&nbsp;&nbsp; Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan’s Haiwaan has ended its theatrical run with a severely disappointing box office performance. Directed by Priyadarshan, the crime thriller opened to around ₹3 crore net in India and finished with ₹9+ crore net with share of 6-7 crores, despite its major star cast and reunion after nearly two decades.Haiwaan is the Hindi adaptation of Priyadarshan’s 2016 Malayalam thriller Oppam, starring Mohanlal. The film also features Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher and others. After a weak opening and largely mixed to negative audience response, the film collected only around ₹7.35 crore during its opening weekend, with momentum collapsing rapidly thereafter.Trade estimates place Haiwaan’s production cost around ₹120 crore, although some reports have cited lower figures. Before release, approximately ₹80 crore was reportedly recovered through satellite, digital and music rights. With worldwide theatrical gross estimated at roughly ₹15 crore, total reported recovery stands near ₹95 crore, leaving a substantial gap against production cost.The film’s poor theatrical outcome has prompted Priyadarshan to reassess serious collaborations with Akshay, saying their successful partnership has largely been in comedy. Haiwaan’s final numbers underline the challenge faced by star driven films when content and audience word of mouth fail to connect, making it one of Akshay’s most severe recent theatrical setbacks. - Veda

Movie News

Haiwaan Ends Theatrical Run on a Disastrous Note

Akshay Kumar Haiwaan Emerged As Biggest Theatrical Disaster

&nbsp;&nbsp;Nagarjuna and Girija Shettar’s Geethanjali will return to theatres in an enhanced 4K version on November 13, 2026. The Mani Ratnam classic was initially planned for August 28, coinciding with Nagarjuna’s birthday on August 29, but the re release was postponed as additional restoration work was required.The delay was attributed to the team’s efforts to achieve the finest possible picture and sound quality. The 1989 romantic drama, Mani Ratnam’s only direct Telugu film, revolves around two terminally ill individuals who discover love and embrace life despite knowing their time together is limited.Even 37 years later, Geethanjali continues to stand apart through its poetic storytelling and unconventional portrayal of love. PC Sreeram’s iconic cinematography captured Ooty’s misty landscapes, colours and intimate spaces beautifully, while the new restoration is expected to make those frames look magnificent with contemporary theatrical technology.Ilaiyaraaja’s timeless score and songs remain central to the film’s emotional identity, while Mani Ratnam’s sensitive treatment of romance, mortality and fleeting moments felt remarkably advanced for its era. With Nagarjuna and Girija’s performances adding emotional depth, the 4K re release offers both nostalgia and a fresh big screen experience.- Veda

Iconic Lovestory Locked Re Release Date

Geethanjali 4K Re Release Gets Date

&nbsp;&nbsp;Actor Priyadarshi met BRS leader and former Telangana minister T Harish Rao at his residence, where they discussed The Paradise and his portrayal of MLA Shankaranna. Harish Rao congratulated Priyadarshi and praised the character’s Telangana dialect, mannerisms, walk and screen presence, which have drawn comparisons with KCR.Harish Rao said The Paradise effectively presents themes of identity and self respect, while appreciating director Srikanth Odela’s approach. He specifically lauded Priyadarshi’s performance as Shankaranna, describing the portrayal as natural and impactful. The character has become one of the film’s major talking points since its September 24 release.Harish Rao also highlighted Priyadarshi’s contribution to Telangana rooted cinema, recalling his work in Mallesham and Balagam. He noted that the actor entered the industry without a film background and built recognition through his performances, particularly in stories reflecting Telangana dialect, rural life, culture and family relationships.Priyadarshi thanked Harish Rao for the appreciation and spoke about his film journey and upcoming projects. He had earlier revealed that accepting Shankaranna initially made him nervous and required extensive research into clothing, mannerisms and appearance. The Paradise team, including Nani and Srikanth Odela, also received Harish Rao’s congratulations.- Veda

BRS Top Leader Felicitated Onscreen KCR

Harish Rao Meets Priyadarshi Over The Paradise

Ameer Log, a small Telugu comedy drama featuring a fresh ensemble, is now streaming simultaneously on three OTT platforms. Directed by Ramana Reddy Soma, the film is available on Aha, Amazon Prime Video and Sun NXT, giving the relatively low profile theatrical release a wider opportunity to reach digital audiences.Released theatrically on September 21, Ameer Log struggled to generate significant attention because of limited promotions and strong competition from Ravi Teja’s Irumudi. Many viewers reportedly missed its cinema release altogether. Its simultaneous arrival on three streaming platforms now gives the film considerably broader visibility among Telugu OTT audiences.Set against a Hyderabad basti, Ameer Log follows three close friends,Srinu, Farooq and Malles who spend their days without direction. A cricket dispute with Nazir changes their routine, while Geetha treats them like brothers and encourages them to build stable lives. Srinu eventually finds work as an office boy.The story revolves around a cricket bet, the basti team’s challenge, and the influence of Chacha in transforming the youngsters’ lives. Geetha’s boyfriend Ravi introduces another unexpected turn, while the unusual biryani element adds flavour. With natural Hyderabad conversations, friendship, local humour and youthful conflicts, Ameer Log targets viewers seeking lighthearted weekend entertainment. - Veda

OTT News

Ameer Log OTT Release on Three Platforms

Ameer Log Now Streaming On Three OTT Platforms

&nbsp;&nbsp; A special bridge constructed for Ravi Teja’s Irumudi at Polluru Waterfalls in Chintur mandal has reportedly collapsed after heavy floodwaters swept through the area. Rising inflows from surrounding hill streams intensified the waterfall’s flow, eventually damaging and washing away the temporary structure built for the film’s shooting.The bridge had become a popular attraction after Irumudi’s release, with visitors keen to see locations featured in the film. Local reports claim holiday crowds at Polluru have risen to thousands, with estimates of 5,000–10,000 visitors on busy days. The bridge offered a close view of the waterfall and became a photo spot.Directed by Shiva Nirvana, Irumudi stars Ravi Teja, with the father-daughter emotional drama blending devotional and thriller elements. Released on August 21, the film became Ravi Teja’s highest grossing movie after Mythri Movie Makers announced that its worldwide theatrical gross crossed ₹250 crore.Irumudi also reached Netflix on September 18 while continuing its theatrical run, adding to its wider popularity. With the movie turning Polluru into a recognizable filming location, the bridge’s collapse has disappointed visitors who had hoped to recreate scenes and photographs from the film at the waterfall. - Veda

Irumudi Movie Bridge Washed Away 

Irumudi Massive Success Brings Spotlight to Polluru

&nbsp;&nbsp;Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge is heading to television after its blockbuster theatrical and OTT run. However, the Aditya Dhar directorial has undergone another round of certification for TV, with the CBFC reportedly ordering 45–50 cuts, primarily targeting violent and gory sequences. The revised version received a U/A 16+ certificate.The sequel originally carried an A certificate for its theatrical release and had already undergone 21 cuts and changes before hitting cinemas. For television, the makers resubmitted the film to the CBFC, which cleared the revised version on September 24. The additional edits have reportedly reduced the runtime by approximately 10 minutes.The television version of Dhurandhar: The Revenge will premiere on Star Gold on October 18 at 7 PM. Reports state that the theatrical cut ran for 3 hours, 49 minutes and 6 seconds, while the television approved version runs approximately 3 hours, 39 minutes and 6 seconds following the extensive modifications.Directed by Aditya Dhar, the action thriller features Ranveer Singh alongside Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal and Sara Arjun. The TV edits are intended to make the film suitable for a broader television audience while retaining its overall narrative. The original version remains available through JioHotstar.- Veda

Dhurandhar 2 The Revenge Re Censored 

Dhurandhar The Revenge Gets Major TV Censor Cuts

&nbsp;Mayuri Film Distributors, part of the Ramoji Group, is making a significant return to theatrical distribution after a prolonged break. The company has chosen Thella Kaagitham, a content driven film, for its comeback and is preparing a wide release across Krishna district on October 2, bringing renewed attention to its distribution legacy.Mayuri established itself as a prominent force by introducing a systematic, corporate approach to film distribution. Its strategy involved studying a movie’s content, identifying its target audience and understanding regional viewing preferences before planning releases. The company was also known for integrated distribution operations and a reputation for fair business practices.Mayuri’s historical reach was substantial. During the 1990s, the company created a trend by leasing theatres across several cities and operating 19 distribution offices across Andhra Pradesh. It is to be noted that Mayuri was the only company then maintaining offices across all districts, underlining its extensive regional network.Thella Kaagitham marks Mayuri’s return with a content focused release rather than a conventional star vehicle. The film is scheduled for worldwide release on October 2, with paid premieres planned ahead of release and bookings opened in Krishna district. Mayuri’s backing has generated trade interest as the team prepares for its theatrical campaign. - Veda

