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.

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.

1001 Nunakal

As the name suggests, this movie, set around Dubai revolves around a group of friends starting to get into a task or game where they begin to share something they have hidden from their partners over the years. What happens when situation goes wrong?

The premise may seem similar to that of recent malayalam movie 12th man. But 12th man had more hurried approach. But here, there is a valid reason why these friends get together and starts to play the game. Initially, writer shows us the minor conflicts between two of the couples.

Later, writer organically gets into the the truth of a couple story that then led to the beginning of the game and helps the viewers to draw line between truth and lie within the couples.
The main positive of this movie is the different ways of approaching the game. There is a character who cooks up story for the game. Some revelations went away without any impact. But slowly as the game continues, conversation gets heated up. Making was good enough to capture the intensity of pain of the characters. Though some of the key plot points were predictable, Director deserve credits to keep the viewers engaged till the closure using the diverse kind of characters. Kudos to Salim Ahmed for backing the team.

Though minimally used, background score had the intensity in some of the crucial scenes. For instance: Scene showing the regret of Remya suresh’s character and the tension building in portions around a missing valuable property. There is a dialogue that Vakeel character says about Marriage and divorce (He views it like he is just helping passengers in a bus to get into another bus when one breaks down). Dialogues like that sums up the mindset of the characters. There is a character who shares the opinion that there is no need to accept blame unnecessarily for the family .

Cuts were pretty fine enough to limit the scope of every story without unnecessary exaggeration. Performance wise, Remya suresh got a short but well written character and her portrayal of pain of breaking the trust of other characters was worth mentioning. Sudheesh scaria was enjoyable as the Advocate who managed the discussion as referee. Others too fit into their respective roles.

Apart from the occasional predictability, restricted location setting becomes a key concern for the movie that takes away the x-factor. The whole story is set around a single house and its surrounding.
1001 nunakal is an emotional relationship drama that works mainly because of the relatable and effective portrayal of the scenarios within different couples where truth turns out to be lies and vice versa.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/movies/aayirathonnu-nunakal-malayalam-1000232331

Purusha pretham

Purusha pretham is the story of Super sebastian, who narrates half truth to his colleagues regarding some of his case incidents. He got stuck with an unidentified body investigation and a lady claims it to be her husband. Is something fishy in it ? Watch the movie and find out.

Though predictable, Krishant has managed to make the viewer engaged with dark humour. I really loved Krishand’s idea of adding supporting documents and information related to some of the dialogues. Just like his previous movie, he keep giving social commentary as required in the narration. He deserve praise for highlighting the flawed system that causes trouble to the cops. We get to see the hierarchy of bossing of cops throughout the movie. We also get to see much more conveyed through dialogues. For instance: the scene where Jagadish’s character Dileep discusses about their backup plan during suspension. Writing of characters was good enough to back the unique style of making. Scenes involving lemonade and orange juice were really funny. Lighting gave a different feel to the movie.

Prasanth Alexander gets to play the best character of his career till date. He managed to portray the frustration and ego of the character. After Rorschach, Jagadish gets a really well-written role of an experienced cop and he made the character memorable. Darshana too performed her role with limited emotions. Other notable performers are James Elia, Mala parvathy.

Major issue was the length. Cuts could have been done better to avoid focusing on some of the unnecessary supporting characters. Though the tension was maintained in pivotal scenes, I’m not a big fan of the rap music used as background score.

Eventhough it may takes time to get into the tone of the movie, I’m sure that once viewer is into the movie, viewer will stay engaged throughout for the most part.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/movies/purusha-pretham-malayalam-1000214563?watch=true

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)

Most underrated movies of 2021

As it’s wrap up for 2021, we have seen more in the year. In correspondence with OTT growth due to the global pandemic, OTT platforms concentrated more on regional language content, more specifically south indian content (Addition of SonyLiv to the competition of better quality South Indian content).

Let’s look back to the most underrated and less discussed 5 movies of 2021. Do note that I haven’t included the popular and most discussed movies like Karnan, Jai Bhim, Joji, Drishyam 2, Maanadu, Home, Nayattu etc…

5. Nail polish (Hindi- Zee5):- Nail polish never follows a template or take sides throughout the court proceedings. With Manav Kaul’s unbelievable performance and intriguing non-linear narration, this one deserves to be in my underrated top 5.

