Anup Nadkarni

Deva (2025) Indian Hindi-language action thriller featuring Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde and Pavail Gulati directed by Rosshan Andrrews, a remake of Andrrews's own 2013 Malayalam film Mumbai Police, with a different climax. Emotional or character moments almost felt unnecessary nothing that added to plot of the movie. Supporting characters (including the heroine) aren’t given enough room to grow and remain never influenced the plot for most part. The visually stylish action set pieces were not enough to compensate for the kind of thin story. Moments that could have been big, shocking, or moving fell flat because the groundwork wasn’t strong enough. The entire film revolves around the hero’s style and swagger but beyond that, everything else (especially other characters) feels hollow or sidelined as if none had any iota of agency to shine. The movie tried to tap into these recent "hero-centric" blockbusters like Pushpa, Animal, Kabir Singh........ The whole movie was full of slow-mo entries, Intense glares, practically invincibility, even had as little to no subplots that branch off without him and that could be fine but it became a problem when that’s all the film seems to care about instead of character depth as if it is ok to substitute any thing for storytelling and quick bucks...

Nadaaniyan (transl. Innocence) (2025) Bollywood Indian Hindi-language teen romantic comedy directed by Shauna Gautam (in her directorial debut), produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra under Dharmatic Entertainment featuring Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor, alongside Mahima Chaudhry, Dia Mirza, Suniel Shetty, and Jugal Hansra... Below average movie at best, most if not all cringe content with cliched dialog and poor casting...unless u wanna watch debut star kids rehearse their dialogs on a real set...

Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana (transl.  Do Attend the Wedding) (2017) Bollywood-Indian Hindi-language romance drama comedy film featuring Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Kharbanda, alongside K. K. Raina, Alka Amin, Vipin Sharma, Govind Namdev, Navni Parihar, Nayani Dixit, and Manoj Pahwa Plus points: The film touches on the tension between following one's heart and adhering to societal norms, which must have struck a chord with lot of audience. The chemistry between RR and KK is one of the film's highlights. Their relationship dynamics has warmth and relatability, which resonated well in the movie. RR's character, stands out for his logical and thoughtful approach to winning back KK's character after their engagement is called off. Instead of relying on cliche grand gestures or dramatic actions, KK's character uses his intellect to resolve the misunderstandings between them taking the time to understand her dilemma and patiently works through the situation, showing his emotional maturity and respect for her aspirations. He proves that love, when paired with logical thinking and emotional intelligence helping him earn her trust and ultimately win her back which is ultimate USP of the movie..The film is quite wholesome entertainer with some real heartwarming moments. Minus points: On the flip side,the movie relies on familiar romantic tropes like misunderstandings, love triangles, which some viewers found clichéd. While the leads performed very well, the supporting characters, especially the ones that were supposed to provide comic relief, were quite underdeveloped and didn't add much to the overall narrative.The film leans heavily on melodrama in parts, which detracts from its realism in certain places. Overall the movie have lots of plus than minuses. I would suggest this movie for romantic buffs...especially for its Underdog-to-hero trope. Similar theme movie(s): Googly (2013) South Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy hindi dubbed movie featuring Yash and Kriti Kharbanda in lead actors while Ananth Nag and Sadhu Kokila play the primary supporting roles

Hey! Sinamika (transl. Hey! Angry Belle) (2022) south Indian Tamil-language romance drama hindi dubbed movie featuring Dulquer Salmaanm Aditi Rao Hydari, Kajal Aggarwal, Nakshatra Nagesh. It is an adaptation of the Argentine film "A Boyfriend for My Wife" (2008), with roles switched. max 4/10, The film starts off with a extremely breezy and charming romance and while the initial romance creates anticipation of fun, the movie starts feeling monotonous with Yaazhan’s overly erratically eccentric talkative and clingy nature being overemphasized and superimposing all over the first half, leaving no room for any other character to develop. The first half largely focuses on majorly light puppy love, but the light-to-heighten conflict takes too long to suddenly build up, making it artificial propped up. Secondly making Aditi Rao Hydari's character (Mouna) a paleotempestologist (someone who studies ancient storms) felt like an odd creative but an irrelevant choice that didn’t really add much to the story over the top they added to her character's profession with random nonsensical architecture project which had no real connection and felt like forcing depth without purpose except for connecting the story to emerging doctor. It seemed like the filmmakers wanted to give her a unique and intellectual profession to make her stand out, but it never really played a crucial role in the plot. while the film's cinematography, colorful aesthetics, and bit of soothing music make the initial half visually pleasing. The second half picks up with the entry of Psychologist as intensifier, leading to conflicts. While the concept of a reverse love triangle had potential, the writing becomes inconsistent, and character motivations feel unclear. The ending feels abrupt and lacks emotional depth, leaving anyone watching underwhelmed. The film had a unique idea but fails flat to fully explore it, making the second half feel less impactful than it could have been. OVerall movie would have been 7/10 if all these pointer wud had been dealt with more precision, so my take it "pass" watching this movie....