Popular Distribution House Returns With Thella Kaagitham

Mayuri Film Distributors Makes a Comeback

Karan Johar has announced that Koffee With Karan Season 9 will be the final chapter of his iconic celebrity chat show. The last season will premiere on JioHotstar on October 14, 2026, ending a 22 year journey that began in 2004 and spans eight seasons and 161 episodes.The idea originated in 2004 when Karan discussed hosting an informal celebrity chat show with his father, Yash Johar. His father passed away on June 26 that year, while Karan shot the first episode on August 16. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol featured in the premiere, establishing the show’s celebrity driven format.Over the years, Koffee With Karan became a major Bollywood pop culture fixture through candid conversations, rapid fire rounds, personal revelations, relationships and controversies. Its moments regularly generated headlines, memes and debates, while early ratings data also showed strong audience interest, including more than 5.5 million viewers for a Season 2 launch episode.Karan says the show gave him friendships, memories, madness and controversy before deciding that the time had come to close the chapter. Guest details for Season 9 remain partly under wraps, although several star pairings have been reported. Karan has also indicated that he wants to focus more on filmmaking and storytelling. - Veda

Curtains Down For Koffee With Karan

Koffee With Karan Season 9 Marks The Final Chapter

Star director Chandoo Mondeti will be directing Mahakaal, for which Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali penned the story. The film will be starring Akshay Kumar and Rana in the lead roles while Bhansali himself is bankrolling the project.The major part of the project would be shot in Varanasi and it is a mythological entertainer.Despite the mythological backdrop and the title, the report states that the story will not revolve around one specific deity.Chandoo Mondeti captured the imagination of all with the film Karthikeya 2 and later attracted all with Naga Chaitanya's Thandel. With this new development, one can be rest assured that Chandoo Mondeti's animation movie Vayuputra will be on the backburner. Following the hit of Thandel, Chandoo Mondeti worked on numerous scripts and set his sights on Bollywood. It is coming out that Mahakaal story will be completely different. Bhansali got impressed with Chandoo Mondeti's work in Karthikeya 2 and decided to collaborate with him.---- Pramod Nandivada &nbsp;

Gossips

Chandoo Mondeti to direct high profile Mahakaal

Chandoo Mondeti, Bhansali team for Mahakaal

Anand Deverakonda and Vaishnavi Chaitanya’s Epic – First Semester is reportedly heading toward its digital premiere after its September 11 theatrical release. October 9 has been circulating as a possible OTT date in Netflix, although the streaming platform and date are yet to receive official confirmation from the makers.Directed by Aditya Haasan, Epic – First Semester marks his feature film debut after 90s became popular among Telugu audiences. Produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya under Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas, the youthful romance also stars Sivaji and Vasuki, with music by Hesham Abdul Wahab.Trade trackers have placed Epic – First Semester’s production budget between ₹9 crore and ₹12 crore. The film opened at around ₹2.10 crore India net, while available trackers estimate its worldwide theatrical gross at around ₹10 - 11 crore with 5-6 crores share.The film’s theatrical run remained below the commercial expectations surrounding the blockbuster Baby combination. Its OTT arrival could provide a fresh opportunity to reach viewers who missed its theatrical run, particularly audiences outside Telugu-speaking markets. An official announcement from the makers is awaited regarding the streaming partner and exact digital premiere date. - Veda

EPIC OTT Streaming Details

Epic First Semester To Stream From This Date

Shiva Kandukuri is starring in a film titled interestingly as Talcum Powder. The film is directed by Sainath Ponna. Raj Kandukuri who is known for presenting award winning films like Pellichoopulu, Mental Madhilo, and Choosi Choodangaane is presenting the film.The film stars Drishika Chander as the female lead. The makers today released the glimpse and it turned out to be hilarious. The glimpse introduced a drug peddler Bunty and it generates interest with cops and drug mafia hunting for him.Venkatesh Maha, A Jeevan Kumar, and others appeared in the gimplse. Raj Kandukuri impressed with his presence in the film. The glimpse generated interest levels among movie lovers. Osho V is the music director while GV.Ajay Kumar and Surya Ponnapalli are handling the cinematography and editing for the film.The film is set for a grand release on 13 November 2026.- Pramod Nandivada &nbsp;

Talcum Power glimpse interesting

Talcum Powder glimpse released

Big B Amitabh Bachchan is currently hosting the popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) latest season and entertaining all the sections of people.Now, it is coming out that Amitabh Bachchan injured himself in the sets of KBC. Amitabh slipped in the sets during the shoot and had difficulty in standing up. He posted &nbsp;“Usually, I do my monologue standing at the centre, but today, I have a knee injury. Yesterday, during the shoot, I slipped and fell and injured my knee.”Amitabh pointed towards his left knee while talking about the injury, leaving the audience worried as they gasped. However, Amitabh was quick to reassure them that the injury was not severe. He said he would stand up to host the contestants but had chosen to sit during the opening monologue because he had a “little bit of difficulty standing up”. The audience then wished him a speedy recovery.Amitabh is currently starring in Prabhas' Kalki 2898 AD sequel which is helmed by Nag Ashwin.-- Pramod Nandivada &nbsp;

Big B injured in the KBC sets

Amitabh injured in the sets of KBC

Fahadh Faasil's upcoming entertainer Don't Trouble The Trouble is releasing on 2 october 2026. Expectations are high on the project as none other than ace director Rajamouli is presenting the film.Already all the top celebrities promoted the film and now Super Star Mahesh Babu reviewed the film. Sharing his feelings,he posted "Just watched the #DontTroubleTheTrouble Movie!!!What a beautifully complete experience this is ❤️❤️❤️ Such a well crafted and happy film… thoroughly entertaining and deeply moving at the same time 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 The film carries such a rare sense of warmth throughout!!!Fahadh sir – u…"Mahesh Babu's review ahead of the film release will come as the shot in the arm for the makers. This generates hype among movie lovers over the film. The film is directed by Shashank Yeleti and SS.Kanchi readied the script while music is tuned by Kaala Bhairava. The cinematography is handled by Brad Franchis.-- Pramod Nandivada

Super Star reviews Dont Trouble The Trouble

Mahesh Babu reviews Dont Trouble The Trouble

Ranabaali: Never Forget – The Truth Series continues with its second chapter, Truth 2: The History We Forgot, released on September 30. The Mythri Movie Makers documentary examines the British era railway network, questioning the popular narrative around its purpose and highlighting military, commercial and colonial interests behind its expansion.The episode connects railway construction with the movement of Indian agricultural produce and raw materials toward ports and British controlled trade networks. Historical research confirms that railways served military requirements while also supporting resource extraction and commercial expansion. It also revealed that British colonial rule build railways with indian taxpayers money by Indian labour to extort indian resources like grain, spices out of the country to their land.Truth 2 also links the railway story with the devastating Great Famine of 1876–78, which severely affected the Madras Presidency and surrounding southern regions. Research records major drought and crop failures, while studies note substantial wheat exports from India during the crisis. Railway records also document extensive grain traffic during the famine.Ranabaali stars Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna under Rahul Sankrityan’s direction, with Mythri Movie Makers producing and T-Series presenting. The four part documentary continues with The Men We Forgot on October 2, while Ranabaali is scheduled worldwide on October 16, exploring colonial history through its period action narrative. - Veda

Ranabaali Documentary Truth 2 Reveals Reason Behind British Building Railways 

Ranabaali Truth 2 Reveals Railway History In Colonial Rule

Ravi Teja’s Irumudi is making waves on Netflix, registering 3.4 million views globally during the September 14–20 tracking week. The Telugu film ranked third on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non English Movies chart, while its spiritual drama premise helped it attract audiences beyond its original theatrical market.The Shiva Nirvana directorial stars Ravi Teja alongside Nakshathra, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Sai Kumar, Ajay Ghosh and Swasika. The story follows a troubled father who embraces the demanding Ayyappa Deeksha after his daughter’s request, giving the emotional drama a strong spiritual backdrop.Irumudi is part of a wider South Indian streaming surge. Vishwanath &amp; Sons, starring Suriya and Mamitha Baiju, led the global non English chart during the September 14–20 week with 5.8 million views, while Tamil film Modha Rathri also entered the Top 10 with 1.9 million views.Netflix’s September 21–27 India rankings further highlighted the trend, with Irumudi at No.1, followed by Modha Rathri at No.2 and Vishwanath &amp; Sons at No.3. Gandhari also remained in the Indian Top 10, showing the continued streaming reach of Telugu and other South Indian films.- Veda&nbsp;

