Neeshita Nyayapati
Hindustan Times·Times Of India
Most Divergent Takes
- Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups (2026)2.0 vs TRM 4.1-2.1
- Kingdom (2025)7.0 vs TRM 5.1+1.9
- Drishyam 3 (2026)4.0 vs TRM 5.8-1.8
- Peddi (2026)7.0 vs TRM 5.3+1.7
- Maa Inti Bangaram (2026)7.0 vs TRM 5.7+1.3
Satluj
2026 · Hindustan Times
It's just as well that the story is now being told in its intended form, which delivers a punch to your gut.
DC
2026 · Hindustan Times
Arun Matheswaran has the task of retelling Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali classic Devdas in an engaging manner with DC. Lokesh Kanagaraj, in his debut as an actor, offers a fresh take on the spoilt alcoholic brat character that has been immortalised on screen many times before.
Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups
2026 · Hindustan Times
There's something about Geetu Mohandas and Yash's Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups that has rubbed people the wrong way since the first promo was released. Initially, it felt like the uproar was over the depiction of sex or the grand dose of misogyny that came with a side of gratuitous violence. In hindsight, it feels like maybe our gut instinct was telling us everything about the film was surface-level.
Peddi
2026 · Hindustan Times
At just two films old, Buchi Babu Sana is truly his master's disciple. With the Ram Charan-starrer Peddi, Buchi asks the question of what happens to a man who isn't even given the dignity of any kind of identity in the first place.
Maa Inti Bangaram
2026 · Hindustan Times
This time around, they have something more action-packed, with help from Raj Nidimoru, who puts his expertise from The Family Man and Citadel: Honey Bunny to pen a story that flips the script. What happens when a Samantha, instead of a Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan, plays a woman with a complicated past?
Karuppu
2026 · Hindustan Times
RJ Balaji's Karuppu almost plays out like every other mass masala film you have seen growing up, but what distinguishes it is that when your protagonist is a literal guardian deity, you rely on the beauty and ugliness of humanity around him rather than typical heroic tropes.
Ranabaali
2026 · Hindustan Times
This period action film starring Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika is sincere. But the director forgoes its heart in favour of violence and mass moments. It's only Jayamma's character that injects life into it.
Vishwanath & Sons
2026 · Hindustan Times
Venky Atluri, who last directed Lucky Baskhar, is back with a light-hearted film. For once, when a 25-year-old Mamitha Baiju is cast opposite a 51-year-old Suriya, the film acknowledges the age difference. Thankfully, it sticks the landing.
The Raja Saab
2026 · Hindustan Times
Unfortunately for the Prabhas-starrer, whenever it makes an attempt at the above-mentioned romance, it tests your patience. The humour works in bits and pieces. The 'horror comedy romance' never reaches its full potential after making you sit through an over-3-hour-long film.
Kaantha
2025 · Hindustan Times
Kaantha goes creatively meta in the most satisfying manner while unveiling the making of a film within a film. Unfortunately, Kaantha doesn't seem to reach its full potential, much like some of the characters in the film.
Game Changer
2025 · Hindustan Times
Game Changer is an expensive masterclass on electoral politics. Since he created his niche in 1993 with Gentleman, the director's films follow familiar beats that either bring you comfort due to nostalgia or irk you because he doesn't seem to evolve beyond them. Game Changer is a fairly well-made Shankar film that sticks to the tried-and-tested formula.
Thandel
2025 · Hindustan Times
Chandoo Mondeti's Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi-starrer Thandel is a mixed bag, but one can't fault it when it comes to the love story. The film starts well, falters, but thankfully finds its footing again.
Mirai
2025 · Hindustan Times
Karthik Ghattamaneni's Mirai, starring Teja Sajja and Manchu Manoj in the lead roles, also attempts to do that, and it's fruitful for the most part. Minus portions where the film gets too hammy, the film succeeds in setting up the solid story of an unassuming young man who has greatness in store.
Kingdom
2025 · Hindustan Times
Will Gowtam Tinnanuri find a way to match the tenderness of emotions we have come to expect of him from Malli Raava and Jersey? Will Vijay Deverakonda finally get his redemption arc after delivering a string of disappointing flops? The answer is both yes and no.
HIT: The Third Case
2025 · Hindustan Times
It's fascinating to watch him on-screen when he veers away from that and plays characters that might be a tad unhinged. But Sailesh Kolanu's HIT: The Third Case offers just that, even if the movie itself could've been a little better.
Dude
2025 · Hindustan Times
Pradeep Ranganathan's Agan in director Keerthiswaran's debut film, Dude, is the exact opposite of that [entitled male leads], standing out as a refreshing departure from the typical South cinema trope of men who feel entitled to love.
Double iSmart
2024 · Hindustan Times
Puri Jagannadh tries (quite lazily) to convince you Double iSmart is the former. But over a duration of 2 hours and 42 minutes, Puri tests your patience, attempts to make you laugh with some disgusting comedy, and gives you an existential crisis while at it.
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
2024 · Hindustan Times
While the film's basic premise makes it seem like any old commercial movie, the director makes the genre his own – particularly the humour and the visual grammar.
