5 MOST UNDERRATED MOVIES BEFORE MOVING TO 2026

It’s that time to rewind 2025 before moving to 2026. I haven’t been that active in this space in the previous 11 months as my life took a pivotal deviation in this year. Still, regional movies continued to impress with its grounded and nuanced storytelling. Though I felt it a bit overrated, ‘Su from so’ dubbed version playing in a fully packed crowd is surely a welcome change. But it’s quite concerning that the trend of some of the big screen hit movies getting trolled after OTT release continues in 2025. The list contains Saiyaara, Dude (I enjoyed watching Dude) and even the blockbuster Lokah !. I really hope this situation changes and the genuine opinion sustains irrespective of the platform of the release.

In 2025, there were lot many movies that gave satisfactory feeling after watching. Few of them include Dragon, Ponman, Bison, Feminichi Fathima, Ronth etc…Apart from the ones I have written detailed review, here is the list of 5 quality movies that went unnoticed this year:

NB: Click the movie name to get the watch link, if it’s released on OTT. I haven’t got chance to watch few films (For example: Thadavu, Angammal, Sirai, Interrogation, Sabar Bonda, Jarann etc..) due to various reasons.

COURT STATE Vs A NOBODY: (TELUGU-NETFLIX):

Despite its predictable nature, this courtroom drama demands a watch to make us aware that law should be educated and updated to restrict the misuse of law by the people in power. What makes the movie compelling is the way the movie portrays the conflicts of the pivotal characters and the routes protagonist choose to crack the case.

STHAL: (MARATHI-ZEE5):

Sthal is a honest portrayal of the age-old arranged marriage customs from girl’s point of view. Starting from the role reversal of a usual matchmaking, this movie takes a dig at the hypocrisy of the female protagonist Savita’s male teacher and subtly takes the viewers through the hardships of Savita’s family and her realizations.

OUSEPPINTE OSIYATHU(MALAYALAM-PRIME VIDEO):

Though not 100% visually immersive experience, Ouseppinte osiyath is worth a watch for its meaty character detailing and a superb Dileesh pothen magic. I loved the gradual narrative tone shifts from character drama exploring the family dynamics to a gripping crime thriller. Apart from the minor lag before reaching the conclusion part, there aren’t major drawbacks such as to deny a big screen watch or getting praise after OTT release.

AANPAVAM POLLATHATHU (TAMIL -HOTSTAR):

AP got into my underrated list mainly because it earned more ‘shorts’ viewership (especially the courtroom monologue) than a full movie watch. Unlike some of the recent mostly discussed gender dramas, AP is a balanced take exploring the flaws and challenges faced by both partners in a relationship without bashing any specific category of people.

STOLEN (HINDI – PRIME VIDEO )

Stolen gets into the act with 2 men getting involved in an incident and slowly shifts the gear to thriller mode after they got trapped in a trouble. Though the treatment is unlike familiar edge-of-the-seat mode, the team succeeded in making the viewers invested on how the duo overcomes the dreadful situation.

Signing off expecting a better 2026 with regional cinema (Especially Kannada, Marathi) providing more fruitful watch experience.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026, FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!!

Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal

As the name suggests, movie is all about the reunion of Sethu, Bhaskar & Viswanathan: 3 sons of Narayani and their conversations about past.

The most impressive factor in this movie is the depth of characters and clarity in characterization of the key individual characters. Vishwanathan is the valyettan in the family and he claims to look after his parents when family was in crisis. Sethu is the silent character among the 3. We get to know why he isn’t married and why he wanted the reunion more than the others. Similarly, we get to know more about Bhaskar as well. Sharan Venugopal never intended to add any twist or turn, instead just make viewers travel through the contrasting lives of the characters. While Viswanathan and Bhaskar are mostly opposite to their views, their children (Athira and Nikhil) aren’t. We get to see them opening up about their past. Father-Son conversation was beautiful. I would have appreciated at least 1 more memorable scene like that. We get to know about Athira’s equation with her mother. Though predictable, Sharan made sure to add subtlety to the way the movie ended.

Though minimally used, background score really added the relevant intensity of emotions when key characters start to emote, particularly in the second half. Cuts made sure to give the viewers, different perspectives of a specific incident. Dialogues related to breakup and relationship stay memorable too.