Irumudi Makes Strong Netflix Impact

Irumudi Sensation Continues In Netflix Too

Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 directed by Nelson Dilip Kumar is releasing on 15 October 2026 as Dasara special.The makers today released the fourth single titled Bindaas. The song featured sizzling beauty Norah Fatehi and is tuned by Anirudh Ravichander. The makers released the song with the caption “Time to go mad with #Bindaas. It’s out now!”Super Subbu penned the lyrics while Anirudh and Deepthi Suresh sang the song in a energetic manner. The video shows Nora dressed in a gold outfit with fringe dancing on stage as she's surrounded by dancers. Rajinikanth appears in the video briefly.Netizens however reacted in a negative manner.However, the internet wasn't impressed with Jailer 2 having not one, but two dance numbers. “How bad and stupidly our Tamil cinema has become. Relying on these type of songs. And music directors. Sun pictures must be ashamed for promoting these movies. We don’t need Rajini sir to act in these movie. They need only money from these garbage,” read one comment on X (formerly Twitter). “Rajinikanth and Nora Fatehi on one dance floor. Subtlety had the day off,” read another.“No item song no party for superstar,” slammed one X user, while another wrote, “One more item song?? But why da?? Don't you guys trust the Superstar??” One person even questioned, “Not one but two item songs in single film what happens to our beautifull Kollywood and that too in super one film.” An X user even wrote, “Even now, Tamil cinema continues to portray women solely as sexual objects.” Several comments read in a similar vein, while there were others who were impressed by Nora's dancing skills. One X user even claimed, “Bindaas &gt;&gt;&gt; Kaavaala , Monica. Peak Song daa.”- Pramod Nandivada

Bindaas song from Jailer 2 released

Jailer 2: Bindaas blasts with the beats

Nani’s The Paradise opened amid huge expectations but received mixed to negative audience reactions. Despite strong opening weekend numbers, collections dropped considerably from Monday. However, the Telangana market has bucked the wider trend, with Nizam emerging as the film’s strongest performing territory amid its challenging theatrical run.According to trade reports, The Paradise has reportedly reached breakeven in Nizam within seven days. Mythri Movie Distributors acquired the territory for around ₹35 crore, including GST. With recovery achieved, further collections could translate into table profit for the distributor if the current momentum continues.The Paradise has crossed around ₹165 crore gross worldwide so far, although several territories are yet to recover their investments. Trade estimates suggest the film could ultimately recover approximately 75–80% of its theatrical value, potentially resulting in an Average verdict based on current trends.Following the team’s temple visits to Sri Gattamma Devasthanam in Mulugu and Sri Sammakka Saralamma Devasthanam in Medaram, Nani has now begun touring Andhra Pradesh. The promotional outreach comes ahead of the extended Gandhi Jayanti weekend, with the team hoping renewed visibility will strengthen The Paradise collections. - Veda&nbsp;

The Paradise Reaches Breakeven In Nizam

The Paradise Enters Profit Zone In Telangana Area

&nbsp;Nani's The Paradise directed by Srikanth Odela which released amidst huge expectations, failed to live up to them. However, the film is going great guns at the box office.The film already became the highest grosser in Nani's career and Nani along with the entire team are promoting the film in two Telugu states Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.In the meantime, Priyadarshi role as Shankaranna resembling that of BRS chief KCR captured the imagination of all. Even KTR,son of KCR watched the film and heaped praises on it.Now, Harish Rao, nephew of KCR went one step ahead and felicitated Priyadarshi for his role in the film. He posted "Congratulated and felicitated actor @Preyadarshe From Balagam and Mallesham to portraying KCR garu as MLA Shankaranna in #TheParadise his mannerisms, dialect, and screen presence are remarkable. “చావు నోట్లో తల పెట్టయినా… మీకు గుర్తింపు తెస్తా!!”Congratulations to the entire #TheParadise Movie @odela_srikanth , @NameisNaniand everyone involved.Wishing you many more memorable films and greater success ahead, Darshi. All the very best for your future endeavours!"---- Pramod Nandivada

The Paradise star felicitated

Harish Rao felicitates Priyadarshi for his role in The Paradise

&nbsp;Now the most important discussion is whether promotions help films and whether they will change the final result at the box office. Films that come with stories attracting people will turnout to be hits. However, only if the films are promoted in a big way after investing in lot of money in filmmaking, people will come to theatres.So producers promote their films in a big way. The question arises whether films donot succeed without promotions and what help it is doing and why one should do promotions.Promotions will help the makers to take the film with good content to the vieers. Top stars promote their films so that they can get good openings in the first three days if more people come to the theatres. That's the reason they come out with teaser,trailer and what not to increase hype on the project.Some films do well even without promotions due to word of mouth. But in the first thrree days if collections are not there distributors and exhibitors remove that film even if the content is strong. So, to make the film run in theatres for more days and spread the word of mouth so that at least few more people watch the film , makers should promote the film.If promotions are not perfect, there will not be buzz in the film and people will not be aware of the film. and it will not reach the people even though the film is good and one should wait to watch it in the OTTs. So the producers are calculating and setting aside finances to promote their films with publicity. However, even if promotions are good and people come to theatres, if the content is not there, no one can save the product.- Pramod Nandivada

Will films donot succeed without promotions?

Will promotions play key role in films success

Rajinikanth arrives in auto for Dharman shoot.Super Star Rajinikanth is known for his simplicity and many tell stories about them. It is known that Rajinikanth is currently shooting for the film in Mysuru.In the meantime, Rajinikanth surprised all the fans and movie lovers alike by coming in auto to the sets of the Dharman. The videos of Rajinikanth arriving in auto are going viral on social media.In the video, the actor is seen waving at his fans and then going straight to the auto-rickshaw. Fans are hailing Rajinikanth's simplicity. The film is in the third leg of production. The film stars Raashi Khanna in a key role while Ram Pothineni and Sreeleela are playing important roles.Kamal Haasan is producing the upcoming film through his Raaj Kamal Films International banner, together with R Mahendran of Turmeric Media. Simran and Yogi Babu are part of the project while Rukmini Vasanth is touted to play a key role.&nbsp; &nbsp;- Pramod Nandivada

Dharman: Super Star surprises in Auto

Rajinikanth arrives in auto for Dharman shoot

&nbsp;&nbsp;Raaka release timeline suspected. Allu Arjun's Raaka is increasing the curiosity levels among all sections of movie lovers across the world. The film directed by Atlee attracted the attention of all by entering into the Guinness Book of Records.In the meantime, speculation is on over the film's release plans. Inside talk is the film will be releasing in two parts. The first part will be releasing in December 2027 and the next will be released in 2028.The makers earlier planned to release the film as a single entity but considering the high budget, they decided to release in two parts. Deepika Padukone is the female lead in the film while Mrunal Thakur, Rashmika Mandanna, Janhvi Kapoor and Aishwarya Lakshmi are playing important roles.Sai Abhyannkar is the music director for the film which features Allu Arjun in multiple getups and also will be seen in multiple timelines. The film is bankrolled by Sun Pictures banner in a prestigious way.- Pramod Nandivada

Is this Raaka release timeline

Raaka release timeline suspected

&nbsp;&nbsp; Kalyani Priyadarshan in Mumbai for Pralay. Kalyani Priyadarshan showed her power at the box office with the female superhero film Lokah Chapter 1 directed by Dominic Arjun.She is now set to make her debut in Bollywood with the film titled Pralay. The film stars Ranveer Singh and the zombie thriller is directed by Jai Mehta. According to the latest, Kalyani is in Mumbai to prepare for the role.A source shares &nbsp;“Kalyani will be living in Mumbai till Pralay is complete. The producers set up a spacious apartment for her in Juhu so that she can focus on the film.”The source added &nbsp;“Kalyani and Ranveer did multiple readings, workshops, and rehearsals together. After completing the first schedule, Ranveer went on his paternity leave. The unit will resume shooting in October, working till December. Through these months, Kalyani has been training in action and following a special diet as she needs to sport a lithe frame.”The source added, “She has been meeting top directors in Mumbai as she wants to do both Hindi and South movies.”Kalyani rented a swanky apartment since June 2025 in Juhu, Mumbai and she will be there till the completion of Pralay.- Pramod Nandivada

Pralay: Kalyani lands in Mumbai

Kalyani Priyadarshan in Mumbai for Pralay

&nbsp;&nbsp; Vidya Balan has started shooting a new Tamil film with filmmaker R. Balki, marking their reunion nearly 17 years after Paa. The actress confirmed the project through Instagram Stories, sharing a behind the scenes image with a script and the caption, “New Beginnings #NewTamilFilm with #RBalki.”Vidya also shared a monochrome picture captioned, “A quiet moment before the madness begins.” In another glimpse, she appeared wearing spectacles with her hair in a long braid while holding the script. The yet to be titled project has gone on floors, but its story, character details, supporting cast and release date remain undisclosed.The reunion recalls Paa, R. Balki’s 2009 Hindi film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan. Vidya played Dr. Vidya, Auro’s mother, in the acclaimed story centred on a child with progeria. The new Tamil project represents the actor - director duo’s first collaboration since that film.Vidya also plays Kantha in Nelson Dilipkumar’s Jailer 2, starring Rajinikanth and scheduled for October 15, 2026. Her upcoming slate additionally includes an untitled Anees Bazmee comedy with Akshay Kumar and Raashii Khanna which is a remake of Telugu Blockbuster Sankranthiki Vasthunnam produced by Dil Raju, scheduled for December 4 release. The Balki project’s title and further details are awaited. - Veda&nbsp;

