Sowmya Rajendran
The News Minute·Sify·NewsLaundry
Most Divergent Takes
- Double iSmart (2024)2.0 vs TRM 4.2-2.2
- Animal (2023)3.0 vs TRM 5.0-2.0
- Srikanth (2024)5.0 vs TRM 6.6-1.6
- Por Thozhil (2023)8.0 vs TRM 6.6+1.4
- Pichaikkaran 2 (2023)3.0 vs TRM 4.2-1.2
Srikanth
2024 · The News Minute
Despite Rajkummar Rao's affable performance, 'Srikanth' is unconvincing. The writing is so bland and filled with broad strokes that there are no layers to any of the characters, resulting in a screenplay that feels like a quick scan of Srikanth's CV and nothing more rather than a genuine exploration of him as a person.
Pushpa: The Rise
2021 · The News Minute
Allu Arjun's swag carries through this familiar tale
Minnal Murali
2021 · The News Minute
Tovino's superhero film is thoroughly entertaining
Chhapaak
2020 · The News Minute
Deepika is exceptional, her speech and body language closely matching Laxmi's; the understated performance builds up Malti as a quiet force, difficult to subdue despite how fragile she seems. Chhapaak is neither a happy weekend watch nor a film on 'woman empowerment' headlined by a male star. But it's a film that deserves to be watched because it forces us to look at a reality that only appears as a tiny column in the newspaper, and it's good cinema.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge
2026 · NewsLaundry · Mar 2026
Pakistani politics, which was at the heart of Part 1, becomes a minor plot point; Lyari is largely forgotten. Narendra Modi's elevation to Prime Minister and demonetisation take centrestage instead.
Double iSmart
2024 · The News Minute · Aug 2024
Puri fries our brain with double the torture
Animal
2023 · The News Minute · Dec 2023
Animal, though, is so wannabe-edgy that it becomes plain boring after a point. The writing is too distracted, too self-indulgent to allow that story to breathe. Instead, what we get are Sandeep's obvious attempts to hit back at people who slammed his earlier work.
Maaveeran
2023 · The News Minute · Jul 2023
The simplicity of the idea is brilliant, and Ashwin succeeds in executing it with only a few bumps along the way. Sivakarthikeyan has certainly grown as an actor, and the action choreography in the film is its highlight. The pacing of the second half feels slow, with the premise starting to feel repetitive, but there is enough going on in Maaveeran to keep you invested till the end.
Por Thozhil
2023 · The News Minute · Jun 2023
To make an investigative thriller that has you holding your breath for a good part of the film is therefore quite an accomplishment – and it's especially impressive when it comes from a debut filmmaker. Por Thozhil does come with a 'message' for the audience, but it isn't spelt out in neon as is the case with several Tamil films. It's subtle and allows us to arrive at the realisation instead of drilling it into our brains, and thank god for that.
Pichaikkaran 2
2023 · The News Minute · May 2023
Pichaikkaran 2 is the kind of film where you'll find a shot of a poor woman with flies in her mouth to underline the point that there is abject poverty in this country, and then three more such shots that tell us that there is abject poverty in this country. Poverty is, of course, a relevant subject but unfortunately the astounding laziness with which Vijay proceeds to tell this story only exposes the poverty of his imagination.
The World Before Her
2014 · Sify · Oct 2014
A vivid journey on the trail of female emancipation...A must-see!
Nee Jathaga Nenundali
2014 · Sify · Aug 2014
Music and good production values are the plusses of the film. Overall, Nee Jathaga Nenundali' is now here close to the original Aashiqui 2.Slow, but watchable
Kochadaiiyaan
2014 · Sify · May 2014
Kochadaiiyaan is an experiment in many ways, not in the least because it's a new way for Rajinikanth to entertain his ever-hungry fans. Has Soundarya pulled it off? Not quite. But it's still worth a watch if you'd like to see the Superstar immortalized in a way like he's never been before.