As the senior most brother Viswanathan, Alencier was superb, especially in the scenes where he suddenly reacts while taking about the past incidents and later apologizes to Bhaskar. Joju puts up subtle performance as Sethu. He made sure to maintain the apt meter for the character without making it feel like some of his previous characters. Suraj venjaramood got gelled well with the characters as the situations changed. The conversation scenes between Nikhil and Athira were build nicely and that got reflected in their performances as well.

The only I drawback was the occasional slowness in narration because of the predictable nature of the story. But that’s not a problem when you are well engaged with the world of the characters.

This dysfunctional family drama is worth a watch and arguably one of the best Malayalam movies of 2025 so far, considering the quality of Malayalam movies released so far.

Watch link: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0L2M7ZGLEO9S06C7NH7E9O334A

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

REWIND 2024: 5 UNDERRATED MOVIES OF 2024

2024 was a very eventful year for the Indian cinema industry. Unlike the previous years, there were a bunch of movies prioritizing pan-Indian big budget period dramas but most of them got trolled by the viewers in such a way that the makers won’t be thinking much about the sequels (as per the current trend). As usual, when the bigger scale movies lost steam, smaller movies took the spotlight and impressed the viewers. Malayalam cinema had a flourishing start followed by occasional masterclass movies. When Kannada cinema produced some hidden gems, there wasn’t much to say about Marathi movies. Here is my list of 5 most memorable movies to revisit ,before 2024 says ‘adieu’.

NB-1: Expand the movie title to read more

35 CHINNA KATHA KAADU (AHA – TELUGU)

When rush-of-blood kind of violence and big budget period drama reaches the audience more often, it’s tough to find a movie that caters more to the children. If this movie got released on a more popular OTT platform, more people would be talking about this beautifully narrated family drama. With subtle placement of characters, charming family moments and authentic performances, 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu overcomes the predictability and duration issues to an extent. So happy that it got selected to IFFI this year. Click the link to watch

MAIDAAN (PRIME – HINDI)

Maidaan is an inspirational story of an unsung hero who gave exceptional contributions to Indian football against all odds. Compared to the previously released sports biopics in Hindi ,the major factor that stands out in this movie is the way of portrayal of match portions, crucial phases of the protagonist Rahim and the way the director managed to create an immersive experience using raw emotions after the success.This movie demands a big screen watch. It’s disappointing that the number of screens were very less when it got released. (Maybe because of the overflow of sports biographies). Click to watch

KOTTUKAALI ( PRIME – TAMIL)

Kottukkaali is a brilliant road movie narrated mostly from the titular character’s POV, that uses the director’s craft to show a lady’s adamant nature to stick with her decision and fight for her justice. Vinoth Raj’s usage of long static shots and open climax may have mixed opinions from the viewers. Soori’s raw performance and Vinoth’s prowess in capturing the true essence of village without relying much on background score, will fulfil the expectations of viewers who know his range. It’s literally ‘not every one’s cup of tea’ but surely movies of this quality deserve more viewers on the big screen. Click to watch

MEIYAZHAGAN (NETFLIX -TAMIL)

There can be instances where we got to interact with someone who knows us well but we don’t even know their name. This movie will surely be a moving experience for viewers who relate to the core synopsis. Few moments will make you smile and at times emotional. You can’t help but love interacting with Karthi’s character and the placement of ‘Yaaro ivan yaaro’ song. I was very disappointed to watch this movie with a very limited number of viewers. This movie deserves more theatre acceptance, like what Maharaja or Lubber Pandhu got. Click to watch

HADINELENTU/ SEVENTEENERS ( YOUTUBE – KANNADA)

There are few other movies depicting issues regarding teenagers (Including OMG2) , what stands out for this movie is the way incidents unfold and the genuineness of courtroom scenes. This movie shows how a specific incident in college affects the lives of people around the pivotal characters, through various perspectives. Compelling storytelling and mature handling of the subject tempt viewers to wonder why no OTT platforms picked this movie. Catch the full review here.