Vidya Balan Doing A Tamil Film With Paa Director

Vidya Balan and R Balki Reunite After 17 Years

&nbsp;&nbsp;Sreeleela enters Rajinikanth Dharman. Super Star Rajinikanth's Dharman is the cynosure of all eyes. The film directed by Ashwath Marimuthu is capturing the imagination of all.Now another leak is emerging that the film features sizzling seductress Sreeleela in an important role. A leaked video showed Sreeleela in the sets of Dharman exciting everyone. Earlier Raashi Khanna who is playing a key role leaked that Ram Pothineni is playing the powerful role. She shared her picture along with Rajinikanth and Ram.Anirudh Ravichander is the music director for the film which features Niketh Bommi and Pradeep Raghav are handing the cinematography and editing departments. Kamal Haasan under his Raaj Kamal Films International is bankrolling the projet in a prestigious manner.The film comes with the tagline Deadly Doctor increasing the curiosity levels among movie lovers. Rajinikanth on the professional front is awaiting the release of his upcoming film Jailer 2 directed by Nelson Dilip Kumar. The film is releasing on 15 October 2026.- Pramod Nandivada

Dharman: Another leak confirms sizzling beauty

Sreeleela enters Rajinikanth Dharman

Anumana Pakshi (2026) Movie: What's BehindRag Mayur is coming to entertain movie lovers with Anumana Pakshi. The film attracted the attention of all as it is helmed by Vimala Krishna who earlier directed the hit film DJ Tillu. Let us see what Anumana Pakshi offerd to movie lovers.Anumana Pakshi (2026) Movie: Story ReviewAnumana Pakshi story revolves around a yougnster who is suspicious of everything and anything and the happenings in his life. Sunny (Rag Maur) is suspicious of everything without any reason and this impacts his life and also that of others who comes across him.Despite his repeated attempts to avoid Varma (Prince Cecil), he fails to do so and finally the duo along with other friend Bharath (Ananya Akula) lands in Kashmir and meets his friend Ananth (Charith). Where this leads to, how it is connected to beautiful girl Kanya (Merin Philip), her father Brahmos (Brahmaji), SI Vasu (Ajay), his wife Sujata (Raasi) and others form the rest of the developments.Anumana Pakshi(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewRag Mayur plays the lead role for the first time. However he failed to make even a minimal impact on the screen. His so called comedy didnot work. As the narration progressed, he indeed tested the patience of the viewers.Merin Philip made her entry with the female lead. She got a forgettable role. It is written in a poor manner. Prince Cecil passed through the motions. Ajay got another silly character and is wasted altogether. Brahmaji fails to entertain and so too Raashi. Others like Charith, Ananya Akhula also failed to make an impression.Anumana Pakshi(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewAnuamana Pakshi story is penned by Vimal Krishna. Expectations are high as Vimal Krishna earlier came up with DJ Tillu. He tried to entertain viewers showing the happenings in the life of a person who is extremely suspicious. However he completely failed with his story, screenplay and direction.Everything turned cringe from the start. There is nothing to talk about and one gets a feeling that even serials are better and kids can write better stories. The so called humour never worked and infact turned out to be stale. There is not one engaging sequence or entertaining scene to talk about. While the first half turned out to be ridiculous, second half turned out to be atrocious.Dialogues looked outdated and out of sync. Overall, the director failed on all fronts. Sunil Kumar Nama's cinematography left a lot to be desired. Music and background score tuned by Sricharan Pakala were mediocre. Seems Chota K Prasad didnot attend to his editing. Production values are below average.Anumana Pakshi) Movie: Advantages<ul><li>None</li></ul>Anumana Pakshi Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Everyting</li></ul>Anumana Pakshi (2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Anumana Pakshi turns out to be a cringe fest hiding behing the so called comedy. The entire cast and crew failed on all fronts and the fault lies solely with the director Vimal Krishna. One gets a doubt as to whether Vimal Krishna really penned DJ Tillu story and directed it. Anumana Pakshi had no story and from then on script, screenplay and direction went missing completely. Vimal Krishna just passed time by coming up with silly scenes in the name of comedy and twists. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 1 rating for Anumana Pakshi.

 Anumana Pakshi Review

The Paradise(2026) Movie: What's BehindNani who is known for his natural performances and Srikanth Odela who teamed with Nani for his debut venture Dasara, a mass entertainer, once again came up with The Paradise. The film's songs, teaser and trailer got tremendous response and increased the curiosity levels. Nani's unique look and transformation captured the imagination of all. The film's Telangana backdrop is appealing to all. The film was released on 24 Sep 2026. The film's OTT rights have been bagged by Netflix and streaming will be after the completion of its theatrical run. Let us see what impact The Paradise made on movie lovers. &nbsp;Paradise(2026) Movie: Story Review"The Paradise" story revolves around the sect who fights for recognition even after India's Independence and where this leads to form the interesting part.Sawari sect who are oppressed in The Paradise by Shikanja Malik ( Mohan Babu) fight for recognition even after India's Independence. Did they reach their goal, what role Jadal( Babu), Sammakka (Sonali Kulakarni ), Vikram Manik ( Raghav Juyal), Subbulakshmi ( Kayadu Lohar), Biryani ( Sampoornesh Babu), MLA Shankaranna (Priyadarshi), Lawyer (Sathyaraj) form the crux of the developments.The Paradise(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewNani, who is known for doing different genre entertainers and a variety of roles, transformed himself completely for this role. His role surprises everyone. He transformed his look completely, sported long braids and also delivered dialogues in Telangana slang. He enacted breathtaking stunts and elevated the scenes with his screen presence blending it with emotions and expressions in an intense manner.Mohan Babu looked menacing in his looks and he looked extremely villainous on the screen. He got good screen presence and came up with powerful performance. His look and character is designed in a terrific manner. He delivered dialogues with ease, wreaking fear in the minds of the viewers.Raghav Juyal made his entry into Tollywood and he an okayish role. He tried to make his presence felt with his unique mannerisms but the weak character did not help the cause. Sonali Kulkarni got the all important role. Her role is pivotal to the story and she captivates all with her powerful expressions and emotions. Kayadu Lohar is ok in her role. She indulged in glamour treat that comes with silly characterisation. Priyadarshi as an MLA made an impact. Sathyaraj also played a key but small role. Sampoornesh Babu got a different role altogether and made full use of it.The Paradise(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewThe Paradise story is penned by Srikanth Odela. He tried to entertain all by highlighting the fight of the oppressed against the powerful, rich and dreaded people who wields an iron like grip. He starts the narration in an interesting manner and till the introduction of the lead actor, the intensity is maintained in a perfect manner.However, the romantic track slowed the pace of the narration and the story goes nowhere. It comes back to the track with the conflict between the hero and the villian and also the mother-son emotional bonding. The intensity reaches its peaks during the pre interval block before setting the stage for the second half.The second half continues in the same manner with protagonist and antagonist baying for each other's blood and the oppressed sect fighting for recognition. It also boils down whether they should fight for the recognition or for the survival to live another day to continue the fight. The film ends in a predictable tone with many cinematic liberties taken and missing logics hampering the realistic feel.Right after the start, one gets a feeling that something is a miss. Most of the scenes are included and shot only to give elevations. Though the start and introduction of the protagonist increase the curiosity levels, the same is not maintained in the next scenes. Kayadu Lohar's characterisation looked extremely odd and the introduction of Raghav Juyal looks absurd. The scenes of son hating mother is also not established properly. The mother's love for son should have been established in a different manner than selling herself to cure his fever. The interval episode after all the hype, looked normal.The second half picks up pace thanks to the protagonist's decision. However with the scenes turning monotonous and routine ,one cannot travel with them. The role of MLA similar to KCR generates interest. The way the Govt brands the oppressed people as terrorists smacks of logic. Same is the case with the pre climax and climax which turned out to be below average. Srikanth Odela failed as a writer and his direction turned out to be pretty average.Anirudh Ravichander came up with a thumping background score. He took the scenes to the next level with his background music. However at times, his background music turned extremely loud. He came up with two foot tapping tunes and the songs are shot in a beautiful manner. The editing of Naveen Nooli could have been better. There are many scenes that repeated and slowed the tempo of the narration. &nbsp;GK.Vishnu with his cinematography added value to the proceedings. He showed the scenes as per the story backdrop in a natural and realistic way. Dialogues are ok to an extent. Production values are good.Paradise Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Nani</li><li>Cinematography</li><li>Interval Block</li></ul>Paradise Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Predictable Elements</li><li>Cinematic Liberties</li><li>Extreme Violence</li><li>Screenplay, Direction</li></ul>The Paradise(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, The Paradise turns out to be the fight of the oppressed for recognition. Nani came up with a sincere and stunning performance. He also underwent remarkable transformation for his role. Srikanth Odela turned successful in giving mass image and elevating Nani's mass mannerism to the next level in the film. Nani showed good intensity in the mass role. He sported a new look and there ends the so-called novelty and creativity in the story. Srikanth Odela's story offered nothing new. Many such stories came earlier and except for Nani's braids, his look resembled that of Ram Charan in Peddi. Even some of the dance moves resembled the same.On top of it, though he did many stunts, many looked forced and artificial. After the intense start, Srikanth Odela turned the narration into a predictable one with romantic elements etc. Couple of scenes in the first half stand and except that , it does not offer anything new and high. He tried to elevate the mother-son sentiment but the scenes do not connect chords as they looked forced and disappeared in the intense action sequences.In his quest to take Nani's mass image to the next level, Srikanth Odela did not concentrate on the story, screenplay and direction. Story looked predictable and one gets a feeling that he drew inspiration from Peddi, Devara, KGF, Pushpa, Salaar and many others. The chapter wise narration reminds one of the successful template of Dhurandhar. In the name of emotions, most of the actors went over the top bringing in artificiality. Similarly, he has taken many cinematic liberties and logics went missing. Excessive violence and use of obscene words and dialogues did not create the required impact.Reworking on the story and script and racy screenplay would have added value to the narration. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 2.25 rating for The Paradise.

