Rashmi Rocket, Sardar Udham to Tabbar: 11 titles that are our top picks this weekend

Other options include Udanpirappe (Tamil) and Maha Samudram (Telugu).

Udanpirappe: Amazon Prime Video

A still from Udanpirappe. (Photo: Amazon Prime Video)

Udanpirappe means sibling in Tamil. Billed as a family drama, it stars Jyotika, Sasikumar, Samuthirakani, Kalaiyarasan and Soori. The film’s central theme revolves around a brother-sister duo. Indianexpress.com’s Manoj Kumar R feels the Tamil drama is not just another tear-jerker. In his review of the film, he wrote, “Udanpirappe has more to offer than just a liberal dose of melodrama using very familiar tropes. Jyotika, Samuthirakani and Sasikumar effortlessly fit into their respective roles and deliver a realized performance.”

Read the review of Udanpirappe here.

Rashmi Rocket: ZEE5

Taapsee Pannu plays an athlete in Rashmi Rocket. (Photo: Taapsee Pannu/Instagram)

Taapsee Pannu starrer Rashmi Rocket is now streaming on ZEE5. It traces the journey of a village girl named Rashmi who aspires to represent India at the world championship. But her life changes drastically when she has to undergo gender testing under the age-old system of our country. When her body type fails to fall under the conventional feminine cut, she gets banned from the sport after being declared ‘not a woman’. Thus begins her fight for justice. The film has received a positive response from the critics and Taapsee’s performance has been lauded by all. The Indian Express’ film critic Shubhra Gupta has given the film 2.5 stars out of 5. Reviewing the film, she wrote, “Taapsee Pannu film balances high drama with a rooted story.”

Read the review of Rashmi Rocket here.

Maha Samudram: In cinemas

Sharwanand and Siddharth in a scene from Mahasamudram. (Photo: PR Handout)

Directed by Ajay Bhupathi, Mahasamudram stars Sharwanand, Siddharth, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Anu Emmanuel in the lead roles. The film is set in Visakhapatnam with the story unfolding from 2017 to the present day. Though it is a film backed by an able cast, it is the screenplay which plays the spoilsport here. Indianexpress.com’s Manoj Kumar R wrote, “The director gets his casting right and actors fit in the roles seamlessly. They look fantastic on screen and give effortless performances. However, the stilted characterisation and run-of-the-mill story lets them down. You can see every twist coming a mile off and there is zero novelty in the film.”

Read the review of Maha Samudram here.

Bony: In cinemas

Bony movie stars Parambrata Chatterjee, Koel Mullick, Anjan Dutta, and Kanchan Mullick.

Starring Parambrata Chatterjee, Koel Mullick, Anjan Dutta, and Kanchan Mullick, Bony is a science-fiction drama which has been attempted in the Bengali cinema after a long time. But a weak script plays a spoilsport here. It revolves around a couple, Sabyasachi (Parambrata Chatterjee) and Pratibha (Koel Mullick). They lead a perfect life in Italy until a trip to Lake Como ends in a disaster. In the review of the film, Satarupa Basu wrote, “A science-fiction thriller is a new area of Bengali cinema and Bony deserves kudos for that. However, beyond that point, everything starts unravelling. You can lay the blame with a weak, disjointed script that also lets the actors down. It becomes too much of a drag.”

Read the review of Bony here.

Little Things S4: Netflix

Little Things 4 stars Mithika Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal.

All you romantic souls, get the tissues, snuggle in bed and stream the final season of much-loved relationship drama Little Things. After three seasons of being live-in partners who even survived a long-distance relationship, Dhruv and Kavya are set to take their bond a step further in the last chapter of Little Things. Dhruv Sehgal and Mithila Palkar play the lead roles in the series which is now streaming on Netflix.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage: In cinemas

Venom: Let there be Carnage released on October 14 in India.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage continues the story of Tom Hardy’s investigative journalist Eddie Brock and the sentient parasitic entity called Venom that inhabits him and gives him superpowers, while also being domineering towards him. The film is a sequel to 2018’s Marvel movie Venom. Tom Hardy’s return as Marvel anti-hero has evoked mixed reception from the critics.

Read the review of Venom: Let There Be Carnage here.

Tabbar: SonyLIV

Tabbar is streaming on SonyLIV.

The SonyLIV web series charts the journey of a retired police constable who pushes the boundaries to save his family from the consequences of an unfortunate incident. With an ensemble cast comprising actors like Pavan Malhotra, Supriya Pathak, Gagan Arora, Paramvir Cheema, Kanwaljit Singh, and Ranvir Shorey, Tabbar promises a memorable thriller in the heart of rural Punjab. Directed by Ajitpal Singh, and produced by Ajay Rai, Tabbar is written by Harman Wadala and Sandeep Jain.

Read the review of Tabbar here.

Sanak: Disney Plus Hotstar

Vidyut Jammwal in Sanak.

Starring Vidyut Jammwal, Sanak revolves around a man named Vivan’s struggle to keep his love story alive after his partner Vanshika is diagnosed with heart disease. While the two promise to return to their happy lives once she gets operated on, things get messed up when the hospital is attacked by terrorists. As the staff and patients, including Vanshika are taken hostages, Vivan, an MMA trainer, turns into one-man army to take down the entire gang lead by versatile actor Chandan Roy Sanyal as the mastermind.

Read the review of Sanak here.

Sardar Udham: Amazon Prime Video

Vicky Kaushal stars in the lead role in Sardar Udham.

Vicky Kaushal essays the role of revolutionary and freedom fighter Sardar Udham Singh in the Shoojit Sircar directorial. Belonging to the revolutionary Ghadar Party, Sardar Udham Singh assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, a former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in India, on 13 March 1940 in the UK. The killing was in revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919, for which O’Dwyer was responsible. The film also stars Shaun Scott, Stephen Hogan, Banita Sandhu, Kirsty Averton and Amol Parashar in pivotal roles.

Read the review of Sardar Udham here.

Our recommendations

Easy A: Netflix

The 2010 teen movie is set in modern-day America. It is inspired by the 1850 classic novel The Scarlet Letter. Lead actor Emma Stone shines in this modern retelling of the book. In her weekly column Hollywood Rewind, Anvita Singh of indianexpress.com wrote about the film, “Easy A is not subtle in paying homage to its inspirations, and I mean that in a good way. Its makers are unabashed about doffing their hat to the legends that came before them. And then they do their own retelling of it in the most engaging fashion possible — by pulling us into a story told from the perspective of a notorious teenager who has earned a bad reputation for sleeping around. When in fact, what she had done was help protect a gay friend by building up a lie, a damaging lie no doubt, but it was a lie all the same. As a result of her decision, she has to acknowledge what she has not done in front of her peers. One day, tired of the drama and taking inspiration from her studies, she pins a badge of the letter ‘A’ for adulterer, just as the female protagonist was forced to do in The Scarlet Letter. Things unravel from there, and how.”

Varavelpu: Amazon Prime Video

A still from Varavelpu.

Are you up for some classic cinema? Varavelpu, which means reception in Malayalam, is one of Mohanlal’s classic movies. While one part of the movie is a hard-hitting political satire, the other offers a kaleidoscopic view of ever-changing paradigms in a conventional household. Recommending the film for this weekend, indianexpress.com’s Manoj Kumar R shared, “Varavelpu is not just about people who spit in the hand that fed them. It is also a biting account of a suffocating political climate that prevailed at the time. Legendary screenwriter Sreenivasan, who also plays a supporting role in the film, had made very personal and accurate observations of how unscrupulous minds in left-wing political parties had turned Kerala into an undesirable place for business investment and industrial expansion.”