OTTplay

by Anusha Sundar

Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "There is no denial that The GOAT is a film that warrants a theatre watch given you go in as a fan, expecting less to chew and more to celebrate.

by Arpita Sarkar

Arpita Sarkar of OTT Play rated it 1/5 stars and writes that "There were high expectations from Tejasswi Prakash’s OTT debut, but she fails to impress, turning this romantic-thriller into a disappointing saga."

In addition, Das was on the International Jury of the Generation 14plus in 2020, so this is her fourth official outing here. Das’ direction is confident in a world she knows — most of her films are shot with family members and neighbours (mostly non-actors) — in her village, Chhaygaon in Assam. Bhuman Bhargav Das, who plays the lead, is superb: he is Das’ nephew, while Sukanya Boruah, who plays Pahi, is a professional actor. Das’ screenplay is more interested in moments of emotional resonance, than a narrative plot structure, which is reflected in the cinematography and editing. Das has mostly been a one-woman army, being writer, director, producer, cinematographer, production designer, editor and a casting director on most of her previous films. This time, she has Aditya Varma do the cinematography — and he does a fine job, with a gentle pace, and mostly a fixed camera.

The movie moves swiftly to reveal each character without going into too much depth thanks to a simple yet predictable plot that is based on real events.

Vijay Raghavendra’s investigation of a series of murders makes for an engaging sequel»

This one’s several notches below. ####INLINE_WIDGET#### The Rise of Ashoka movie verdict: Despite its relatively short run-time, The Rise of Ashoka is a tedious watch with its uninspired story-telling and performances.

Youth is fun when it wants to be. With the whole narrative taking place during the school days, precisely high school, Youth taps into the benefit of being innocently unaware. The film shows some good writing instincts when Unnikrishnan says he values his wife more than his son at a critical point. As much as this simple dialogue carries great depths, the film’s overarching and concluding ideas are yet to become fully mature, making Youth an incomplete entertainer.

A movie set turns scary house turns haunted palace is the one-liner of Aghathiyaa, a film which brims with special effects and animations at almost every frame you pause. Filled with almost all the hues and shades of colours, and graphics, Aghathiyaa is a film that specifically changes tastes depending on what age group you fall under. If you have a child-like curiosity to get carried away with visual spectacles and colours keep coming, Aghathiyaa is a treat that way. But if you have consumed enough by worldly knowledge and look out for some logic and screenplay that offers more than just beautiful frames, then Aghathiyaa can be a shallow story of English medicine versus Siddha medicine.

The production values of the series are just about okay. The camerawork is decent and showcases the village setup nicely. The dialogues are good, but the production design could have been a lot better. Anandalahari is a series that has a simple and routine setup and takes time to grow on you, but there is nothing new that has been showcased here.

While Bhay - The Gaurav Tiwari Mystery has an interesting premise, based on the real-life mysterious death of paranormal investigator Gaurav Tiwari, it fails to deliver an engaging horror experience. Actors including Karan Tacker and Kalki Koechlin deliver good performances, but the execution fails to bring out the brilliance of their acting. The ghosts aren't scary, the cases lack suspense, and the emphasis on paranormal investigation overshadows the potential for deeper explorations into Gaurav's personal life. The real-life footage adds a little interest, but overall, the series struggles to captivate or terrify.

Having come to this point, the direction as well as the writing could have been more solid, as it majorly lacks the proper thrilling element. As it is a crime thriller drama, I expected it to be more suspenseful and gripping, but it was sadly not the case.

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story has become yet another film that's been added to the library of films that's been created in an effort to show that love story hasn't died in movies. But the efforts are lacking too much soul that it has turned out to be just a film that will remind you of stock clearance sales at a mall. Kunal Kohli's Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story tries to serenade us with nostalgia but ends up being a scratched record of recycled romance. With a love story that’s neither timeless nor trendy, this one’s more of a missed connection.

by Anusha Sundar

Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Bottle Radha is a decent drama that is equipped with highlighting performances.

Freedom lacks a punch, an honesty in its storytelling, and a gripping narrative, thus getting boggled by elements that are unwarranted to the film. Freedom is supposed to be a story that may not have been on people’s memory or radar for long, but definitely one that belongs to a big-screen adaptation. But the film with little to less understanding of its gravitas, missteps into a wrong genre that did not warrant an overdose of physical torture onscreen, but an empathetic portrayal of a story less told. Freedom makes little to no impact with its forced storytelling, unimpactful characterisations, thus making it a forgettable film on an important incident.

The screenplay is engaging in parts, especially scenes involving the protagonist's announcement as CM and the backstory. The dialogues are well-written, and the production design is neat. Overall, Game Changer is a better outing than Indian 2 and offers decent entertainment. While it may not rank among Shankar's best works, he narrates the film competently, even if the plot feels routine. On the whole, Game Changer is a better film than Shankar's last outing, Indian 2. Ram Charan shines in his double role and the confrontations scenes featuring him and SJ Suryah stand out. Though the plot sounds a bit predictable, Shankar does not experiment much and narrates the film in a simple yet neat manner.

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