The Paradise Review

Secret Soldier(2026) Movie: What's BehindSecret Soldier directed by Akki Viswanadha Reddy attracted the attention of all, as the film which was titled earlier as China Piece landed in censor problems and went to the EBC Chairman, Ministry of External Affairs etc forcing them to undergo title change. The film is releasing on 18 Sep 2026 and let us see what the film really deals with.Secret Soldier(2026) Movie: Story ReviewSecret Soldier revolves around a youngster who inadvertently lands on the radar of the security agencies and the surprising elements that are connected to him. Indian security agencies find out that the Human Shield for their satellites have been disabled making it vulnerable to the threats of the enemy nations, Pakistan and China.Param(Kamal Kamaraju), is at his wits end and directs his team to find out who was responsible to the breach of the security system. This puts Mariyamvali (Nihal Kodhaty) on their radar. How the security breach is connected to Mariyamvali, what role his friend Prudhvi (Surya Srinivas), security agents Sarah (Harshitha Bandlamuri), Sheetal (Sireesha Nulu), Kanika Kapoor (Deeksha Panth), Bhakthal (Vamshi Nekkanti), Alina Raj (Mariyum),Ashok Mithran (Srikanth Iyengar),Inspector Ranjith Kumar (Abhishek Reddy) and others form the interesting twists.Secret Soldier(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewNihal Kodhaty performed well in his role. He showed variations in his expressions and emotions according to the situation. He made an impact with his performance on the screen.Surya Srinivas is good in the role of his friend. He evoked few laughs in his role initially and later turned into serious mode. Kamal Kamaraju came up with impactful performance.There are many other actors like Harshitha Bandlamuri, Sreesha Nulu, Kamal Kamaraju, Srikanth Iyenger, Srinivas Vadlamani, Vinod Sagar, Deeksha Panth, Raj Tirandasu, Mahesh Achanta, Vamsi Nekkanti who did justice to their roles and helped the story to move forward.Secret Soldier(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewSecret Soldier story is penned by Akki Viswanadha Reddy. He tried to excite and entertain movie lovers with the espionage thriller. He starts the narration in an interesting and exciting manner, increasing the curiosity levels. But then the friendship elements etc, diluted the intensity and slowed the tempo. The introduction of numerous characters &nbsp;ended up in confusing the viewers. The screenplay turned convoluted with so many characters appearing in no time. The first half ends on a decent note setting the stage for the second half.The second half treads in a similar fashion and after few twists, the film ends in a predictable way. The Illogical scenes and convenient screenplay brought down the intensity levels.The Cinematography of Suresh Ragutu gave the film a rich feel. The screens looked realistic and natural and he used the camera angles and colour combinations to give a believable feel to the proceedings.Karthik Rodriguez's background music elevated the scenes to the next level making viewers glued to the screen. He made an impact with his background music increasing the intensity levels.The editing of Marthad K Venkatesh could have been far better. There are many scenes that turned repetitive and slowed the pace of the narration. Dialogues are adequate and production values are rich.Secret Soldier Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Interesting Premise</li><li>Cinematography</li><li>BGM</li></ul>Secret Soldier Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Screenplay</li><li>Confusing Elements</li></ul>Secret Soldier(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Secret Soldier turns out to be a decent spy thriller. Director Akki Viswanadha Reddy came up with an interesting Premise. However, inclusion of numerous characters, illogical scenes, confusing and convoluted Screenplay undid all his good intentions.Reducing the number of characters, doing away with technological jargons, more detailed narration with racy screenplay would have added more fire power. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 rating to Secret Soldier.

Secret Soldier Review

Happy Journey(2026) Movie: What's BehindHappy Journey directed by Abhiramm Naidu is releasing on 18 Sep 2026. Let us see whether Happy Journey gave happy moments to movie lovers in theatres or not.Happy Journey(2026) Movie: Story ReviewHappy Journey story revolves around group of women from different agegroups going on a trip and the experiences and how it changes their outlook. Savitri (Annapurna), Minister's wife Chamundeswari (Aamani), Nayana (Jinisha Alishetty), Srilatha (Jhansi), her daughter Tanvi (Payal Radhakrishna), Vihana (Roopa Srinivas), Divya (Sunaina Yella) happens to be a part of a free trip to France.How they become part of the free trip, what role travel company organisers Govind (Vamsidhar Goud), Apparao (Ravi Sivateja) played, how the free trip impacts their lives, how it is connected to Tanvi's would be Nikhil (Pruthvi) and others, how they deal with the changes that bring in their lives form the interesting part.Happy Journey(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewAnnapurna who played different roles this time entertained with her lively performance and surprises all donning modern outfits. One should commend her for doing such a bubbly , lively and energetic role at this age. She stands out with her performance in the film. Aamani is good in the role of the minister's wife. Jhanvi evoked few laughs in the role of a miser woman. She also emoted well during the climax. Payal Radhakrishna, Jinisha Alishetty, Roopa Srinivas and Sunaina performed according to their roles. Sunaina however at times became over the board and over dramatic. Vamsidhar Goud and Ravi Siva Teja entertained with their humour to some extent. Muralidhar Goud, Pruthvi Dandamudi and others did justice to their roles.Happy Journey(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewHappy Journey story is penned by Abhiramm Naidu. He tried to highlight the experiences and problems in the lives of women of different age groups in an entertaining manner. He starts the narration with the introduction of various female characters and then setting them on a France trip. The entire first half sails through in an entertaining and hilarious manner ending on a interesting emotional twist, setting the stage for the second half.Emotions takes the center stage in the second half with few comedy scenes in-between. The emotions of various female characters are highlighted. However, seeing those scenes on the screen, one gets a feeling that the director got stuck up with the 80s problems and melodrama associated with them. But for all his hard work to pierce the hearts of the viewers with emotional scenes pertaining to men and women, misfired completely. The climax emotional scene turned out to be over dramatic and missed the basic emotions. Once the film ends, viewers will heave a sigh of relief after all the emotional torture. The screenplay resembles that of many old films of the 80s and 90s.Subramaniyan Manigandan turned the scenes colorful with his cinematography. He showed the locations of France in a beautiful and visually appealing manner on the screen. &nbsp;Shekar Chandra's songs turned out to be average. However he elevated the scenes with his background music. Editing of Chota K Prasad is ok but could have been better as there are scenes that impacted the pace of the narration. Dialogues are ok. Production values are decent.Happy Journey Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Annapurna</li><li>Few Hilarious Scenes</li><li>Cinematography</li></ul>Happy Journey Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Routine Story</li><li>Overdramatic, Artificial Emotions</li></ul>Happy Journey(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Happy Journey turns out to be routine hilarious entertainer. Director Abhiramm Naidu's story offered nothing new. Though the story turned out to be routine, he ensured that there are many scenes to entertain viewers. He not only tried to entertain viewers with the female actors but also in the end tried to showcase their problems to connect chords with the viewers emotionally. Doing away with over dramatic scenes, toning down the emotions and more entertaining elements and racy screenplay would have added more punch to the final result. Considering all these elements Cinejosh goes with a 2 rating for Happy Journey. &nbsp;

