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In a time before pan-India movies became all the craze, a Tamil movie titled Vikram Vedha blew everyone's mind. Released in 2017, this film boasted of stellar performances by R Madhavan & Vijay Sethupathi as modern day versions of the Vikramadityan and Vetal. 5 years later, the directors of the movie, Pushkar Gayatri are at the helm of the Hindi remake starring Saif Ali Khan & Hrithik Roshan.

Set in Lucknow, Vikram is a law-abiding, honest cop, who believes that he is doing the right thing by killing gangsters. But when the dreaded Vedha willingly surrenders, Vikram is left baffled by the stories that he has to narrate.

When filmmakers remake their own movies, you are bound to wonder what can they do to make the remake different or standout. But for most part (99.5%), the remake is exactly the same. The shift from Chennai to Lucknow only changes the nature of the crimes & the language.

The remake gets the casting right. Hrithik Roshan is an actor worthy enough to step into Vijay Sethupathi's shoes as he brings his own charisma to the role. He is at his menacing best that will have you root for him from the moment he enters the frame. But on the flipside, Saif Ali Khan's Vikram is a stepdown from R Madhavan's rendition. Said & his onscreen wife, Radhika Apte's chemistry seems forced. The ideal combination would have seen Madhavan square off against Hrithik. Rohit Saraf, Yogita Bihani, Sharib Hashmi co-star.

For all those who have watched the original (in Tamil and not the dubbed version), this remake doesn't have much to offer unless you are a Hrithik fan (then do go for it). And if you haven't watched the original, then definitely go for it. Pushkar-Gayatri's story must be seen irrespective of the language.

Season 1

Shoojit Sircar's frequent collaborator, Juhi Chaturvedi & Writer-Director Tanuja Chandra (Qarib Qarib Single) join forces to give us Prime Video's latest thriller series, Hush Hush. Set in a posh apartment complex at Gurugram, Hush Hush is the story of a three women who get entangled in their friend's seemingly nefarious activities. Soon, their lives are under threat as well.

Hush Hush has an equally talented bunch in front of the camera as it does behind. The ensemble boasts of some fine performances as well. My personal favourites were Soha Ali Khan Pataudi & Karishma Tanna. The latter's restrained policewoman avatar was refreshing. Shahana Goswami & Kritika Kamra alongside veterans, Juhi Chawla & Ayesha Jhulka are worthy additions to the cast.

But Hush Hush does take its own sweet time to get to the crux of it all. It is like they purposefully delay the big reveal to the last 10 minutes of the final episode. The cliffhanger ending for the sake of one doesn't help because we know for a fact that the 2nd season will take a while to arrive. There was a lot that they could have done away with & dwelled a lot more into the person pulling the strings.

Nevertheless, Hush Hush makes up for it by giving us an excellent ensemble & scriptwriters Juhi Chaturvedi & Tanuja Chandra. Watch it for its performances and begin your wait for season 2.

Finally, getting a chance to write about this. I love slasher films and 2022 has been an iconic year for the genre. The resurrection of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series (pathetic to say the least), the forthcoming finale to the Halloween Movie series and the 6th entry in the Scream Movies (which also features Ortega). But what stands out in this crowded genre is Ti West's fabulous X.

Set in the late 70s, the film follows a crew of young filmmakers, who rent a farmhouse from an elderly couple to shoot an adult movie. But when they are caught in the act, the group is forced to run for their lives.

Ti West resurrects a genre that has gone through so many changes over the past 5 decades. X plays out as an homage to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was also set in Texas and had a group of friends being hunted by the locals. West brings his own twisted but refreshing vision to X to give us a satisfying slasher flick.

Mia Goth, is stellar as Maxine, an aspiring adult film star. Joining her is Jenna Ortega as a crew member, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi, Martin Henderson & Owen Campbell.

Ti West shot a prequel back-to-back with X. Titled Pearl, the film released in theatres a week back. There is also a sequel to X that is currently in production.

X is definitely not for the faint hearted. West gets very creative with the kill scenes. But if you are a fan of slasher flicks, then X and it's prequel/upcoming sequel should be right up your alley.