Team FC
Theatrical Release
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan takes up a role that is filled with viciousness and longing, and in the second film, both of these qualities froth to the surface of the film, battling each other for space.
Streaming Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
In his sprawling, self-assured directorial debut Riteish Deshmukh delivers one of his career’s most memorable performances. As endearing as he is as the younger, unburdened Satya, Deshmukh comes into his own when he hits his self-destructive stride as the heartbroken hero
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
There is something extraordinarily, immediately charming about Sidhant Gupta’s performance of Jay Khanna. From the way he holds his cigarette, the way he dances, snaps his fingers, displaying his empty pockets, forcefully exhales when relieved. It is the kind of performance that can light a show up.
Theatrical Release
Vikram, who has portrayed the soup boy more than once to perfection in Tamil cinema, approaches this role with the sort of piercing emotion that might put many star-crossed romances to shame. His eyes carry unconditional love for Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), but also the depth of pain and the guilt of having taken many lives in a mindless war, which eventually ends up becoming his own undoing.
Theatrical Release
In Pookalam, Vijayaraghavan achieves a tricky midpoint where his nonagenarian grumpy grandpa never becomes anything but loveable. He navigates complex situations, including the discovery of his wife’s extra marital affair, with a unique mix of toughness and softness.