Happy Journey Review

Missing Meghana(2026) Movie: What's BehindRam Karthik, Ammu Abhirami's Missing Meghana directed by Vachaspathy is releasing on 18 Sep 2026. Let us see whether Missing Meghana thrilled movie lovers or not.Missing Meghana(2026) Movie: Story ReviewMissing Meghana story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the incidents that unfold right after that. One fateful day a young girl Meghana (Ammu Abhirami) disappears mysteriously. How she disappeared, what the are circumstances that led to her disappearance, how it is connected to her father Srinivasa Rao (Goparaju Ramana), her fiancé, ACP Arjun (Kaushik), bike rider Karthik (Ram Karthik), Aadya (Vaidkaa Senjaliya), form the twist in the tale.Missing Meghana(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewAmmu Abhirami is good her role. She got limited screen presence and looked cute on the screen. Kaushik is ok in the role of the aggressive cop. Ram Karthik played the role of the youngster who experiences love failure and then getting closer to another girl. He also enacted stunts in the climax.Ankit Koyya is fine in his role. Goparaju Ramana is ok in the role of the father, which is tailor-made for him. Others like Vempa Kasi, Mahipal, Ruchita, Nalini, Srinivas, Shani, Pandu performed according to their roles.Missing Meghana(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewMissing Meghana story is penned by Vachaspathy. He tried to thrill viewers with a thriller. He starts the narration diving into the main point of the missing girl and then the investigation that follows subsequently. The first half proceeds with the conflict between two cops and the revelation about Meghana and the interrogation of the suspects. The first half ends on an interesting note with few surprising revelations setting the tone for the second half.The second half goes further into murders and drugs etc. The first half included a song to highlight the father-daughter sentiment but it failed to generated the required emotions. The song placement looked odd and out of sync. They could have easily done away with the song.The main villian revelation did not excite anyone as the director failed to keep the viewers engaged with the suspense till the end. Viewers can easily guess the villian even before the end of the first half thus diluting the intensity levels in the second half. Many such films came earlier and the narration dragged with the routine breakup story of Karthik testing the patience of the viewers. The interval twist turns out to be decent and the second half turns little racy. But the predictable elements robbed the viewers of the excitement.Though few scenes in the runup to the finding of Meghana looked good, the weak villian turned out to be the main drawback. The climax ends on a routine note with an action sequence. There are many routine and predictable scenes in the second half as the narration proceeds towards the climax.The cinematography of Sam K Naidu is good. He showed the visuals in an appealing manner. However in few scenes, the color grading &nbsp;is not done at all robbing the viewers of the seamless experience on the screen. RR.Dhruvan's background music failed to make an impact. It is not in sync with the storyline. Re recording and mixing also turned out to be below average. However, the songs he tuned are good and shot well. Basava's editing left a lot to be desired. There are many repetitive scenes and he could have done away with one song completely and also many scenes especially in the first half. Production values are good.Missing Meghana Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Interesting Point</li><li>Few Scenes</li></ul>Missing Meghana Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Predictable Elements</li><li>Weak Villian</li></ul>Missing Meghana(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Missing Meghana turns out to be another run of the mill crime thriller. Director Vachaspathy came up with an interesting point but he failed in his execution. Many predictable elements, repetitive scenes, dragged narration, weak villain ended up testing the patience of the viewers. Little finetuning of the script, racy screenplay, interesting twists, doing away with monotony would have added more substance to the final output. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 1.25 rating for Missing Meghana.

Missing Meghana Review

Panchanama(2026) Web Series: What's BehindStar anchor Udaya Bhanu turned producer and came up with a webseries titled interestingly as Panchanama. The six episode webseries started streaming on Zee5 starting from 11 Sep 2026. Let us find out what the webseries offered to viewers.Panchanama(2026) Web Series: Story ReviewPanchanama revolves around police officer investigating an accidental death and the starting revelations he finds out. Jai Ram (Bharath Srinivasan), a sincere police officer starts investigating the death of Aadi (Charan Babu) and few other orphans. What starts as a routine investigation, becomes bigger with shocking turn of events.What are those shocking turn of events, how it is connected to Dharani (Medha Reddy), Hari (Surya Srinivas), Dr. Pushpavalli (Rupa Lakshmi), Murali (Sivaji Raja) and others from the interesting twists.Panchanama(2026) Web Series: Artists ReviewBharath Srinivasan performed well. He suited the role of the cop and apart from showing the seriousness, he also emoted quite well as per the situation. Female lead Medha Reddy is ok in her role. Balagam fame Rupa Lakshmi performed well in a role with different shades. Surya Srinivas is good in his role. Sivaji Raja in the role of father got limited screen presence but he did justice to his role. Charan Babu, Srija and Radhika Preethi performed well according to their roles.Panchanama(2026) Web Series: Technicians ReviewPanchanama story is penned by Mohan Srivatsa. The webseries comes with 6 episodes, each with a duration of around 25-30 minutes. He tried to thrill viewers with the medical mafia storyline. He managed to generate interest at times however the screenplay turned out to be utterly predictable and bereft of twists. Generally crime thrillers have good following in the OTTs and so Mohan Srivatsa also chose the similar topic.He drew inspiration from Malayalam webseries and followed the same template of a cop investigating the mysterious death and then he exposed the medical mafia. He highlighted the nexus between medical mafia, doctors and organ trafficking. Apart from it, he also highlighted the emotions between brothers and sisters.However, the screenplay assumed predictable trope and the narration lacked the exciting and interesting twists and turns. One can easily predict the villains and the next scenes easily. Even the crime investigation scenes are not shown in an interesting manner. With the unraveling of the villain in the final episode, the webseries ends on a tame note.Naresh Kumaran elevated the scenes with his background music. The cinematography of Sandeep Kanth gave the scenes and proceedings a realistic feel. Editing of Srinivas Bynaboina is ok and could have been better as there are scenes that dragged the pace of the narration. Production values are good.Panchanama Web Series: Advantages<ul><li>Plot</li><li>Few Scenes</li></ul>Panchanama Web Series:Disadvantages<ul><li>Predictable Elements</li><li>Lack of Twists</li></ul>Panchanama(2026) Web Series: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Panchanama turns out to be another run of the mill investigative medical thriller. Director Mohan Srivatsa cameup with a thriller in the backdrop of medical mafia and many such films and series' came earlier. Though the plot is interesting, Mohan Srivasta's screenplay turned predictable with investigation scenes failing to excite viewers. To the top of it, with the villain not getting arrested, viewers feel that the series ended in a incomplete manner as the makers thought of coming with season 2. The forced romantic elements, artificial villianisms, etc robbed the viewers of realistic experience. A little finetuning of the script, racy screenplay, doing away with redundant elements and more thrilling twists would have added value to the proceedings. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 rating for Panchanama.

Panchanama Web Series Review

Mahendragiri Varahi (2026) Movie: What's BehindSumanth who is known for starring in different genre entertainers is coming to thrill movie lovers with Mahendragiri Varahi. The film directed by Santhosh Jagarlapudi is releasing on 11 September. Excitement is on as the film stars Star Boy Siddhu Jonnalagadda in an important role. The film's OTT rights have been bagged by Amazon Prime and streaming will be after the completion of its theatrical run. Let us see how Mahendragiri Varahi thrilled movie lovers.Mahendragiri Varahi (2026) Movie: Story ReviewMahendragiri Varahi story revolves around the mystic happenings and even more mysterious deaths attributed to the Goddess Varahi and how an atheist tries to find out the real cause. Siddharth (Sumanth), an atheist, tries to expose unscrupulous elements that try to take innocent people for a ride playing on their beliefs and superstitions. He , with his friend Satyam (Vennela Kishore) lands in Mahendragiri region along with his parents and brother (Kamal Kamaraju) to perform a ritual.At that time, they get a huge shock and where this leads to, how it is connected to Aadya (Meenakshi Goswami), Rajendra Varma (Sidhu Jonnalagadda), Malavika Nair (Sujatha), Narendra Varma (Vamsee Chaganti), Vaishnavi (Aishwarya Rajesh) , Doctor (Rajeev Kanakala), temple priest (Brahmanandam) and others and what role &nbsp;Goddess Varahi plays form rest of the developments.Mahendragiri Varahi (2026) Movie: Artists ReviewSumanth came up with a subtle performance. He slipped into the role effortlessly and did what is required of him as it is tailormade for him. He impressed with his expressions and emotions and is good with his dialogue delivery.Vennela Kishore played the role of his friend and he is ok and his role comes with a surprise element. Rajeev Kanakala played the role of the doctor and Brahmanandam is ok in the role of a temple priest. Even Brahmanandam's role comes with a surprise twist like Vennela Kishore role. Meenakshi Gowami is ok in the role of Aadya. She got limited screen presence. Manju Bhargavi is ok and so did Kamal Kamaraju and Vamsee Chaganti in their roles.Siddhu Jonnalagadda, with his cameo, made a powerful presence on the screen. He helped in taking the narration forward and with his dialogue delivery and expressions made an impact. Malavika Nair played a key role of Sidhu's wife and she is ok. Aishwarya Rajesh made her presence felt during the climax.Mahendragiri Varahi (2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewMahendragiri Varahi story is penned by Santossh Jagarlapudi. He tried to thrill viewers with mysterious deaths in the backdrop of a temple and its Goddess. Many such films came earlier and Santossh seems to have drawn inspiration from films like Murari, Karthikeya, Virupaksha and others.He starts the narration on a interesting note but the first half turns out to be roller coaster with the story moving no where after a point of time. But the decent end to the first half, despite the flaws sets the tone for the second half. However second half ends up testing the patience of the viewers the moment flashback episode appears. The scenes turns repetitive as the core point turns out to be simple and seems director lost steam after a point of time. Finally, the film ends in a predictable manner. Screenplay and direction turned out to be pretty average.Junaid Siddique's editing left a lot to be desired. While the first half had few lags but still it turned out to be a decent watch, the second half ended up testing the patience of the viewers with scenes dragging to eternity and the flashback episode making everyone fall asleep. Pratap R Krishna's cinematography is good. He showed the scenes in a natural and realistic way but the CGI ad VFX looked below standard. Anup Rubens background score is in sync with the story. There is nothing much out of box he got to do but he just moved along with the tide. Dialogues are ok. Production values are decent.Mahendragiri Varahi Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Sumanth</li><li>Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Aishwarya Rajesh cameos</li><li>Few Scenes</li></ul>Mahendragiri Varahi Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Monotonous Elements</li><li>Lack of Thrills</li></ul>Mahendragiri Varahi (2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Mahendragiri Varahi turns out to be routine spiritual thriller. Sumanth came up with decent performance but he was not required to do anything extraordinary. Director Santossh Jagarlapudi's story assumed similarities to earlier hit films and this robbed viewers of a new experience. However, few scenes surprise viewers and the cameos generate interest. However, weak script and just average screenplay and direction turned spoiled all the good intentions. Little finetuning of the script and racy screenplay would have added value to the final output. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 rating for Mahendragiri Varahi.

