Entertainment
Here’s some new shows and movies to watch:
“Serious Men” (Netflix, Oct. 2)
Based on the Manu Joseph book, the story follows Ayyan Mani, who works as an assistant at the Institute of Theory and Research in Mumbai. He lives in a slum with his wife and a son. Unhappy with his situation in life, Ayyan develops an outrageous story that his 10-year-old son is a mathematical genius – a lie which later gets out of control. Nawazuddin Siddiqui said, “This is my second stint with Netflix after ‘Sacred Games,’ and I hope that people give Ayyan Mani from ‘Serious Men’ the same love that they extended to Ganesh Gaitonde from ‘Sacred Games.’ ” Written by Bhavesh Mandalia and directed by Sudhir Mishra of “Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi” and “Chameli” fame. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Aakshath Das, Shweta Basu Prasad, Nassar, and introduces actor Indira Tiwari.
“Ginny Weds Sunny” (Netflix, Oct. 9)
In this wedding-themed comedy, Yami Gautam plays a headstrong Delhi girl Ginny Gill, who lives with her matchmaker mother and is introduced to Sunny for a potential arranged marriage. But she is adamant to find the guy of her dreams on her own. Sunny, on the other hand, is trying his luck with the ladies too. When the two meet at a wedding, Sunny tries hard to impress Ginny, creating laughs amid love, life, weddings and music. The film is directed by Puneet Khanna, written by Navjot Gulati and Sumit Arora; and stars Yami Gautam, Vikrant Massey and Ayesha Raza.
“Evil Eye” (Amazon Prime, Oct. 13)
A superstitious mother is convinced that her daughter’s new boyfriend is the reincarnation of a man who tried to kill her 30 years ago. The mother grows increasingly paranoid and tries to warn her daughter repeatedly. Are the mother’s convictions correct? Is her past haunting her daughter’s present? Watch to find out. This is the first project produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas for Amazon. The actress will also produce a dance reality show about sangeet ceremonies with husband Nick Jonas. Directed by Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, the film stars Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati and Sarita Choudhury.
“Mirzapur 2” (Amazon Prime, Oct. 23)
Its relentless pace, well etched-out characters and nuanced narrative had left fans wanting more. Two years later, the second season of “Mirzapur” is finally here. The crime thriller follows two brothers caught up in a world of drugs, violence and the mafia. The game of greed and power ends up turning messy. It depicts the government and rule of mafia dons and the competition prevailing from the Purvanchal area of Uttar Pradesh. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani recently said, “Bringing thrilling and untold stories from India’s hinterland without losing authenticity has been our biggest win. All the praise that season one of Mirzapur has received, not just in India, but across the globe, is heartening.” The series features Pankaj Tripathi, Divyendu Sharma, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rasika Duggal and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
“Masaba Masaba” (season 1, on Netflix)
Real life mom-daughter duo Neena and Masaba Gupta play versions of themselves in this playful peek, with tongue-in-cheek humor, into their lives in fashion and film. The series scripted from Masaba’s life follows her unique background, the diverse worlds she straddles across fashion and family, and her foray back into the dating world.
“Bad Boy Billionaires: India” (season 1, Netflix documentary releases on Sept. 2) This investigative docu-series explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up — and ultimately brought down — India’s most infamous tycoons. They are diamantaire Nirav Modi, Subrata Roy (of the Sahara Group), now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya; and Ramalinga Raju (ex-chairman/CEO of Satyam Computer Services).
“Laxmmi Bomb” (122 minutes, Hotstar, releases on Sept. 9)
Akshay Kumar plays the character of a transgender in this horror-comedy film, a remake of the Tamil “Muni 2: Kanchana.” It’s the story of a timid-natured boy who suffers from a fear of ghosts and undergoes a personality transformation after being possessed by the spirit of a trans named Laxmmi.
Directed by Raghava Lawrence. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani, Sharad Kelkar, Tusshar Kapoor.
“Cargo” (119 minutes, Netflix, releases on Sept. 9)
Dubbed as India’s first-ever homegrown sci-fi spaceship film, “Cargo” traces the journey of a female astronaut who meets a reticent astronaut on a spaceship. With the struggles of her job piling on, she gets better acquainted with the mysterious cargoes that land on the spacecraft.
Written and directed by Arati Kadav. The film stars Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Nandu Madhav, Konkona Sen Sharma.