The film clarifies what has always been underneath its emerald veneer: a political fable about manipulation, state violence, and how citizens cling to illusions.
About The Author
Sakshi is a sub-editor at the Outlook Entertainment Desk. She’s also a documentary filmmaker and mixed-media artist based in Mumbai.
Anti-caste films are not simply stories of oppression anymore but of ambition, desire, dignity, and joy. If the mainstream is “waking up,” it is only because independent and parallel cinema has carried the baton for decades.
In ‘I, The Song’ (2024), Roder turns a personal catastrophe into a commentary on collective harm. Both the woman and the village are stripped of something essential by careless spectators. The private and collective losses echo each other, and suddenly a missing girl and a missing song don’t feel that different.
Kaantha ultimately stands as a curious hybrid—equal parts homage, melodrama and self-reflection. The performances burn bright enough to hold your attention, but certainly not due to the storyline, which may disappoint those who know Selvaraj and Salmaan’s past work.
From a light-hearted angle, the film clicks because it playfully nails something far more telling: the psychological mould fathers of daughters grow out of, and straight back into.
‘The Girlfriend’ (2025) doesn’t seek to write men off, but to hold up a mirror, revealing why women must reserve trust, faith, and love for those with integrity, emotional intelligence, and self-worth rooted in personal growth, not in controlling women.
Few stars have lived as many lives on screen as Dharmendra—the lover, the fighter, the poet, the patriot. As reports of his critical health stir both grief and nostalgia, his filmography stands untouched in its emotional range and timeless appeal.
Jatadhara aims to conjure spirits of faith, greed, and salvation, but ends up chasing its own tail. It’s ambitious, yes, but also confused, overlong, and astonishingly self-serious.
The film becomes a tribute to women who could never quite name the “itch” they felt, yet learned to embrace both their knowing and their elusiveness.
The film explores the cost of affection against the weight of history—two spouses learning to navigate each other’s worlds while simultaneously grappling with disconnection and discomfort. It delves into inherited philosophies, set against the backdrop of farmlands and a house in rural Punjab.
Advertisement
Newsletter
Signup for Outlook and get curated content to your inbox everyday.