Stolen is a harrowing, claustrophobic drama that follows the theft of a five-month-old baby, setting off a collision between two worlds—rich and poor, rural and urban. The film is a visceral exploration of entitlement, violence, corruption, and mob justice, inspired by the 2018 Kirby Anglong lynching incident in Assam.

Set over the course of a single night, Stolen follows two brothers—Gotham (Abhishek Banerjee), the snooty urbanite, and Raman (Shoubha Ram)—as they find themselves in a nightmare when the baby is…

Thug Life takes a rushed, implausible turn right after the interval, derailing its captivating narrative. Despite the combined talent of Mani Ratnam and Kamal Hassan, the film struggles to maintain its emotional core, shifting focus to action with hurried explanations and logic-defying moments.

Until the interval, the father-son dynamic is gripping. Kamal Hassan’s portrayal of Rangaraya Sakti Nyakar, a ruthless yet vulnerable gangster, is mesmerizing. His chemistry with his wife Ja (Abi Ramy) and his complex relationships with his foster…

Laapataa Ladies is about exactly that – women who are lost. The film is set in 2001 in a fictional state called Nirmal Pradesh. In an absurdly comical comedy of errors, Phool and Jaya, both new brides in rural India, with their ghoonghats reaching below their noses, end up without their husbands. But these women are also lost, metaphorically. They are chained by their own conditioning and oppressive patriarchal structures. In The Lunchbox, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character Shaikh, famously proclaims, ‘kabhi…

Rohin Raveendran’s short The Booth is a terrific and startling film. The director takes something mundane – a frisking booth – and turns it into a space for romance, mystery and danger. He also forces us to think about the inner lives of people who we meet but barely connect with. Rekha, played by Amruta Subhash, does her tedious security job efficiently. But her booth, perhaps the only space that is truly hers, also allows her to have an affair…