HADINELENTU/ SEVENTEENERS

This movie is based on an intimate video of 2 classmates Deepa and Hari gets leaked out of nowhere and created a huge issue among the students and authorities. But things go out of their control after a point.

There are few other movies depicting issues regarding teenagers (Including OMG2) , what stands out for this movie is the way incidents unfold and the subtlety of court room scenes. Writer Prithvi Konanur shows the core incident from different point of view without villainzing the key characters. Be it the conversation between Deepa and Hari on how the video got leaked, discussion about their future, difference in their financial status or the stress of the college principal. Lack of over-aggressive parents is a good change.

Though viewers don’t get to see the actual video (There is a specific reason for it), Pritvi Konanur succeeded in highlighting the impact of that video on the lives of both the protagonists. He aptly add contributions from different characters to the development of the case and thus maintains the tension regarding the verdict of the case. Cuts were pretty sharp enough to prioritize different conversations and subplots related to the incident. Match cut towards the end was notable. I saw a ‘Part 1’ in the title when I searched about this movie. Movie ends up in note where court hearing begins. Surely waiting to know how the case progresses if they are going ahead for part 2.

In the list of performers, first name to mention for me is Rekha Kudligi as the college principal Seetha. The way she took up the responsibility and handled the situations was commendable.Sherlyn Bhosale’s intense performance added authenticity to the fight and helplessness of Deepa. Neeraj Mathew was fine as the regretting Hari, who mostly maintains his support for Deepa.

If you are still looking for drawbacks, I couldn’t find a major one. This movie is a must watch underrated teen drama with compelling storytelling and mature handling of the subject. It’s disappointing that no OTT platforms picked this movie. I really want to know if the OTT platforms consider credible names or the movie quality as the criteria for these kind of small movies. Hope the politics in the movie reaches to a wider audience.

Watch movie: https://youtu.be/TCcTQmFnlc4?si=UFkCTvUefpzMjHuP

Rewind 2023: The most underrated movies of 2023

It’s that time of the year to rewind and look back at some of the movies from various languages that got very little attention than they actually deserved. I couldn’t include certain movies that aren’t available on any OTT platforms till the end of the year. (For instance: Joram, O. Baby, 19.20.21, Baakki vannavar, Goldfish etc.. ). Note that the list contains movies that I haven’t discussed in detail in previous posts. From my previous posts, Viduthalai part 1, 1001 nunakal, Burqa, Daredevil Musthafa and Kida will surely find their names in the list. So, let’s get started with the list:

NB: Expand the movie title to read more

Haami 2 (Bengali – SonyLiv)

Haami 2 is a breezy light hearted drama that talks about parenting and asks the relevant question: Is there any need to project children as prodigy to earn money and thus push them to big stage pressure so early?. This movie conveys the message through the conflicts of other characters including protagonist Siddharth’s brother character and his fellow competitor in reality show.

Toby (Kannada -SonyLiv)

Character development is the most important part in a character driven drama and that’s where this movie sets up the standard. This movie explores many challenges that Toby faces, right from his childhood. Raj B Shetty’s menacing and career best show uplifts this revenge saga to next level. (Unfortunately, searching for a perfect time window to watch his different avatar in Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye, after its Prime video release).

Shiv Shastri Balboa (Hindi- Prime Video)

This feel-good slice of life drama works well mainly because of way, the 2 pivotal characters were shaped: Shiv sasthri, an ardent fan of Rocky Balboa movie and Elsa, a housekeeper who joins Shiv sasthri in a journey. Placement of few humour scenes and punch dialogues add to the merit of the movie.

Farhana (Tamil-SonyLiv)

Farhana traverses through the financial crisis of an orthodox Muslim family and how a call center job changes the life of the protagonist. Gradual narrative tone shift from emotional drama to a cat-and-mouse thriller and Aishwarya Rajesh’s anchoring performance makes this movie a compelling watch.

Kousalya Supraja Rama (Kannada -Prime video)

Many movies have explored the hardships of mother, especially in handling household activities. But this movie focuses more on the unconditional care of protagonist Ram’s mother even when she gets very minimal support in return and made the audience understand her character through others’ pov. Team deserve credit for delivering relevant emotional movie without entering melodrama phase.