Devara: Part 1
2024 · Hindustan Times
Even with Jr NTR playing dual roles, Saif Ali Khan constantly brooding and scheming while Janhvi Kapoor looks pretty as a peach with nothing much to do, the film struggles to live up to the legend it spins.
Pushpa 2 - The Rule
2024 · Hindustan Times
There's something about Sukumar's Pushpa 2: The Rule that draws you in. It's not the most innovative commercial film you've seen…it's not the most woke film either. And yet, you can't help but invest yourself in Allu Arjun's Pushpa Raj and his journey for the unending 3-hours-20-minutes as he nurses an ego that was bruised when he was a child.
Kalki 2898-AD
2024 · Hindustan Times
Nag Ashwin's sci-fi Kalki 2898 AD is everything you expect it to be. There are flying vehicles, sophisticated weapons, an evil overlord, a selfish but ultimately kind-hearted hero, a damsel-in-distress and a seemingly indestructible protector. This proves to be the film's boon and bane, both.
Virupaksha
2023 · Times Of India
Virupaksha is a well-crafted film – the kind that makes you look at the characters beyond the actors because the film has a suffocating atmosphere that'll draw you in. The kind that makes you flinch but not want to look away at the same time. Karthik Varma Dandu pulls off an effective horror film with Virupaksha.
BRO
2023 · Times Of India
BRO has the kind of story that seems heart-warming and life-affirming on paper, but in a bid to commercialise these very poignant questions, Samuthirakani chooses to pad the film with duets, special numbers, sudden references to Pawan Kalyan's career and more that don't always work or worse – water down the emotions. BRO could've been the poignant tale of a man who had to grow up a little too fast and, in the process, forgets to make the most of his life. What you get instead is a film that loses steam as it progresses with the messaging lost in the chaos of it all. This one is a missed opportunity.
Miss. Shetty Mr. Polishetty
2023 · Times Of India
Naveen shines in this rom-com that doesn't always work
Kushi
2023 · Times Of India
Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu do a good job of ensuring you stay invested in their characters. A light-hearted tale of love and triumph.
Ravanasura
2023 · Times Of India
Ravi Teja shines in this feeble attempt at a thriller. Ravanasura has moments where it feels like it could be much more than a lukewarm attempt at a thrill.
RRR
2022 · Times Of India
RRR is not perfection by any means because after the way Rajamouli pulls off certain scenes, you wonder if he could've done a better job in others.
Pushpa: The Rise
2021 · Times Of India
Sukumar's Pushpa: The Rise shows promise when it wraps things up and sets up things for Pushpa 2.
Jana Nayagan
2026 · Hindustan Times · Jul 2026
Given that it's Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's final film as he immerses himself into politics, expectations were high on this being a proper send-off. However, the film carries all the shortcomings of Anil Ravipudi's Bhagavanth Kesari and more in its Tamil adaptation. Where is the 'Thalapathy Kacheri' that we were promised?
Drishyam 3
2026 · Hindustan Times · May 2026
Drishyam 3 had the potential to tell a poignant story of a father who is slowly unravelled by his paranoia. It's unfortunate that Jeethu's idea doesn't translate into an engaging film.
Guntur Kaaram
2024 · Hindustan Times · Jan 2024
Trivikram Srinivas' third film with Mahesh Babu after Athadu and Khaleja has to be his weakest. Guntur Kaaram struggles to hold your attention for its 2 hours and 39 minutes long duration.
Hi Nanna
2023 · Hindustan Times · Dec 2023
Shouryuv's 2-hours-35-minutes-long film isn't made for the impatient. If you can't pass on an emotional love story that takes its own sweet time setting up its characters and progresses at an unhurried pace because it wants you to get lost in its world - this one's for you. The film's ending more than makes up for it, because it heart is in the right place.
Custody
2023 · Times Of India · May 2023
Custody has the kind of story that's predictable and some of the characters could've been fully realised to make this experience better than what it is. But if action dramas with a touch of emotion are your cup of tea, this is right down your lane.
Dasara
2023 · Times Of India · Mar 2023
Debutant Srikanth Odela's Dasara is a mixed bag and there's no two ways about it. On one hand, the film is visually gripping, the characters seem like they've more to offer and the atmosphere feels like everything is about to come undone at any second. On the other hand, Srikanth sets up themes he never fully explores, or worse, wraps them up with hasty conclusions.
Waltair Veerayya
2023 · Times Of India · Jan 2023
While the film is a mixed bag, it does manage to keep you engaged for the most part. The issue with the film lies precisely in how it wavers between light-hearted and serious portions till a silly, over-the-top climax brings it to a close. Waltair Veerayya might not leave you feeling poonakalu as promised, but it's decent enough, especially if you're a Chiranjeevi fan or Ravi Teja's for that matter.
Veera Simha Reddy
2023 · Times Of India · Jan 2023
Gopichand Malineni's Veera Simha Reddy is purely for Balakrishna's fans alone. There's no two ways about it. Otherwise there's only so much you can take of all the flying bodies, loud punch dialogues that are specifically written to elicit cheers and scene after scene that exists solely to showcase the titular character as nothing less than god.