SUMIT KADEL

Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web arrives with all the right ingredients for a gripping crime thriller: a high-security airport setting, an international smuggling racket, and a seasoned lead actor at the center of it all. On paper, it feels like a fresh shift from the usual smuggler-glorification stories. In execution, however, the series struggles to rise above its own seriousness and ends up feeling far more ordinary than it wants to be.

The Raja Saab arrives with a promising idea and a popular star in the lead, but the final result turns out to be a clear case of missed potential. The film tries to do too many things at once and ends up losing focus on what it could have done best.

Akhanda 2 walks into theatres carrying the weight of sky-high expectations. After all, the first film became a sensation purely on the strength of its unapologetic mass energy. This time, however, that spark seems dimmer, and the sequel struggles to recreate the same frenzy that once defined the Boyapati–Balakrishna combination.

Dhurandhar arrives as a big spy thriller but moves at a very slow pace. The film is almost 3 hours 35 minutes long, and its story is treated like a web series, divided into episodes, which makes it feel stretched in a theatre viewing.

What a beautiful Friday for anyone who enjoys soft, soulful love stories. Gustaakh Ishq feels like stepping into a quiet world where emotions speak louder than events, and every character carries a little poetry in their heart. Vibhu Puri brings together Vijay Verma, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Naseeruddin Shah in a film that unfolds slowly, but leaves a lasting warmth.