Mahendragiri Varahi Review

Epic First Semester(2026) Movie: What's BehindAnand Deverakonda and Vaishnavi Chaitanya are back together after their impressive combination in Baby. This time, they are paired in Epic First Semester, directed by Aditya Haasan. The film carries the curiosity of exploring the journey of a young man who lands in the UK and experiences love, relationships and life away from home. Let us see what surprises Epic First Semester has in store.Epic First Semester(2026) Movie: Story ReviewThe story revolves around Aditya, an aspiring filmmaker who lands in the UK against his wishes because of his parents Chandrashekhar and Rani.An introvert who has hardly interacted with girls suddenly finds himself in a completely new environment. His meeting with Kadali changes his world, and their relationship gradually moves through love, live-in life, emotional confusion, and the realities of a serious relationship.The situations they face and where their relationship finally heads form the rest of the story.Epic First Semester(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewAnand Deverakonda performs well as Aditya. He brings innocence and vulnerability to the character and is particularly good in scenes involving his introverted nature and discomfort in a new environment.Vaishnavi Chaitanya gets a contrasting character and does justice to the role. Her mood swings and emotional changes are handled reasonably well. The chemistry between Anand and Vaishnavi works in several portions, although it does not reach the intensity of their Baby combination.Sivaji and Vasuki have limited scope as Anand's parents but make their presence felt. Srinivas Gavi Reddy gets a few laughs as Manoj. Kalyan Shankar is decent in his role as Sinjith. The remaining actors perform according to their roles.Epic First Semester(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewAditya Haasan starts the film on an interesting note by taking the character of Aditya into a new phase of his life. The idea of showing what happens when an innocent youngster grows up and lands in a foreign country has potential.The first half has enough lively moments to keep the proceedings moving. The relationship between Aditya and Kadali develops naturally in parts, and the film becomes more engaging once their equation takes a serious turn.The second half is where the film loses some momentum. The relationship discussions, pregnancy fears, marriage and practical problems provide the central conflict, but the film does not always create enough tension around them.Still, unlike a completely routine romantic drama, the film has a few emotionally relatable situations. The conflict may be small, but some of the characters and conversations manage to hold attention. The climax could have been stronger. The open ending is clearly designed to leave scope for the next chapter, but it does not deliver the expected emotional punch.Hesham Abdul Wahab's music is one of the film's positives. The songs are melodious and suit the mood of the story. His background score is also decent. Azeem Mohammad's cinematography gives the film a pleasant look. The UK locations are captured beautifully and add freshness to the proceedings.Navin Nooli's editing is adequate, though some portions could have been trimmed. The dialogues are mostly natural, with a few bold conversations adding flavour. Production values are good.Epic Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Anand Deverakonda's performance</li><li>Vaishnavi Chaitanya's performance</li><li>Music And BGM</li><li>Cinematography</li><li>Some relatable relationship moments</li><li>First half</li></ul>Epic Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Slow second half</li><li>Limited conflict</li><li>Repetitive conversations</li><li>Climax</li><li>Emotional impact could have been stronger</li></ul>Epic First Semester(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisEpic First Semester is a decent attempt at presenting the emotional journey of an introvert youngster experiencing love and relationships in a foreign country.The biggest advantage is that the film does not completely depend on artificial twists or forced drama. Anand and Vaishnavi bring a certain naturalness to their characters, and their chemistry works in several scenes.At the same time, the simple conflict becomes both the strength and weakness of the film. The situations are relatable, but the screenplay sometimes takes too long to move forward. A tighter edit could have made the film considerably more engaging.The film also misses some of the entertainment and emotional intensity that made Baby such a talking point. However, Epic First Semester has enough good moments, decent performances and soothing music to make it a one-time watch for viewers who enjoy relationship dramas.Considering these elements, CineJosh goes with a 2.25 rating for Epic First Semester.

Epic - First Semester Review

Maremma (2026) Movie: What's BehindMaremma directed by Manchala Nagaraj is generating immense interest among movie lovers as it marks the debut of Mass Raja Ravi Teja's nephew Maadhav on the screen. The film is reieasing on 10 Sep 2026. Let us see what impact Maadhav made on debut with Maremma on movie lovers.Maremma (2026) Movie: Story ReviewMaremma story revolves around a youngster who develops a strong bonding with a bison and the surprising happenings involving both of them. Karni (Maadhav Bhupathiraju) raises a calf which becomes a bison(Maari) and he has to perform a ritual. But just before the ritual, startling developments happen. Where this leads to and how it is connected to Manju (Deepa Balu), Jalandhar (Vikas Vasishta), Uttam (Maneesh), occult practitioner (Rupa Lakshmi), form the exciting part.Maremma (2026) Movie: Artists ReviewMaadhav got the tall physique and looks. However on debut despite his best efforts he failed to get his basics right. He failed with his expressions and emotions and looked a complete mismatch. He should hone his skills rigorously and seriously to sustain in the industry.Deepa Balu fared better than him. But her characterisation turned out to be weak and did not offer much scope to show her acting talent. Vinod Kumar as a villager got limited and inconsequential role.Vikas Vasishta is good on the screen. Rupa Lakshmi made an impact with her performance. Others performed according to their roles.Maremma (2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewMaremma story is penned by Manchala Nagaraj. He tried to attract all with an impactful story in the rustic Telangana backdrop. Many films with Telangana backdrop and accent came earlier and Maremma completely failed on all fronts as the story turned out to be weak and script became spineless. The writing and screenplay did not inspire any confidence and direction failed to justice in any manner.With routine and outdated story and despite the claims of based on real life incidents, the film failed to generate interest. There is not a single scene in the film that generated interest among movie lovers. Everything turned out to be a tedious watch. Even the so called comedy scenes looked forced and senseless. The romantic track turned out to be another weak point and the entire second half which revolves around finding the missing bison, is redundant with repetitive scenes testing the patience of the viewers. The pre climax and climax are stretched to the core and finally when the film ended, viewers heave a sigh of relief.Prashanth R. Vihari, Bipradeep Dutta's tunes are just ok. The background score is fine but the substandard story couldn't be elevated by their efforts. The cinematography of Prasanth Ankireddy is below standard, disappointing all. Editing of Sai Babu Talari offered nothing much and he left many scenes unattended. Dialogues are nothing new and production values are below standard.Maremma Movie: Advantages<ul><li>None</li></ul>Maremma Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Casting</li><li>Lack of Exciting Elements</li><li>Writing</li></ul>Maremma (2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Maremma turns out to be a disappointing drama in Telangana backdrop. Maadhav's weak performance and director Manchala Nagraj's senseless story, spineless screenplay and outdated script turned the film into a woeful one. No amount of rework would have changed the fate of Maremma. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 rating for Maremma.