4. Aarkariyam (Malayalam- Amazon prime video):- Aakariyam gets to the list with its slow burning narration, detailing given to the characters, initial setup of beginning stage of covid. Though the slowness is bit beyond limit at times, it keeps the viewers eager to know the proceedings of the movie.

3. Sivaranjiniyum innum sila pengalum (Tamil-SonyLiv):- It’s all about the progress of lives of multiple women in different periods. Director highlights the aspirations of women to become independent in society and shows patriarchy in multiple instances with minimal dialogues and background score. Only negative was that last story wasn’t that much convincing as the other 2.

2. Sherni (Hindi- Amazon prime video):- It’s strange that a Vidya Balan starrer is included in this list. Sherni tells the story of an officer trying her way best to serve justice for the villagers and the tigress in a flawed system. Dialogs and satire were spot on.Do watch it for the message it conveys.

1. Kadaseela Biryani (Tamil-Netflix):- Check out my previous review for the summary of Kadaseela biriyani.

Special mention:

Richer scale 7.6 (Malayalam- Roots OTT)
Cinema bandi (Telugu- Netflix)
Eeb Allay Ooo! (Hindi – Netflix)
Madhuram (Malayalam- SonyLiv)

Thinkalazcha nischayam

Blending humour, emotion and fight within the family movie structure isn’t an easy task. What Tinkalazcha nischayam does is adding hidden details and social commentary to it.That’s where this movie works for me.

Suja the engagement of younger daughter of Kuwait Vijayan(Manoj) is getting engaged and the complete family is in for a celebration. But is there a twist in the tale? Do watch and find out.

The biggest positivity is the way director Senna Hegde creates his world of characters. Senna portrays patriarchy through the character of Vijayan. He is someone who is cool when things go his way. But if it’s not, he loses his cool and shows his real character. It’s clearly shown in the dining table scene. Vijayan’s wife says in a scene how she got into the arranged marriage. We have Surabhi, elder daughter of Vijayan, who doesn’t have that good past.

Senna effectively managed to build and place subplots alongside the main plot. Be it the friends of Vijayan’s son and Gireeshettan who loves Suja.

Background score played an important role in shaping those punch lines to memorable instances. Cuts made sure that main plot and sub plots never got stretched and keep its stay to the point.

The only drawback I found was that it takes a bit time for the viewer to get into the groove. But Just forget the drawbacks and watch Thinkalazcha nischayam for the way of portrayal of the family. It’s heartening that movies like Thinkalazcha nischayam and Richer scale 7.6 prove that familiar stars aren’t mandatory to watch and love a movie.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/movies/thinkalazhcha-nishchayam-1000141569?watch=true

Vaazhl

Vaazl begins with a guy stuck in a situation and screaming ‘Yatra’. Who is he, how he got into trouble and who is Yatra? Vaazl traverses through the solution of all these questions
Prakash, our protagonist is an IT professional guy.He is fed up with his job pressure and he just needed a change from it .He accidentally met his cousin relative Yatramma and her son Yatra. It led him to few unexpected incidents.

The main positive aspect is the few well-written characters that led director Arun Prabhu purushothaman to successfully convey his message to the viewers. A guy who lives routine life, a veteran who only wishes to see his grandson, a woman who sees herself in a difficult situation and a foreign lady who views life from a different perspective.

Though Arun packs a box of short stories and unreveals it one by one , he keeps the focus on to Prakash and keeps other stories aside. Arun keeps the satirical mode in the initial part of the narration (Scene where Prakash meets Yathra was so funny). Also,Subplot involving pigeon story was so intended narrated.

Dialogues were really memorable and apt to convey the mindset of the characters. (For instance: Dialogue ‘Tomorrow’s problems are of tomorrow’ told by foriegn lady).Special mention to the mesmerizing cinematography that holds the film together. After watching the beauty of nature and tribal life in Papua new Guinea, viewer will probably wish to visit the place. Song ‘Va vazhava’ was enjoyable.

There are few hiccups in this movie for sure. Initially, the scenes narrating the character of Yathramma’s husband wasn’t believable enough for me.Towards the end, execution of few scenes felt over-the-top.

Aahrav was superb as the naughty boy ‘Yathra’.Pradeep Antony as Prakash was fine. Others were notable though not extraordinary.

