thrillers, suspense, and well-written stories, you should definitely give this one a try.

My rating: 8/10.