Special mention

Koozhangal (Tamil- SonyLiv)

The only reason to keep Koozhangal in the special mention list is because its festival premiere started around 2 years ago. Otherwise, PS Vinoth Raj’s style of slowly and subtly building conflict around the Father and son is nothing short of a stellar master class.

800 (Tamil -JioCinema/Prime Video)

800 is a sincere attempt in showing different phases of the rough sea kind of the life of the SriLankan legend Muthiah Muralidharan. Right blend of Sinhalese-Tamil politics, rivalry and controversies around him makes this movie a genuine biopic.

Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway(Hindi- Netflix)

This movie is rooted on the struggle and lone fight for justice of a common woman against a system. Rani Mukherjee’s intense performance and some of the important dialogues in courtroom scenes are the major factors that helped viewers to connect with the protagonist and understand her conflict.

Saptha Sagaradaache Ello

Manu, driver of a politician decides to takes a risk to save the face of his boss, against the likes of his fiancee , Priya who is a singer. How that decision changed his life ? Watch this movie to get better idea.

Hemanth Rao sets the plot around 2010. Movie progresses with the couple searching to build a home near seashore to get settled after marriage. Hemanth takes the initial time before getting into the key incident because he know that the subplot is very key for the protagonist to take a risky decision.

The main difference between this movie and many of the other romantic movies is the mutual understanding between the 2 lead characters. Even when heroine shows frustration for taking wrong decision, she understands the situation of the protagonist and tries to support him without blaming him. On the other hand, he too understands her efforts of getting him out of the trouble and at a point advices not to spoil her talent for him. Hemanth also adds few supporting characters to show the dark life in jail where a person gets brutally harrassed and some shares their life experience with him.

Background score had a crucial impact in maintaining the terrorizing atmosphere inside jail and building some kind of hope within the couple. Cuts were on and off mostly . Some portions could have been avoided. Some portions were cut smartly. For instance: A portion where heroine stands in a Terrace and then cut to another location.

Coming to the performance, Rakshit shetty puts up a compelling performance in portraying the helpless nature of common man who got trapped unexpectedly and is unable to react in certain situations .Heroine too emoted really well in conversation scenes and breakdown portion towards the end. Special mention to Ramesh Indira for his menacing villain performance.

Coming to the drawback, Hemanth gave more focus on the relationship between the couples and left out the investigation part of the key incident where possibly protagonist could have a possibility of proving innocent. There wasn’t a valid justification why Achyut kumar’s character decided not to support protagonist character after a point. Part B may give better clarification. Also, I’m not big fan of the rap music added in certain portions.

I opted to watch the movie mainly because of the director Hemanth rao who directed the brilliant thriller movie Kavaludaari. For me,the wait for part B is on mainly because of the chemistry of the couples and genuine emotions that worked well in side A.

Verdict: Another impressive attempt in kannada cinema after Hostel Hudugaru Bekkagidare.

Daredevil Musthafa

This movie is about what happens if a Muslim boy Mustafa joins a school where majority students are Hindu.

Writer initially traverses us through the history of the village.Then we get to see the friendship of the key characters and then comes the entry of Musthafa. Director manages to show the shift in the intensity of the rivalry between Musthafa and the others, starting from banter to fight. Along with these characters, we get to know more about the plight of the school infrastructure and the reason behind it. Along with the main conflict, writer adds another small conflict that hurt the ego of English teacher character, which in turn gets resolved more convincingly than the main conflict.

Another major plus point is the writing of the main characters. Though Musthafa is shown as naive person, he too crosses the limit once in hurting the religious belief of another character and that adds genuinity to the character. One the friend character too changes his mind and that has been conveyed convincingly through dialogues.

Coming to the performance, the actor who did the role of Musthafa did justice to his role. Though the character had limited screen space, actor who did the role of Sports sir successfully portrayed the ability of the character to handle various situations. Iyengar character too had flawed nature of ego and competitiveness and credit for the actor.