Arun’s second directorial travel movie asks the viewer to explore life beyond what we know. Watch it for the message and the visuals.

Verdict: Worth a shot

Throwback to the best of 2020 movies of my Watch-list

It isn’t a secret that 2020 was a disastrous year, especially for the entertainment industry. Cinema halls were shut since March. 2020 created a big crisis for the thousands of people working in the cultural industry.

We saw a hike in the direct OTT releases gaining viewership and praise, especially in Tamil and Hindi. OTT releases proved that viewers can enjoy the best quality content from the comfort of their homes without any restrictions. Mainstream directors teamed up and gave quality anthologies like Unpaused, Putham puthu kalai and Paava kadhaigal. Let’s rewind the best movies of the year in my watch-list.(All the movies deserve a watch. Movies aren’t sorted in ranking basis).

The list will contain 10 films, a special and a bonus recommendation. Out of the 10 films, I have already reviewed about 4 in detail. Those 4 are:

CARGO (NETFLIX-HINDI)
PAAVA KADHAIGAL (NETFLIX-HINDI)
BAARAM (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO-TAMIL)

4. UMA MAHESHWARA UGRA ROOPASYA (NETFLIX-TELUGU)

5. RAM SINGH CHARLIE(SONY LIV- HINDI):It is an impactful drama of every artist finding it difficult to balance their life between dream and reality. Kumud mishra’s mesmerizing body language when he expresses as Charlie clearly depicts the conflict. Technical side was top notch. One of my favorites.

6. CHINTU KA BIRTHDAY (ZEE5- HINDI): Just Waw! Chintu ka Birthday is a story of a set of dark events occurring in the day of the birthday of Chintu. With just 80 minutes, Chintu ka birthday won’t bore you.It will make you think.Watch it on Zee5 for the simple story that expresses the harsh reality of an ordinary family. Background score and sound effects deliver the complexity of the problem, Chintu’s family is stuck within.

7. C U SOON( AMAZON PRIME VIDEO- MALAYALAM): it is an experimental thriller that truly need to be awarded a watch. Traversing through the chat of video applications and video calls, this movie narrates a gripping and relevant story. This movie received pan india acceptance and the team deserve it too.

8. SOORARAI POTRU (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO- TAMIL): Sudha kongara’s second directorial venture too earned great reviews from the viewers for the brilliant performances and the intensity of emotions, this film conveyed. Kayilae Aagasam is still one of my favorite songs released this year.

9. KAAMYAAB (NETFLIX-HINDI).It’s about an actor Sudheer (Sanjay mishra) trying to finish his 500th film after a long gap. Kaamyaab is an ode to the unknown actors who were restricted by the ‘heros’ in the industry and the audience who prioritize heros over the sidekick supporting actors. Though predictable at times, Watch it for Sanjay mishra’s authentic performance (2nd best to Kadvi hawa) and the mind blowing climax.

10. AYYAPPANUM KOSHIYUM (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO- MALAYALAM)- Late Sachy’s film, with strongly written characters packs a 3 hour nearly long film with engaging mass dialogues, aptly supported by Sudeep Elamon’s frames beautifully capturing Attappadi and setting the platform for the rivalry. Songs with the folk touch also adds up to the positive.

SPECIAL RECOMMENDATION

AK VS AK (NETFLIX- HINDI): It’s an experimental take on meta-film aspects. A controversy occurs between Anurag kashyap and Anil kapoor on whether an actor or director is more important for the success of a film. Story takes a different route when Anurag kashyap reveals a key information. This film is a thrilling ride and twists towards the end will surprise the viewers. Kudos to director Vikramaditya Motwane and team.

BONUS RECOMMENDATION

ORU PAKKA KADHAI (ZEE5-TAMIL): Kalidas jayaram’s debut film as a protagonist works with the unique premise and the message it portrays. This film speaks about the virgin birth,’Child of god’ concept and how lives change with these beliefs. Except for the unwanted detailing given to few of the initial scenes, this film gets the heart at the right place with Govind vasantha’s background score suiting the emotional and satirical mode. Sub plots gel well enough with the main plot.

Well, that’s it. Let’s hope 2021 will gift us even more amazing movies. I hope the support given for my reviews will continue for the upcoming year as well.