Rana Naidu Season 2 Is Meandering But Still Explosive
| Rana Daggubati’s bat-slinging fixer returns with a pocketful of problems, provocations and tonal pirouettes that just about keep the series ticking, writes Manik Sharma .
| | | Dir: Karan Anshuman, Abhay Chopra, Suparn Varma | | Cast: Rana Daggubati, Venkatesh, Arjun Rampal, Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee | | | | "MUMBAI ki galli mein khela naa. Straight drive ke alava kuch ataa hi nahi ”, a bullish antagonist states philosophically in a scene from the second season of Netflix’s Rana Naidu . It’s one of those sequences that underlines what’s so vexing yet fascinating about shows that operate at the edge of decency. A single line of dialogue, written at the right meter, can unfurl an entire lifetime. Here, it offers a backward glimpse into the life of a man shaped by the streets he could never escape. It’s the kind of bold, erratic writing that makes Rana Naidu one of those shows that’s never profound but never quite dull either. In its 8-episode second season, this wild, full-metal adaptation of Ray Donovan loses some of its scandalous steam, but retains the raunchiness that makes it a bit of an outlier in the Indian streaming space. Check out Rana Daggubati's 7 best films, now on OTT. Rana Daggubati returns as the Hyderabadi fixer who operates within the glittering circles of Mumbai. The first season saw him face up to his rowdy father (played by real-life uncle Venkatesh Daggubati) and eventually coalesce into an uncomfortable truce. In this second season, new villains crop up, brothers become foes — almost like an extension of the twisted circle of hell that is the Naidu family — relationships break, and a whirlwind of passable action sequences set inside neon-lit corridors fills whatever vacuum, the lack of pause perpetuates. It’s high-octane, balls-to-the-wall all the time. | | | Jombieland Is A Riotous Antidote To The Epidemic Of Cinema’s Toxic Men
| Led by an excellent Binnu Dhillon, Jombieland (Pind Peya Saara Jombieland Baneya) is what mainstream cinema ought to deliver for the price of a premium film ticket.
| | | | | Cast: Binnu Dhillon, Angira Dhar, Kanika Mann, Gurteg Guri | | | | NOBODY DOES COMEDY like Punjabi cinema. It’s one of those few industries — maybe in the world — that mines humour from its medium, the language it's written and performed in. The meter, the pitch, and the very pedagogy of the Punjabi language fit a genre that is usually hard to execute. Exactly why, then, has it taken this industry decades to submit gleefully to a world it seems was born to coin, is a question for another day. But here it is, a Punjabi film about a zombie (no wait... Jombie) apocalypse that will knock your socks off, but strangely be more personal than mindlessly parodic. This is one of Punjabi cinema’s finest moments. A thrilling, riotous theatrical experience that you’d fish cinema lovers could experience in the language of its origin. The best Punjabi films are just a click away. Stream Diljit Dosanjh's Jodi on OTTplay Premium. The year is 2032. Punjab, Chandigarh especially, has been run over by a zombie infestation. We are shown the ruins, the decrepit walls of what is famously India’s best-planned city. The tone is serious, akin to a moody horror piece. To prevent this eventuality, the country — or the region, at least — will need an unlikely hero, the film says. This is his story. Binnu Dhillon, the dependable doyen of the Punjabi comedy scene, plays Jatinder (aka Jeeti, aka 22), a presumably high-achieving motivational speaker struggling to make ends meet. It’s the classical Punjabi archetype — an underachiever somehow piling through life on sheer luck and doggedness. There is a dumb charm about this type of quasi-hero, and only a certain cinematic milieu can pull it off with such self-effacing grace. — MS | | | Second Chance Is A Poetic Feature Debut About Revival & Unlearning
| Subhadra Mahajan’s feature is as much about finding light at the end of the tunnel as it is about scouring light in the tunnel.
Ishita Sengupta reviews. | | | | | Cast: Dheera Johnson, Kanav Thakur, Thakri Devi | | | | THE IDEA OF A SECOND CHANCE is often linked to redemption, an opportunity to right a wrong. In Subhadra Mahajan’s stunningly shot, monochrome feature, Second Chance , the prospect gathers a restorative quality. The filmmaker slows down the immediacy, making second chances more about unlearning than learning. The difference is slight but lends ingenuity to a familiar premise. Get access to 30+ streaming platforms with OTTplay Premium's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. Claim your offer now! Nia (Dheera Johnson) is an affluent young woman who has retreated to the hills. Not much information is laid out, but not much is required. The film opens with a black screen, punctuated with her voice – shaky, disillusioned and desperate. She is trying to reach out to someone called Kabir over the phone to inform him that she has taken the pills. The next moment, Nia stands facing the snow-clad mountains. The juxtaposition of her frail being with the towering silhouette informs the narrative context, conveying her existential confinement. Still, the possibility of the ice thawing underlines the spiritual subtext of the film. Mahajan’s feature is as much about finding light at the end of the tunnel as it is about scouring light in the tunnel. | | | The one newsletter you need to decide what to watch on any given day. Our editors pick a show, movie, or theme for you from everything that’s streaming on OTT. | | Each week, our editors pick one long-form, writerly piece that they think is worthy of your attention, and dice it into easily digestible bits for you to mull over. | | In which we invite a scholar of cinema, devotee of the moving image, to write a prose poem dedicated to their poison of choice. Expect to spend an hour on this. | | | Hindustan Media Ventures Limited,
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