Background score mostly scores towards the end trying to convey the emotions of thep characters. Cuts were nice enough to maintain the flow of the narrative when the conflict changes.
The main negative I felt was that director barely tries to create the friendly ambience of Mustafa along with the others and that makes the sudden shift of the central character seem bit hurried.
Daredevil Musthafa is a comedy cum sports drama (I don’t know if I can call it a period movie), that highlights the relevance of prioritizing unity and not hatred. Hurried finish may have affected the end but surely not the overall impact.

Watch link: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0PZKXT61C9O536H6QAK40Q76NH/ref=atv_dp_share_mv

The story of things

It’s not common that horror or supernatural dramas offer surprise package to the audience. SonyLiv original Tamil anthology series ‘The story of things’ contains 5 short about how old or replaced things communicates with a person.

First episode ‘Weighing scale’ highlights the journey of a struggling actor and problems happening after an incident.Writer really well portrays the conflict between success and guilt.Background score along with the compelling performance of Bharath helps in building tense moments. The only concern was the unnecessary focus on horror part of the episode title though some of them works well.

Second episode ‘Cellular phone’ revolves around Vannamayil (or VM) and her bonding with her mother. Writer initially establishes the conservative nature of mother character and how Vannamayil got adapted to a scheduled life. Dialogues including a story narration in different scenes smartly adds nuances to the narration. For instance: the tale of a dog fallen in a well. Though the horror element is not very nerve chilling, the director maintains the supernatural ambience really well. The Final emotional breakdown was really touching. Aditi balan did justice to her role as the overthinking ‘VM’.

Probably weaker compared to the others, third episode ‘Compressor’ is about the weird incidents happening for a couple when they buy an old model AC. Director maintains the supernatural element throughout by utilizing silence and the sound of the AC as required. Background score manages to create scary moments and effectively bring in the conflict between the interactions of the couple.Main drawback was that the writer never tried to explain those weird incidents unlike the previous 2. Climax remained wanting more for a finish. Slow burning style may not be acceptable for everyone.

Fourth episode ‘Car’ focuses on ‘Brito’ who experiences incidents similar to his childhood memories and shows why travels back to his old house after years. The main similarity of 2nd and this story is that both portray wrong parenting.Siddique nails his role as the strict and abusive father. Shanthanu Bhagyaraj lends equally good support as Britto who carries the trauma and is scared of cars because of his daunting past His performance adds authenticity to the transformation of the character.Unlike the 3rd one, the Director manages to make a clear indication of the hallucination and supernatural elements in the narration.Climax revelation was smart enough and unexpected.

As we say ‘Save the best for the last’, fifth episode ‘Mirror’ is the best of the lot.Sethu, a guy with suicidal tendency witnesses a life inside an old mirror in his new house.Background score maintains the pleasant feel mostly. Interaction scenes of protagonist and girl are joy to watch and refreshment from the dark mood set by the other stories. Anshitha Anand and Vinoth Kishan share a sweet chemistry between them and that makes the short more enjoyable.Climax, particularly the last 5 min turn around seems a bit confusing but the uniqueness complements the unusual ending.
Final revelation will make viewers wonder how this was actually written and that makes this one an engaging watch.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/shows/story-of-things-tamil-1700001109/weighing-scale-1000203234

Most underrated movies of 2022

2022 witnessed a lot of quality cinema on OTT and big screen.It includes movies with less expectations making a big impact (For example: Love Today,Jaya jaya jaya jaya he),
big budget movies like PS-1,Karthikeya-2,Kantara etc.. and more. Bringing the most underrated top movies of an year is not an easy task just because
2022 was such a delightful year for a cinephile. Below is the list of top 5 underrated movies of 2022.
Note that I have excluded the movies I reviewed earlier this year.

1. Ela Veezha Poonchira (Soorya Festival- Malayalam): We often use ‘Slow-burning thriller’ to mention thriller movies with slow pace. Ela veezha poonchira
is one much movie set in a hilltop backdrop and follows a cop doing his duty. After the initial setup, the narrative moves to a crime thriller and
keeps the viewer engaged. Special mention to the sound design and performances.I don’t know when it will be available on OTT. Try not to miss it
when it is available.

2. Badhaai Do (Netflix-Hindi): Choosing an important subject for a comedy movie and narrating it without reducing the importance of the subject is not at all an easy task. That’s where
Badhaai Do stands apart. This movie asks the viewer to forget those controversies around bollywood and just enjoy the humour scenes.Most importantly,
Director maintains the perfect balance of Humour and emotional scenes.

