Sanjay Ponnappa
India Today
Sanjay Ponnappa is an entertainment journalist and assistant producer at India Today who primarily focuses on cinema, regional films, and OTT releases.
Most Divergent Takes
- Korean Kanakaraju (2026)3.0 vs TRM 4.9-1.9
- CityLights (2026)4.0 vs TRM 5.2-1.2
- Mother Promise (2026)7.0 vs TRM 6.0+1.0
- Court: State vs. A Nobody (2025)5.0 vs TRM 6.0-1.0
- Martin (2024)4.0 vs TRM 4.7-0.7
KD – The Devil
2026 · India Today
This Dhruva Sarja-Sanjay Dutt-starrer period action drama is entertaining in bits but is mostly loud, messy and violent.
CityLights
2026 · India Today
The shallow story and formulaic execution renders an underwhelming experience.
Bail
2026 · India Today
Bail is an interesting case. Even when its potential is obvious, and the fact that it doesn't fully live up to that potential is evident, the film isn't particularly disappointing. The performances, some quirky moments and the fast-flowing screenplay keep you engaged, even though there are several underwhelming aspects and the convenient writing can be off-putting.
Karavali
2026 · India Today
With beautiful visuals and intriguing ideas, Gurudatta Ganiga's coastal drama offers moments of genuine thrill but ultimately feels incomplete due to its lack of clarity and depth.
Kattalan
2026 · India Today
Kattalan is all style, little substance. The film presents a stylised tale of elephant tusk smugglers caught in a power struggle, but the pan-Indian approach weakens what could have been a promising thriller.
Graamaayana
2026 · India Today
Directed by Devanuru Chandru, the rural drama starring Vinay Rajkumar, Megha Shetty, and Gopalkrishna Deshpande impresses in parts but falls short of leaving a lasting impact.
Mother Promise
2026 · India Today
Dhananjaya's Mother Promise embraces absurdity with confidence, delivering relentless laughs, quirky characters and enough heart to leave audiences walking out of theatres with a smile.
Korean Kanakaraju
2026 · India Today
Korean Kanakaraju is a classic case of a film with an amusing premise but no idea how to sustain it beyond the first few laughs. What could have been a quirky cross-cultural horror-comedy ends up becoming a painfully shallow commercial entertainer that mistakes randomness for humour and scale for spectacle.
Unmadham
2026 · India Today
Kunchacko Boban's mystery crime thriller, written by Shahi Kabir and directed by debutant Kiran Das, sets up a strong premise but gets lost in direction in all the chaos towards the end.
America America 2
2026 · India Today
While Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar's poetic storytelling and the lead performances shine in parts, dated writing and superficial characterisation hold the film back.
Bromance
2025 · India Today
The Malayalam comedy film offers chaotic gags which are only effective in parts.
Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups
2026 · India Today · Aug 2026
Yash returns with an ambitious gangster drama centred almost entirely on his character Raya. However, strong performances, striking visuals and inventive action cannot overcome its tonal confusion and underwritten women.
Kannappa
2025 · India Today · Jun 2025
... this mythological film banks more on the devotion and star power of the cameos than screenplay, direction and execution.
#Single
2025 · India Today · May 2025
Single' is a slapstick comedy about a love triangle between Sree Vishnu, Ivana and Ketika Sharma. The film, although has an illogical plot, serves as a good timepass flick to watch and laugh in abandon.
Court: State vs. A Nobody
2025 · India Today · Mar 2025
Presented by Telugu star Nani, this courtroom drama steadily captures the audience's attention before entering the court to make an emotional case, but falls short when it comes to making the case compelling and smart.
Bagheera
2024 · India Today · Oct 2024
In this vigilante action drama, there are brilliant concepts and ideas, but the execution needed more work to make it feel "super."
Martin
2024 · India Today · Oct 2024
The film is a two-and-a-half-hour ride full of loud dialogues, over-the-top action, bad BGM and a mess of a story.