Janhvi Kapoor’s latest spy thriller, Ulajh, is now streaming on Netflix. Ulajh features a decent cast with names like Roshan Mathew, Gulshan Devaiah, and Adil Hussain.

The film starts off intriguingly, with Janhvi Kapoor playing a high-ranking government official who gets caught in a sexual blackmail scheme involving video recordings. The plot revolves around how anti-national elements use this to manipulate her for their gain against India.

However, it doesn’t take long for the film to lose momentum. As the story progresses, the silliness increases, and by the climax, all the initial promise is lost, largely due to the poor writing and the lack of logic in the narrative.

Janhvi’s role feels extremely dull, which adds to the lackluster storytelling, especially for a spy thriller like Ulajh.

For viewers who don’t mind weak content on OTT platforms but enjoy the spy thriller genre, Ulajh might still be worth a try for its cast—if you have no other options for a home watch.

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Humane was written by Michael Sparaga (United We Fan 2018) and stars Jay Baruchel (Random Acts of Violence 2019) Emily Hampshire (Mom 2024) and Peter Gallagher (American Beauty 1999). The story follows the upper crust York family in a dystopian world, where the government requires volunteers to be killed to control the population. Those that volunteer have their families rewarded with tons of money upon their death. The heads of the York family gather their children to tell them the news, and all hell breaks loose.

Only one of the Yorks sticks to the death pact, so the government must collect a second body. Trapped in the desolate mansion, the family must now either work together or fall apart, as secrets and tension mount.

Humane hits a home run in terms of the chemistry and clear delineation of its characters. Every member of the York family has a rocky history, clear motivation, and can be seen for who they are, very quickly. The brother and sister dynamic and family toxicity feels real and is worn on each of their faces. This dialogue-heavy success is well paced, and leads to some genuinely funny dark comedy, without ever killing the tension that it builds.

Humane also uses its rooms to isolate the characters and peel back the curtain on their relationships. Cronenberg clearly thrives in the chaotic world she builds, just like her father. But unlike David’s body-horror, Caitlin weaves societal statements into her work. Themes of classism, racism, governmental divide, and greed are woven expertly into this game of survival. With all of the subtext it provides, it would feel dystopian not to have this movie in the upper crust of your horror lists by year’s end.

Humane is currently streaming on Shudder.

96-fame director C Prem Kumar returns to the director’s chair after nearly five years to helm Sathyam Sundaram, a slice-of-life film on relationships and nostalgia. The film stars Aravind Swamy and Karthi in lead roles, who play the titular characters of Sathyam and Sundaram respectively. Sathyam and Sundaram is originally titled Meiyazhagan in Tamil. While the Tamil film is set in Thanjavur and Chennai, the Telugu film’s locations have been changed to Guntur and Vizag respectively. Sathyam Sundaram is produced by Jyothika and Suriya, who have previously backed critically acclaimed films like Soorarai Pottru (Aakasame Nee Haddura in Telugu) and Jai Bhim.

What is it about?

Sathyam (Aravind Swamy) and his family lose their beloved ancestral house in Guntur due to a property litigation in 1996, following which they tearfully leave the town and move to Chennai. 22 years later, Sathyam makes a trip back to Guntur to attend his sister’s wedding. What happens when Sathyam bumps into an overly friendly childhood acquaintance in the village (Sundaram) forms the crux of the story.

Performances

Karthi is the heart and soul of the film and he is the reason why everyone connects with the story. He also elicits the most laughs out of the audience. Aravind Swamy plays an introverted character with a lot of trauma. His screen presence fades a bit when he is with Karthi, but nevertheless, he delivers a strong performance.

Sri Divya and Devadarshini play the wives of these main characters. Despite their limited screentime, they are both endearing and memorable. Rajkiran, as Sathyam’s uncle Sukumar, is extremely relatable and effective, reminding a lot of us of our uncles.

Technicalities

The film has extremely emotional and soul stirring music by Govind Vasantha. The intent and meaning of the original Tamil lyrics of the songs have also been translated competently by Rakendu Mouli.

The film’s original location Thanjavur, with its ancient temples, plays a major role in determining the film’s overall production values. Though the makers of the film have changed the location in the Telugu version to Guntur, it is hard to miss the effect of Thanjavur in the film.

In addition to the friendship between Sathyam and Sundaram, the film also emphasises the relationship these actors share with animals of all kinds, ranging from cats, parrots to bulls and snakes. It adds a wholesome and heartwarming flair to the overall narrative.

The cinematography, by Mahendiran Jayaraju, plays a huge role in conveying the film’s soothing-yet-hard hitting themes. The result makes the film look both real and cinematically beautiful at the same time.

Thumbs up

Karthi & Aravind Swamy
90s nostalgia
Writing
Worldbuilding
Music

Thumbs down

Runtime
Slow paced narrative

Analysis

Sathyam Sundaram is a beautiful trip down the memory lane. Much like the director’s previous film 96 (and its Telugu remake Jaanu), a majority of the film takes place in the space of one night with just two characters.

Movies that take place entirely within the span of a single night fit well in the thriller genre, but clearly, 96 and Sathyam Sundaram are exceptions to this rule. Each dialogue, scene, sub-plot and arc in the film leaves a person with a smile and a good feeling in their hearts.

The film slowly but steadily wins the heart of everyone with its sincere emotions. A couple of scenes in particular, have the potential of making the audience tear up, due to their highly effective and relatable emotionality.

The makers have taken good care to ensure that it appeals well to Telugu audience, with attention to detail given to the dialogues, comedy and lyrics. This film will particularly impress 90s kids, with its bicycle sub-plot, flashback portions in the village and the actors humming iconic 90s songs like Singarala.

The film could have been much easier to enjoy though, had it been 30-40 minutes shorter (the runtime is 177 minutes long). The film’s makers could have also gone for a different title since it gives a spoiler to one of the film’s biggest mysteries. All in all, Sathyam Sundaram is a positive step in the direction of good, soulful cinema. However, those who do not enjoy slice-of-life emotional dramas or three-hour long films must definitely think twice before watching Sathyam Sundaram.

Verdict: Emotional Journey Of Pure Hearts

Rating: 3/5

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