Purushothamudu (2024) south Indian Telugu-language action drama hindi dubbed movie featuring Raj Tarun, Hassini Sudhir in lead roles. Though cliched (closely resembling earlier movies like "Srimanthudu" and the Korean film "A Millionaire’s First Love"), the film's narrative is only the thing thats gripping, but the screenplay lacks the necessary depth and engagement, which eventually leads to drop in the film's overall impact. The protagonist's journey, intended to showcase personal growth, is undermined by melodramatically simplistic scenes that lack believability. The romantic subplot between the lead characters also lacks depth, further diminishing the film's emotional resonance. ​Attempts to evoke emotion, particularly through scenes involving a farmer's grievances, come across as overly simplistic and may fail to engage the audience meaningfully. Despite featuring seasoned comedians like Brahmanandam, the film's comedic elements fall flat. The humor does not resonate as intended, resulting in missed opportunities to provide adequate levity and entertainment. The idea that a rich and privileged protagonist (played by Raj Tarun) can suddenly adapt to a common man's life and prove himself worthy of leadership in such a short time formula has been done before in many films, but Purushothamudu fails to make it engaging or believable. The casting choices have been a point of contention, While Raj Tarun is noted for his sincere portrayal, some may feel that his youthful appearance undermines the believability of his CEO stature. Hasini Sudheer's (Ammulu) glamour in romantic scenes has been so-so but feels that her portrayal lacks depth, affecting the overall impact of the romantic subplot. In the movie, an unexpected character appears at the climax to conveniently resolve conflicts, feels cringy and forced undermining the protagonist’s journey, making his struggles seem somewhat pointless, feels as if like lazy writing, as the resolution is not earned through logical progression or character growtth, than the last frowned upon all too known Deus Ex Machina device is inserted at the end making it cheesy. All and all the movie is so-so, to the point that even if u skip it, there will not be longing of missing out on anything unless boredom hit you.

Teefa in Trouble (2018) Pakistani urdu language romantic action comedy film featuring Ali Zafar, Maya Ali, Abdullah Solangi. It is silly comedy more than romantic movie and the outdated situational and slapstick comedy with forced jokes and slapstick moments don’t always land well, similar to some of the Bollywood poor action-comedies while praised for its production quality. The movie is themed upon Bollywood-style damsel in distress trope combined with romantic subplot involving elements of somewhat forced attraction and lack of agency for the female character, which felt problematic. The speed with which he (Teefa) becomes obsessed with her (Anya) feels somewhat forced without an evolution. The way Ali Zafar's character goes from being a "hired thug" to acting like a knight-in-shining armor for Anya creates an unrealistic swift switch in character motivation. His actions and decisions are more about convenience for the movie's plot rather than organic character development (rather than a natural progression of his character expected). Anya is kidnapped by Teefa, and she is obviously resistant to him. However, after a few comedic or dramatic encounters, she suddenly starts to warm up to him, the pace at which her feelings evolve from hatred or indifference to romantic interest feels artificial. The relationship between Teefa and Anya, while meant to be playful and romantic, doesn't have enough depth or emotional buildup as if the filmmaker wants to force compatibility into the audience to help the plot climax. Overuse of dramatic or upbeat music too prominently behind the hero’s action scenes as a crutch come off as dramatically off-putting or over-the-top as though trying to oversell the hero’s coolness, rather than allowing the action to speak for itself and those background music choices that don’t align with the tone of the action feel jarring Despite its high-energy presentation, the story is highly predictable and relys on typical action-comedy clichés as if the film tried too hard to mimic Bollywood, making it feel less original. The slow-motion (running, fighting) sequences were one of the film's exaggerated stylistic choices that were overused, overly dramatic and in poor taste. while this movie has a few catchy music, its music was somewhat "so-so" compared to the high-quality soundtracks Pakistani TV dramas and films have produced over the years. Suggest: Unless you are Ali Zafar or Maya Ali fan, for an average romantic comedy buff this movie is not up to the mark probably at best waste of hours if you are a Pakistani TV movie fan collection.