Maremma Review

Mandaadi(2026) Movie: What's BehindSoori is coming to entertain movie lovers with his upcoming film Mandaadi helmed by Mathimaran Pugazhendhi. The film is generating interest as Suhaas is making his entry into Kollywood. Mandaadi OTT rights have been bagged by Netflix and streaming will be after the completion of its theatrical run. Let us see what Mandaadi offered to movie lovers.Mandaadi(2026) Movie: Story ReviewMandaadi story revolves around the happenings in the lives of the people of the coastal region who takes it as a prestige on winning in the boat race competition.Muthukaali (Soori) who makes his livelihood working as a lifeguard at a resort in Hyderabad is forced to return to the coastal region of Kalingapatnam. Why he is forced to return to the Kalingapatnam, what is his connection to the boat races and what roles Sattapuli(Suhas), Angel (Mahima Nambiar), Mahesh ( Mithun Jai Shankar), Angel's husband ( Ravindra Vijay), Munayya (Sathyaraj) and others form the interesting developments.Mandaadi(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewSoori performed well in his role. He showed good emotions and body language. He is impressive with his screen presence. He expressed with his eyes at times. Suhas is impactful in his role and he showed fear in a silent manner. He with his body language showed that height does not matter when it comes to performance. Mahima Nambiar is ok in her role. Satyaraj is good in a role pivotal to the film. Ravindra Vijay performed decently in his role. Others performed as per their roles.Mandaadi(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewMandaadi story is penned by Mathimaran Pugazhendi. He tried to attract viewers with the love, friendship, and betrayal plot in the rustic village backdrop along with the boat racing competitions. The story is interesting to an extent, but the narration and screenplay assumes predictable flavor. The first half treads in a similar manner and second half continues in the same way. This time, Mathimaran elevated the emotions in a more powerful manner.The story turns out to be predictable except for the boat racing episodes. Everything looked routine and the conflict point is not established in a convincing and more powerful way. Drama also did not work and most of the scenes paled on the screen. Even the romantic track did not appeal to all. He left many unanswered questions in the film.GV. Prakash Kumar's music is ok. His background score is good. He elevated the scenes, especially in the boat races with his background music. SR. Kathir's cinematography is good. He showed the rustic village atmosphere quite well on the screen. He also showed the boat races sequences in an effective way. Pradeep Raghav's editing could have been better as there are few scenes that slowed the pace of the narration. Dialogues are ok. Production values are good.Mandaadi Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Performances</li><li>Cinematography</li><li>Boat Races</li></ul>Mandaadi Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Predictable Elements</li><li>Missing Conflict</li><li>VFX, CG</li></ul>Mandaadi(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Mandaadi turns out to be average emotional drama. Soori and Suhaas came up with spirited performances and director Mathimaaran Pugazhendi came up with an interesting plot in the backdrop of boat racing. However, he failed to take it to the next level, turning the scenes into predictable, routine and monotonous. A little finetuning of the script, including more interesting and exciting elements and racy screenplay would have added more fire power. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 2 rating to Mandaadi.

Mandaadi Review

Sardar 2(2026) Movie: What's BehindKarthi's Sardar2 directed by PS.Mithran is releasing today on 10 September amidst huge expectations as the film is the sequel to the hit film Sardar. Let's see whether Sardar2 lived up to the expectations or not.Sardar 2(2026) Movie: Story ReviewSardar2 story continues from where Sardar ended going into the flashback of the spy even as his son tries to unravel the secrets. Inspector Vijay Prakash (Karthi) goes into the further details of his tainted father Sardar Chandra &nbsp;Bose (Karthi) who was branded as a traitor. Where this leads to and how Black Dagger (SJ.Suryah), Indrani (Rajisha Vijayan), and others are connected form the interesting part of the developments.Sardar 2(2026) Movie: Artists ReviewKarthi is impressive with his performance. He did full justice to the dual roles of father and son in his own way. He got the right expressions and emotions and made his presence felt on the screen. However much he tried to elevate the scenes, the writing and characterization didn't offer him much scope to showcase his acting talent.Ashika Ranganath got an inconsequential role. She even failed to come with a decent performance. SJ.Suryah played the role of the antagonist. However he turned extremely loud and irritated the movie lovers. His role also looked extremely outdated.Others like Malavika Mohanan, Rajisha Vijayan, Nassar, Yogi Babu, Nizhagal Ravi didn't get roles that have chance to perform.Sardar 2(2026) Movie: Technicians ReviewSardar2 story is penned by PS. Mithran. The narration starts in an interesting manner and continued in the same way. The narration is good and the screenplay is intact without any deviations.However, the problem lied in the execution. There are many scenes and stunts choreographed looked silly and ridiculous to the core. This turned the spy drama and serious scenes into laughable ones.Things doesn't change even when the director tried to connect chords with the viewers with emotional scenes and the flashback episodes. All the interesting elements in The entire first half failed in the execution and everything turned bland.Many expected the second half to be better and save the day. However much to the disappointment , it turned even worse. The unraveling of the twists in the complex mission looked illogical and are bereft of interesting twists and thrills.The pre climax and climax are stretched to the maximum and it became a painful watch on the screen. None of the scenes excite viewers turning the entire experience into a disappointing affair.Sam.CS has tuned music. The film has no songs and the background music didn't add value to the narration. The background music left a lot to be desired. In fact it looked out of sync and outdated. Altogether it ended up testing the patience of the viewers. The cinematography of George C Williams is good. It turned the scenes appealing on the screen. He however didn't get chance to show his creative talent. Vijay Velukutty failed with his editing. There are many inconsequential scenes that impacted the pace of the narration and ended up testing the patience of the movie lovers. Graphics and CGI, VFX are sub standard. Production values are good.Sardar 2 Movie: Advantages<ul><li>Nothing</li></ul>Sardar 2 Movie: Disadvantages<ul><li>Illogical Scenes</li><li>Outdated Elements</li></ul>Sardar 2(2026) Movie: Rating AnalysisAltogether, Sardar 2 turns out to be illogical sequel to the spy thriller. Karthi came up with sincere performance but director PS.Mithran though came with an interesting story, he failed with his screenplay and direction. He in the name of action elements turned everything into laughable and silly. Emotions turned artificial and the weak characterizations, lack of logical scenes in the spy thriller disappointed everyone. The lack of seriousness in the script undid all the good intentions. Over the top, ridiculous action sequences played the spoil sport. No amount of changes to the script could have changed the result. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 rating for Sardar 2.

 Sardar 2 Review

Sahaa What's BehindSmall film Sahaa-Life of Sanju starring Shiva Kumar Kasaram, Swetha Lakshman, directed by Nishanth Doti, is releasing on 4 Sep 2026. Let us find out what Sahaa-Life of Sanju offers to movie lovers.Sahaa Story ReviewSahaa-Life of Sanju's story revolves around a person and the happenings in his life and how he deals with them. Sanju (Shiva Kumar Kasaram) goes all out to woo a beautiful girl, Sahaa (Swetha Lakshman), ever since his childhood. What are the happenings in their lives, how it impacted their career and future, whether they fell in love, got married, and the other developments, and what role their near and dear ones played should be found out on the screen.Sahaa Artists ReviewShiva Kumar Kasaram played the lead role of Sanju, which is pivotal to the film and the entire story. He did full justice to the role. He showed variations in his body language, mannerisms, and screen presence through different timelines. He carried the film on his shoulders, taking viewers along with him into the narration with his expressions and emotions and captivating dialogue delivery.Swetha Lakhman played the female lead of Sahaa, and she was effective with impactful expressions and emotions. She looked good on the screen and made an impression with her presence. However, at times, she should have come up with a more intense performance.Vrajana Pandya also played a key role in the film, and she helped in carrying the film forward. Others who played key roles also did justice to them, adding value to the narration.Sahaa Technicians ReviewSahaa-Life of Sanju story is penned by Nishanth Doti. He came up with a story to connect chords with the viewers with a romantic emotional entertainer. He got the good concept but failed completely in his execution. He tried to generate interest among viewers by following a non-linear screenplay and narration, showing different timelines to and fro, but interest levels disappear as the entire idea becomes predictable with the passage of time.Despite that, the first half turns out decent, with a few interesting scenes setting the tone for the second half. The second half turns out to be even more routine and most of the scenes get a dragged feeling as the so-called emotions fail to make an impact even in the climax.The editing of Dinesh Peddi lacked crispness. He should have used the editing scissors more effectively. Sehkar Chandra's music is ok but the songs fail to make an impact on the viewers. He however came up with a perfect background score to elevate the scenes and emotions to another level. K.Karunakar's cinematography made the film look good on screen. Production values are good.Sahaa Advantages<ul><li>Shiva Kumar's performance</li><li>Few Scenes&nbsp;</li><li>BGM</li></ul>Sahaa Disadvantages<ul><li>Screenplay</li><li>Missing Emotions</li></ul>Sahaa Rating AnalysisAltogether, Sahaa-Life of Sanju turns out to be another routine emotional entertainer. Director Nishanth got good performances from Shiva Kumar Kasaram and Swetha Lakshman but he failed to do justice to the romantic emotional concept and idea with his screenplay and direction. The slow pace, predictable elements and missing emotions, undid all the good intentions. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 1.25 rating for Sahaa-Life of Sanju.

Tridha Choudhury Gallery