Films this week have continued to follow the hybrid model and have release in cinemas as well as on OTT platforms this week. Box office collections have picked up mostly over the weekends.
Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, the Mohanlal-starrer which released last week, has entered the Rs 100 crore club through worldwide reservations alone. On the other hand, Nandamuri Balakrishna‘s Akhanda, the Telugu action-drama, has collected between Rs 15.35 and15.40 crore in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on its first day (December 2).
Other films that have released include Milan Luthria’s Tadap marking the big screen debut of Ahan Shetty and featuring Tara Sutaria. They have managed to have a good first weekend at the box office, earning Rs 13 crore.
Silverscreen India brings to you, a compilation of reviews of films that have released both online and offline all through last week.
Vasanthabalan’s Jail, starring GV Prakash Kumar revolves around three youngsters from a colony which houses the displaced – Karnan (GVP), Rakki (Nandan Ram) and Kalai (Pasanga Paandi) – who get mixed up in drug trafficking and gang violence. This is followed by tragic consequences.
Nithya Gnanpandithan of Silverscreen India, calls it a generic, poorly-made gangster drama with an identity complex. Highlighting lack of engagement as an issue, she adds that the film “tells us a lot but doesn’t care to show us anything.”
For Ranjani Krishnakumar of Film Companion, “Jail takes a condescending approach to the lives of the people it seeks to represent,” and adds that “the message about displacement and the lives of these men in crime never feel organically connected.”
Ashameera Aiyappan of Firstpost, calls the film superficial and disappointing. The film falters despite its well intentions. However, she adds that the blue-yellow colour palette stands out. “The combination gives an interesting tone to the film — one that’s warm but distant.”
The film has an IMDb rating of 6.9.
Elamaran of Blue Sattai fame dons the caps of actor, director as well as writer for Anti Indian. “Baasha dies just few days before the assembly by-election for Mylapore constituency while the election campaign by the political parties are in full swing. Various obstacles faced to bury the deceased are revealed,” according to IMDb‘s synopsis of the film.
For Sinndhuja, of Silverscreen India, while the film is one that is set to appeal to the masses and to humanity, at large, it surprises with an engaging ending.
For Kirubhakar Purushothaman of The New Indian Express, the craft is straightforward. “With a limited budget, Maran has pulled off a decent film that isn’t worried about nuances. No aesthetic brilliance, no compositions that draw attention. It may be technically inferior, but the content makes up for this.”
The film has an IMDb rating of 6.1.
The Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor-starrer film revolves around Manu, a bodybuilder from Chandigarh falls in love with Maanvi, a Zumba teacher, who reveals that she is a trans woman.
For Anupama Chopra of Film Companion, the film is successful in some ways and faltering in others. “Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is both – a necessary and laudable conversation starter but also an airbrushed and simplistic view of the struggle of a trans woman to find love and acceptance.”
However, she notes that there is less emphasis and screen-time on Kapoor’s character’s past and what she has had to endure.
Pradeep Menon of Firstpost, appreciates the film for employing a trans character as one half of the lead. For him, the film “spends considerable time giving us a sense of what Manvi has gone through, the struggles she has endured (and still does) to carve out a space for herself, to be the person she is within.”
Monica Rawal Kukreja of The Hindutan Times, credits the director and writes, “Abhishek Kapoor shows immense maturity, sensitivity and restraint while dealing with the story of a trans woman, and showing it onscreen in a respectful manner.”
All the critics have applauded Vaani Kapoor’s performance, who they said, did not overdo the role.
However, despite its well intentions, the film has come under fire. Kapoor was in the eye of the storm that criticised her casting- a cis heterosexual woman – over that of a trans woman. It has been slammed for transphobia and trans erasure.
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Activists have highlighted that this shows the Hindi film industry’s long history of the stereotypical portrayal of members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
As of Sunday, the film has collected Rs 7.50 crore nett approximately over two days, according to Box Office India.
It has an IMDb rating of 7.2.
Apart from the aforementioned films, Naga Shaurya‘s Telugu-language film Lakshya have hit the screens.