Queen of Tears (Korean lit. "Nunmul-ui Yeowang") (2024) South Korean romantic comedy series featuring Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Ji-won, Kwak Dong-yeon, Park Sung-hoon and many more. This series is about generational chaebol heiress n her family and their corporate politics minced with absolute romantic hesitations, give-in's, love triangle, bits of K-comedy. Now the best part - I watched Descendants of the Sun and Business Proposal, and then I went on a content hoarding spree, collecting about 20+ series names for my 'to-watch' list, all based on solid reviews on YT shorts. But until this week, I had been delaying gratification, always holding off on watching the endless list. Finally, I decided to stop procrastinating and dived into the series I had been putting off which started with QOT. The series makes u feel as if u relate to them an emotional connection, and as if you are one of the character (from the village or at least u wish for during the watch) so much is the engrossing factor of the series. And i don't regret To be continued............. Some of the qualms - Queen of Tears" might feel like a misnomer as the title suggests rather pure endless tragedy, while the drama has emotional depth, it balances romance, comedy, and heartwarming moments which is why the title sound like a full-blown tearjerker, in the vein of tragic series. The drama focuses on rekindling love, overcoming challenges, and deep emotional connections—not just endless crying or tragedy.There are lighthearted, witty, and romantic elements that don’t align with a purely sorrowful title. Some K-dramas can have unnecessary filler episodes or absolute stretched-out romantic tension but QOT does perfect job in fitting it all in 16 episodes. The Predictable tropes that is sticking to familiar patterns n Lack of realism such as over-the-top villains, dramatic coincidences which do feel too scripted r not absolutely missing but quite absent in this series. But tropes like bittersweet romantic hesitation like long build-up before a kiss- than this all might resonate with you (as a rom-com junkie). one flaw that i hesitate to say is the K-culture which is ingrained in K cinema is that of many male leads often having a soft, supple androgynous look - delicate facial features like flawless skin, petite physiques, overly stylish outfits, elegancy from start to end, prettiness, even when playing strong characters, the lack of raw ruggedness that should emanate as a result of such strong character's upbringing.The level of corporate structure and the magnitude of operations (organizational complexity, power dynamics, and the high stakes of corporate maneuvering) depicted in Queen of Tears felt much more akin to that of a kind of corporate drama one'd expect from global business empires rather than a traditional department store(s) family business (with less intricate power plays) which was bit of a mismatch. Just FYI, I am confused there were 2 special episodes mentioned in addition to the 16 episode as per Wikipedia but I assume they are mere Behind-the-Scenes episodes. The experience was rewarding and I would not want to re-watch back-to-back as tempting and intuitive as it may sound, i have nice hangover of the series, the emotional intensity, intricacies, thrill of discovery n surprises wud be spoiled and I am pretty sure it wud end-up being predictable making it a less engaging experience. To be continued...

Aşk Laftan Anlamaz (2016) (Lit. Love Doesn't Understand Words) Turkish Rom-com TV series (season 1/1), youtube based hindi/urdu dubbed "Hayat" or "Pyaar Lafzon Mein" respectively featuring Hande Erçel, Burak Deniz, Oğuzhan, Merve Çağıran, Özcan Tekdemir, Cemre Baysel, Demet Gül, Süleyman Felek, Tuğçe Karabacak amongst all cast. This Rich Guy/Poor Girl series has cute love-hate romantic chemistry centered around a young male boss and his coincidentally hired impostor female subordinate both of whom having two distinct lives of their own is worth binge-watching. Then again the Hindi dubbing is bit average only (Urdu dubbing is notch better), it feels as if the Hindi voice dubbing crew is the same that of Japanese Hindi dubbed Manga anime series Shin-chan every now and then. Unfortunately only downside of this series is it keeps on prolonging with some sort of antics the center plot i.e. admissions of the love between both the lovebirds till the later episodes some of which could be eliminated which makes it boring at times. But this is my first Turkish viewing that is why i am not nuanced with their treatment of TV series style as I accidentally came across the snippet of this series through YouTube shorts. The Turkish conversations are full of animated pleasantries more like Arabic but unlike Indian subcontinent (incld weirdest was father exchanging both bride and groom on their wedding, triviality conversations). If you ignore the drag the acting of main characters were excellent. Choice of cast for most part is perfect. Hande Erçel, Burak Deniz are perfect couple choice with Hande Erçel having a doll like innocent looks. Still to be Continued...

Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2012-2013) (Lit. Life is garden of roses) Pakistani Hum TV drama revolving around 2 youngster, with opposing thoughts, financial status, one of who is a strong intelligent, ambitious female protagonist probably very much relatable with women in Indian subcontinent. For all I know compared to worse serials out there, this one might be considered not as bad not certainly a masterpiece as touted simply because it is too slow soliloquy for what could have been more decoratively formatted. The whole drama is almost monologues making viewer wait for a bustling scene but no, it is purposely made to be a slow documentary style to make the impression of its unconventionality. I am of the opinion that for the most part this drama has not only male chauvinism but it is masked mixture of misogyny and misandry on both sides. Regardless of the above, as a Indian, I am enamored by the strong storylines, depth of characters, realistic portrayals of societal issues and simplicity of almost all Pakistani serials and their discerning dialogs,natural acting, untinkered settings, beautiful music with whom you can relate, unlike the Indian melodramatic over-the-top K serials which have spoiled the whole viewership experience of watching Indian television. (Though i have a pet peeve regarding almost all Pakistani casts appearing to fake American accent in every series if any moment they have to spout off English, it simple cringy) Nonetheless full mark for acting as expected, for a politically incorrect review the story is bit really boring, unusually mundane and draggy. People especially females who are all about female equality may find things worth appreciating in this drama. Problem is the YouTube version does misses dialogs and background music in lots of places frustrating the audience.

Hum Tum (lit. Me & You) (2022) 31 episode Pakistani television Rom-Com family drama series, featuring Ahad Raza Mir, Ramsha Khan, Sarah Khan and Junaid Khan. Chemistry between Ahad Raza Mir (Adam) and Ramsha Khan (Neha) is outstanding. Series has a happy appealing background music though its all over the place...It has excellent light-hearted story-line...but comedy is a bit off for a class series like this...Cast performance is perfect except for few scenes/ cast....Nani and sultan's character feels like loose and extras compared to other which have strong role to play...Dialogs are apt and some absolutely masterpiece...