Arjun Menon
Rediff·Indian Express·Film Companion
Most Divergent Takes
- Akhanda 2: Thaandavam (2025)2.0 vs TRM 4.0-2.0
- Kalamkaval (2025)7.0 vs TRM 6.0+1.0
- Kantara - A Legend: Chapter 1 (2025)7.0 vs TRM 8.0-1.0
- Sarvam Maya (2025)4.0 vs TRM 4.5-0.5
- Idli Kadai (2025)7.0 vs TRM 6.5+0.5
Kalamkaval
2025 · Rediff
Kalamkaval, like any good work of art, suggests more than it shows. The film espouses the thin line between civility and barbarism with little to no show of violence, with Mammootty delivering a subtle, creepy performance as a cold-blooded killer that underscores how evil is almost second nature to the man.
Sarvam Maya
2025 · Rediff
But ultimately, the film does not work. Nivin Pauly's charm cannot save Sarvam Maya. The film flattens out the transformative arc of an atheist, who is forced to reckon with the theological contradictions of his own convictions and the hypocritical way in which he decided to make a living.
Coolie
2025 · Indian Express
Coolie is barely a Lokesh Kanagaraj film, and one that is happy being a pale imitation of his earlier works. The film approaches Rajinikanth's star persona with an old-school reverence and at the same time with a slight tongue-in-cheek irreverence, but ultimately suffers from gaping holes in the writing and a convoluted array of sequences that strain to hold onto any semblance of linearity.
Madharaasi
2025 · Indian Express
The film shows glimpses of Murugadoss operating at his full powers. But ultimately, Sivakarthikeyan-starrer is frustrating as an exercise in action storytelling because it is too tired to break its own conventionality.
Idli Kadai
2025 · Indian Express
Idli Kadai works due to the earnestness of the writing and its conviction in making genuine sentimentality work. The film's beauty lies in the small details, little crevices of goodness that emanate from its core despite the heavy handed treatment.
Dude
2025 · Indian Express
Dude is ultimately a one-time watch, a film that starts off with breezy fun but loses its charm in a meandering, uneven second half. Despite the combined efforts of Pradeep Ranganathan and Sai Abhayankar to inject life into the proceedings, the film soon veers into overwrought melodrama, with a sense of amateurishness that ultimately dilutes the seriousness of the issues it seeks to address.
Bison Kaalamaadan
2025 · Indian Express
Bison is a quintessential Mari Selvaraj film, albeit one slightly softened for the masses. Yet, Bison stands tall among his works, a fierce, deeply felt story powered by a career-defining performance from Dhruv Vikram.
Aaryan
2025 · Indian Express
Aaryan ends up as a mundane, derivative thriller that feels more like an amateur filmmaker's thesis project on serial killers than a worthy follow-up to Ratsasan. The writing here feels perfunctory to the point of nonexistence, stitching together familiar tropes from Tamil procedurals into one bland yet coherent package.
Akhanda 2: Thaandavam
2025 · Rediff
It is tough to sit through many of the action set pieces as they are built up with excessively slow motion shots. It's a disastrous tonal highwire act and a misfire that only a director as least self-aware like Boyapati Sreenu can pull off.
Idli Kadai
2025 · Rediff
Idli Kadai wears its heart on its sleeve, embracing nostalgia and roots with both hands. Dhanush is in top form as an actor and director here, mining most of the material. But the film falls into predictable rhythms and plays it safe with its most risky ideas.
Eko
2025 · Rediff
Eko, a smartly written film, loses steam midway but somehow stays afloat and deliver the goods. The screenplay of Eko is so caught up in the machinations of its own world building that important character dynamics and filler scenes are lost. Yet it is a more ambitious film-making that prioritises twists as its major mode of storytelling.
Kantara - A Legend: Chapter 1
2025 · Rediff
Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 is an ambitious, bold update of the ideas of the first film on a much bigger canvas. This iteration of the Kantara universe manages to break free from the 'sequel/prequel curse' that has been a constant for popular films that transcend the boundaries of regional language based accessibility. The hardwork, blood, sweat and tears gone into this mammoth undertaking is evident in each frame.
Malayalee from India
2024 · Film Companion
An overtly loud political statement that is saved by an in-form Nivin Pauly's performance.
Turbo
2024 · Film Companion
Turbo is a generic action entertainer that misses more than it hits, failing to deliver compelling storytelling despite its ambitious scale and star power.