3. Kaun Pravin Tambe (Hotstar-Hindi): Though sports drama genre is very common in Hindi, 2022 witnessed many top class movies including Jhund and Toolsidas junior. Kaun praveen Tambe is another addition to the list. The way this movie progresses and inspires the viewer makes this movie a class apart from other
sports dramas released recently. Tha main point is that the protagonist kept trying even after age and family problems affected him.
Ashish Vidyarthi’s memorable performance gives the optimal support to the lead actor.

4. Natchathiram Nagargiradhu (Netflix-Tamil): Normally, Pa Ranjith’s movies gain popularity among the viewers. But this movie got the least(Length may be the reason)and that’s why I added
this movie to my list. This movie starts with Iniyan (Kalidas) and his lover Rene (Dushara Vijayan) working in a Drama troupe. But things around him change
when Kalayarasan’s character is introduced to their play practice. Pa Ranjith succeeded in portraying the transformation of Kalayairasan’s
character very effectively. It’s surely a bold attempt in highlighting the problems of people in different sections of society. Watch out for the
scene depicting honour killing.

5. Matto Ki Saikil (Prime video-Hindi): Ths movie revolves around Matto, a daily wage labourer and his relationship with his cycle. Though this slice-of-life rural drama revolves around these 2,
We see various characters around them (Including Pradhanji who addresses the problems of the villagers, caste system, financial issues and more), this movie revolves around the sorrow and ecstasy of Matto and his family. After the Zee5 original ‘Pareeksha’, Prakash Jha comes up with yet another standout performance as Matto.This movie may not have surprising moments,
may feel a bit lagging or slow for a section of viewers. But try to watch it for the story it tries to narrate and lead performance.(Try to watch subtitled version)

King Richard

There is a normal template for a sports drama: Finding out the talent, training, overcoming the nerves in domestic matches and then the final success. King Richard initially traverse through the template basically but the most important positive is that it manages to move away from majority elements in the template and think out of the box.
Richard, an athlete cum business man dreams about 2 of his 5 daughters: Venus and Serena. But he had to overcome many hurdles to help them reach the stage. Will they be able to achieve it? That forms the crux of the story.

One line may feel similar to a normal predictable sports drama but it’s not. We see the support of whole family in this movie. We see the support given by the mother in different instances: She trains Serena because they can’t afford to pay fees for both. She raises her voice when cops came for enquiry corresponding to the complaint given by their neighbors. She fights with Richard when he is stubborn to take every decision related to Venus on his own. Siblings helps Venus to keep the positive atmosphere within the family.

Last but not at all the least , it’s the stubborn but not so strict father,Richard Williams who proves others wrong when others told that window for his plan is very small and very unlikely to happen. Script succeeded in adding scenes showing the confidence and self belief of the characters along with their hardwork to bring the motivation factor.

Director managed to add more detailing to the narrative. For example: the writing on the wall in a scene , ‘If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail’. Also Director made sure that character of Serena never gets overshadowed when narrative shifts to the growth of Venus Williams.

Background score aided a great support to build the tension during the match portions and in emotional scenes.
Will smith really gets into the pitch of the character. Watch out for the emotional scene in which he talks about his past. Ellis lends ample support as the wife character.Saniyya Sidney puts up a top performance ras Venus Williams. Watch out for the conversation scenes with her father character and the way she reacts to the ups and downs during match scenes. Special mention to the dialogue as well throughout the movie and the actor who did the role of main coach. Cuts were pretty good enough to maintain the flow, thrill and anxiety in the viewers especially in match portions.

I’m not that follower of Tennis. So I’m happy to get to know few names like Vicario, Jennifer Capirati, Rick Macci.
The only drawback was the way Richard responded in very few situations. I felt some of his reactions as weird. Slowness in the narrative may be an issue for some, but not for me.
To sum it up, King Richard is an out of the box movie as its climax. Just watch it.

Watch link: https://www.primevideo.com/splash/t/getTheApp/ref=atv_cf_strg_ad