Directed by G Prajith, the film relies strongly on a sense of “throwback” charm. It tries to recreate the light-hearted family atmosphere seen in Jayaram’s popular films. Written by Jude Anthany Joseph and Aravind Rajendran, the screenplay follows a familiar pattern of middle-class problems and situational humour. The film works mainly because it allows Jayaram (Hariharan) to play to his strengths and evoke nostalgia. For example, the widely trolled BGM and Jayaram’s famous expression as Major Sreekumar are used wisely here, bringing the theatre down with laughter. However, it does not offer much that feels new or surprising. The film openly talks about nepotism and the “godfather culture” in the film industry. This becomes ironic because the actors are a real-life father and son. However, this self-awareness works against the film as Kalidas Jayaram’s (Ajeesh Hariharan) performance feels weak. Rather than questioning the “nepo-kid” label, his acting sometimes reinforces it. The female lead, played by Asha Sharath, is perhaps the film’s weakest link in terms of writing. Portraying a frail, submissive housewife who exists solely to cater to the men in her life, her character lacks depth and agency. Her constant optimism despite severe financial hardship feels more annoying than moving. A late attempt to give her a strong dialogue does not help. Overall, the character feels disconnected from the reality of the modern woman. Although Sharaf U Dheen genuinely tries to carry the anti-villain role, the motives behind his character’s hostility feel weak. On a brighter note, the supporting cast including Ishaani Krishna, Ramesh Pisharody, Anand Manmadhan, Akhil, and Senthil Krishna etc delivers good performances that helps the film. As for the music, while the recreated version of “Dil Dil Salaam Salaam” hits the right nostalgic notes, the rest of the soundtrack fails to make any real impact. -Aiswarya Sudha

Buffalo Kids follows siblings Tom and Mary—and their friend Nick, who has cerebral palsy—as they travel West in search of a family. The film is a sweet, animated story that emphasizes the importance of friendship, family and the need to look past physical differences. Content stumbles include some Native American spirituality and toilet humor.

With Love Movie Synopsis: Sathya meets his school junior, Monisha, in a matchmaking setup. They like each other but Monisha suggests an idea that leads both of them to revisit their school days and old crushes.With Love Movie Review: Debutant Madhan’s With Love is the latest addition to the wave of feel-good films that Tamil cinema has been churning out lately. Though the premise isn’t particularly new, the film attempts to find freshness through its characters and their interactions with each other.Sathya’s (Abishan Jeevinth) sister, who has been pushing for him to get married, sets up a matchmaking meetup between him and Monisha (Anaswara Rajan). Monisha turns out to be his junior in school and the two hit it off instantly. However, Monisha comes up with an idea. She suggests that they try to get in touch and express their untold feelings to their school crushes they aren’t in contact with anymore.It does take a while for the film to find its footing. Initially, it’s difficult not to draw parallels between With Love and other recent Tamil romcoms. The initial interactions between the lead characters also lack a natural ease. However, once the film starts exploring the characters’ flashbacks, With Love becomes more assured and finds its flow.The film relies heavily on the relatability factor. As in all romcoms, the makers have attempted to slice together situations that the audience can resonate with. But this approach doesn’t always work. For instance, a character in the film states that she always knew another character was in love with her because, as a woman, she can sense it. The placement of such broad statements feels engineered for effect rather than organic. It also does not provide further context into the characters’ feelings. With Love works far better when the interactions and one-liner jokes are character-specific rather than when it resorts to being overly generalised.With Love doesn’t reinvent the genre. It follows a conventional pattern but finds the charm in its likeable lead performances, Sean Roldan’s vibrant music and a lovely supporting cast. Abishan, in his debut as a lead, does justice to the boy-next-door role. His unassuming presence helps soften the character of Sathya, who could have come across as off-putting if played by another actor. Anaswara is wonderful. She performs both the emotional and serious moments with a natural ease and without any exaggeration.