Avinash Ramachandran
Indian Express
Most Divergent Takes
- Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (2024)6.0 vs TRM 5.0+1.0
- Devara: Part 1 (2024)5.0 vs TRM 4.5+0.5
- Retro (2025)6.0 vs TRM 6.00.0
- Daaku Maharaaj (2025)5.0 vs TRM 5.00.0
- Kudumbasthan (2025)6.0 vs TRM 6.00.0
Retro
2025 · Indian Express
Retro is an entertaining star vehicle that is made to serve a higher purpose, even if it goes around in circles. While the initial romance scenes between Paari and Rukmini work really well, the portions in Andaman don't have the same impact. The film oscillates between entertaining and exhausting, and whether Retro wins your fancy depends on whether you are convinced by Karthik's audacious narrative choices.
Daaku Maharaaj
2025 · Indian Express
Daaku Maharaaj is the quintessential Balakrishna film, but it is burdened by the hangover of a number of films including Rajinikanth's Jailer, Kamal Haasan's Vikram, and the 'God of Masses' own filmography. However, the writing leaves us with an overwhelming sense of deja vu, and the stakes are never really high for Balakrishna's character despite facing a formidable foe.
Kudumbasthan
2025 · Indian Express
The sketches in this Manikandan-starrer are laugh-out-loud funny mostly, but the film suffers from the sum of the parts not being greater than the whole. The film drowns under its own weight of not being able to look past the makers' strength in creating relatable sketches. Kudumbasthan gets to this point in a rather convoluted way that it doesn't have the same impact.
Kadhalikka Neramillai
2025 · Indian Express
Powered by a terrific Nithya Menen and a brilliant Ravi Mohan, this is a simple, sensitive, and sensible film that accepts the flaws of its characters as par for the course. It is the strong performances of Ravi and Nithya that makes Kadhalikka Neramillai one of the better romcoms to come in Tamil cinema in quite a while.
Game Changer
2025 · Indian Express
Despite the film blowing hot and cold with an erratic consistency, the Ram Charan-Shankar film is truly held together by consistently good performances. Game Changer is essentially a lot of nice segments that are stitched together in the hope that it would make a good film, but together, they sometimes become incoherent due to the lack of focus. The hangover of Shankar's filmography weighs too much on the film, and even an energetic Ram Charan can only shoulder it for a while.
Vidaamuyarchi
2025 · Indian Express
Vidaamuyarchi, existing in this form, is a fascinating addition to the evolving standards of superstar films in Tamil cinema. It shows that difference has to come from top down, and when superstars like Ajith decide to play roles rather than images, and surrenders to the vision of directors like Magizh who have a distinct voice of their own, the result is there for everyone to see.
Robinhood
2025 · Indian Express
The biggest problem with Robinhood is that it merely goes through its motions, and ends up as a rather tepid affair. Even in a film like Kick, there is an extra layer of temporary memory loss that does the trick and elevates the proceedings. In Robinhood, however, with the portions in the Rudrakonda village falling flat, there are no highs whatsoever despite the cannabis connect to the terrain.
Dragon
2025 · Indian Express
With a terrific Pradeep Ranganathan in the lead, director Ashwath Marimuthu and his team have delivered a heavily preachy yet immensely entertaining film that knows its audience. Dragon is a film that is all heart, and uses all its smartness to keep us engaged, and even pull the rug from under our feet.
Thandel
2025 · Indian Express
When the film focusses on the ups and downs of Sai Pallavi-Naga Chaitanya relationship, it sails quite smoothly, but the moment the film enters the murky waters of Pakistan, Thandel turns into a heroic tale of unlikely heroes, whose sorrow gets lost in the heroism.
Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2
2025 · Indian Express
Arun Kumar has risen up to this challenge of making a Vikram film that will appeal to all, and even when he falters, there are a lot of positives. Vikram is terrific in a role that asks him to exercise tremendous restraint even when he is lugging huge weapons and isn't shying away from firing bullets and hacking hands if necessary.
Good Bad Ugly
2025 · Indian Express
Even if the writing is shallow, and most of the performances, except an Ajith showreel for the ages, are functional, the film is gloriously engaging.
Maranamass
2025 · Indian Express
The film pulls us in right from the first frame, and even when there are moments when the grip loosens, it gets a hold back at just the right times. While it gets things right, Maranamass is a riot. It is a no-holds barred ride to territories that might not often be touched upon in any other genre.
