Sana Farzeen

There is something particularly cruel about being remembered for making people laugh when your own life is anything but funny. Matthew Perry knew that contradiction all too well. For 10 years, as Chandler Bing on Friends, he made awkwardness charming, sarcasm endearing and vulnerability funny. Behind the character we continue to adore, however, was a man battling demons that fame, fortune and the love of millions could not defeat.

In a world where dating apps, situationships and the dreaded “what are we?” conversation have become part of the romantic vocabulary, Georgia Oakley’s Sense and Sensibility feels like a gentle reminder that love can be beautiful when it takes its time. But this Jane Austen adaptation is not just about making yearning romantic again. It is also about sisterhood, the absurdities of society, the courage to feel deeply and the sheer joy of getting lost in a beautifully told story. Based on Austen’s beloved novel, the film follows Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esm Creed-Miles, two sisters who approach life and love rather differently. While Elinor keeps her emotions firmly in check, Marianne wears her heart on her sleeve. Their differences make for some amusing exchanges, but it is their bond that gives the story its warmth.

What does growing old look like when the world around you is slowly disappearing? When your children are too far away, your village is emptying out, and even visiting a doctor becomes a challenge? Vinod Kapri’s Pyre explores these realities through an elderly couple in the mountains of Uttarakhand. Beneath its story of loneliness, migration and old age lies a more intimate question: who will hold your hand when life gets difficult? If there is one thing this film makes you want, it is someone to grow old with.

A corrupt cop who takes bribes at the drop of a hat suddenly discovering the virtues of honesty? Now, that’s a plot twist. Except, in Gajab Raat, it is less gasp-inducing and more head-scratching. The Netflix thriller, directed by Ritesh Shah and co-written by Neeraj Pandey, has corruption, a vaccine scam, and a morally conflicted protagonist, but very little convincing writing. There is hardly any gajabness (wonderment) here, only ajabness (bafflement).

Four friends, empty pockets and a talent for turning every good day into a disaster. Chaar Yaar looks like a cool, young crime caper about hustling your way to the top. There are stolen cars, dangerous gangsters, messy friendships and a cop on their trail. The boys have the jugaad, the attitude and the ambition. They believe their story is an RGV-style drama, but what they don’t have is a screenplay that knows when to stop.

If Shah Rukh Khan’s Darr taught us anything, it’s that a man who refuses to take no for an answer is a BIG red flag. Tu Hai Meri Kiran takes that obsession, throws in a time-travelling phone and stretches it across a decade. Sounds interesting, right? It is, until the film gets so busy juggling time, love and obsession that it forgets to make sense. Starring Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal, the film connects two strangers from 2016 and 2026 through an old flip phone. Samar (Zaheer) and Kiran (Sonakshi) strike up an unusual connection, and you expect them to solve a mystery, change their destinies or perhaps prevent something terrible from happening. Instead, things take a detour when Samar decides that talking to Kiran isn’t enough. He wants her.. and he wants her at any cost.

There is a scene in Little Thomas where Gulshan Devaiah’s character tries to place a figurine of a couple on top of a multi-tiered cake. The cake comes crashing down. He eventually realises that the figurine was too heavy. And there, in a nutshell, lies the problem with Kaushal Oza’s film. The story topples under the weight of its own cuteness, forgetting that an adorable child can only take you so far. You need a good story and a tight screenplay to keep the audience invested, too.