The week ahead offers a plethora of entertainment choices both in theatres and on OTT. If you like period dramas and romances, Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam out in theatres now, is meant for you. The brilliant Toni Collette returns in Pieces of Her (Netflix) while the Oscar-nominated Spanish film Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers) is playing in cinemas.
Mrs. & Mr Shameem: ZEE5
Saba Qamar plays the lead role in Mrs and Mr Shameem. (Photo: Saba Qamar/Instagram)
The 20-episode series is led by Saba Qamar and Nauman Ijaz. Helmed by Kashif Nisar, the Zindagi original is a love story of two strikingly opposite individuals, Umaina and Shameem. The official description of the show reads, “It is a story of a pure bond graduating from friendship to growing old together and everything in between.”
Etharkkum Thunindhavan: In cinemas
Suriya in Etharkkum Thunindhavan.
Etharkkum Thunindhavan is about an influential man, Inba (Vinay Rai), who uses young boys to lure college-going girls into relationships, and then exploits them to curry favours with powerful men. Suriya plays a lawyer in the film whose life goes upside down after a terrible incident, and he goes on slaughtering people’s necks. IndianExpress.com’s Manoj Kumar R expected Suriya to have a better theatrical return than this. In his review of the film, he wrote, “Director Pandiraj turns this traumatic crime into short bursts of melodrama. At end of all that, one may be left wondering what the film is trying to say? Especially the climax scene, which plays out like a poorly written Mexican stand-off, and turns unintentionally funny.”
Read the review of Etharkkum Thunindhavan here.
The Adam Project: Netflix
Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldana in a still from director Shawn Levy’s The Adam Project. (Photo: Netflix)
Helmed by Shawn Levy, The Adam Project stars Ryan Reynolds in the lead role. The official synopsis of the sci-fi drama reads, “A time-traveling pilot teams up with his younger self and his late father to come to terms with his past while saving the future.” IndianExpress.com’s Rohan Naahar found the film “fun but forgettable”. In his 3-star review, he wrote, “A vast improvement over Ryan Reynolds’ post-Deadpool output, Shawn Levy’s Netflix film is too inoffensive to complain about.”
Read the review of The Adam Project here.
Radhe Shyam: In cinemas
Prabhas and Pooja Hegde in Radhe Shyam.
Set in the backdrop of 1970s Europe, Radhe Shyam is a love story featuring Prabhas as a palmist and Pooja Hegde his love interest. As per the trailer of the film, the coming together of the two lovebirds leads to destruction. The film is written and directed by Radha Krishna Kumar. It also stars Sachin Khedekar, Sathyaraj, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Bhagyashree, Murli Sharma, Kunaal Roy Kapoor, Riddhi Kumar, Sasha Chettri and Sathyan.
In her review, The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta wrote, “Prabhas-starrer expects us to swallow, hook, line and so many sinkers, and we are constantly collecting our jaws off the floor.
Read the review of Radhe Shyam here.
Pieces of Her: Netflix
The crime thriller Pieces of Her, led by Toni Collette, is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Karin Slaughter. The logline of the series reads, “A woman pieces together her mother’s dark past after a violent attack in their small town brings hidden threats and deadly secrets to light.” The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta, in her review of the series, wrote, “It’s a lot of history, and the series occasionally gets muddled and bumpy in the unpacking. When it all gets too stretchy, Collette throws out a rescue curve. She is the glue which makes things stick.”
Read the review of Pieces of Her here.
Pam and Tommy: Disney Plus Hotstar
Lily James as Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy. (Photo: Hulu)
Pam and Tommy is a Hulu series, based on a stolen sex tape featuring Pamela Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee. Lily James and Sebastian Stan play Pamela and Tommy, respectively. In his 2-star rating review of the show, indianexpress.com’s Rohan Naahar wrote, “Hulu’s salacious new show, available in India on Disney+ Hotstar, is a majorly misguided attempt at telling Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s toxic love story. It’s so unfortunate that all that hard work went in service of a show that repeatedly dishonours its subject by first selling its soul, and then attempting to sell the most sleazy aspects of this story.”
Read the review of Pam and Tommy here.
Maaran: Disney Plus Hotstar
Dhanush and Malavika Mohanan in Maaran. (Photo: MalavikaM_/Twitter)
Action-thriller Maaran is headlined by Dhanush and Malvika Mohanan. Written and directed by Karthick Naren, the film has Dhanush in the role of a journalist whose expose of a scam irks a politician. He decides to come after Dhanush’s Maaran and destroy him completely. The film also stars Samuthirakani, Smruthi Venkat, Krishnakumar Balasubramanian, Mahendran and Ameer.
Parallel Mothers: In cinemas
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers has actors Penelope Cruz and Rossy de Palma in the lead roles of Janis and Ana, respectively. They meet each other at the hospital while they are pregnant and a conversation between them changes their lives forever. The Indian Express’ Shalini Langer gave the film a 4-star rating and wrote, “While the Oscar-nominated Penelope Cruz is just very, very good as a woman confronting motherhood, loss and peace, Milena Smit matches her step by step despite her obvious, striking youth.”
Read the review of Parallel Mothers here.
Kadaisi Vivasayi: SonyLIV
Kadaisi Vivasayi poster.
Director M Manikandan deals with the questions about God, faith and the idea of transcendence in Vijay Sethupathi and Yogi Babu starrer Kadaisi Vivasayi. It narrates the story of an old man, Mayandi, who is the last man in his village to believe in farming. As per indianexpress.com’s Manoj Kumar R, the film is like a “meditation on life” and actors Nallandi and Sethupathi shine in it.
Read the review of Kadaisi Vivasayi here.