Odela 2
2025 · Indian Express
The first part was compelling simply because of its shock value and the fact that most of us are kinder to direct-to-OTT films, the second part doesn't even have that excuse. Odela 2 is plagued with the problem of underwritten or completely absent characters that don't add anything to the narrative except to wail unnecessarily, and amidst all this chaos and cacophony, Odela 2 forgets to be an engaging drama.
Tourist Family
2025 · Indian Express
Tourist Family scores heavily on the humour front, and these moments also make you think of how willing audiences are just to forget everything and laugh with a film that also makes them think a lot. Director Abishan Jeevinth is a worthy addition to the list of optimists who make the world go round when the cynics believe the world has stopped.
Lubber Pandhu
2024 · Indian Express
Efficient writing and convincing performances makes Lubber Pandhu a truly terrific issue-based film that ensures bitter pills are swallowed, but not before a dollop of honey is given on the side.
Raayan
2024 · Indian Express
Dhanush, the actor and director, stands tall in a film powered by AR Rahman's brilliant music, and top-notch performances only to fall just short of realising its potential. Despite all this coming together, the fact that Raayan doesn't soar high enough is a disappointment.
Demonte Colony 2
2024 · Indian Express
Just like the original, the sequel too is staged as a chamber drama horror, and hits similar highs but crumbles under the weight of bringing in newer angles to further a very simple premise.
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
2024 · Indian Express
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram has all the highs of the quintessential mass masala entertainer, but it also comes with its fair share of lows. The film is wonderfully written in the way not one scene feels wasted, with brilliant flourishes that make the never-ending clichés feel perfectly orchestrated rather than a slight in judgment.
Thangalaan
2024 · Indian Express
Pa Ranjith conjures up a familiar world with familiar beats but gives it a neo-magical touch that reimagines the plight of the oppressed by giving their thoughts a platform, and meaning to their suffering. Thangalaan is that kind of film that could have done with more breathing space, and a more expansive, even briefly expository, narrative.
Meiyazhagan
2024 · Indian Express
Meiyazhagan is the cinematic equivalent of that break in the journey of life. It doesn't have to take you anywhere, but it does, and that's why Meiyazhagan is a really special film.
Devara: Part 1
2024 · Indian Express
The Jr NTR film starts off really strong, only to suffer an extended downward slide that is finally salvaged by a bloody finale that is equal parts engaging and outlandish. While the efficiency of duologies is a debatable topic, Devara is burdened by the curious case of the underwhelming second half.
Lucky Baskhar
2024 · Indian Express
What Venky Atluri does in Lucky Baskhar is that he isn't telling the story that everyone is focused on. He conjures up a story of a man who is caught in the crosshairs and decides to do something about it. And it is this thin line between fiction and reality that truly makes Lucky Baskhar a terrific watch.
Rifle Club
2024 · Indian Express
In many ways, Rifle Club is a Varathan on steroids, and it helps that the team didn't rely on someone with a superstar stature to be at the centre of things. With the 'expectations' thrown out of the window, each elevation comes with an effective surprise, and every character is as eclectic as they are explosive.
Vettaiyan
2024 · Indian Express
Vettaiyan is also burdened by the presence of Rajinikanth, the superstar. The film is extremely confused about its central message, and the problem with Vettaiyan is that glorification of a trigger-happy cop happens for far too long. Also, the film is predictable to a fault, and it takes away from the kind of tension associated with such procedurals.
Amaran
2024 · Indian Express
With wonderful performances by Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi, Amaran is a poignant yet powerful tale about Major Mukund Varadarajan's love for India, and his wife Indhu. While Indhu's love for Mukund is beautifully etched out, we only get glimpses of the same from Mukund's end. After a point, it almost feels like a generic tale of any soldier rather than the tale of Major Mukund Varadarajan.
MAX
2024 · Indian Express
Max is a throwback to the films of not-so yore where our stars were saviours, and superstars were gods. Sudeep and Co know that these are small asides, and the main picture is fixed on the swag and charisma of Sudeep. It is a Sudeep show through and through, and he is beautifully framed in each scene courtesy the cinematography of Shekhar Chandra, who goes on an overdrive to establish the invincibility of Max.
Vaazhai
2024 · Indian Express
Vaazhai is effortlessly subversive, nonchalantly poignant, and characteristically uncompromising. Mari's films are well-planned, and well-executed, with a clear purpose for every beat. It is beautiful how Mari takes his time to make us understand love can't be dissected.