Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 27

‘Good Boy’ Episode 3 Review: The Case Gets Darker, Dong-ju Stays Gold

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“Anyone who faces me in the ring, always goes down,” warns ‘Good Boy’ Yoon Dong-ju (Park Bo-gum) when he faces suspicious customs officer Min Joo-Yeong (Oh Jung-se).

Episode 2 of Korean series ‘Good Boy’ ended with athlete-turned-cop Dong-ju pinning down the man who who hit him with a car and dragged his along the road in the pilot episode of the show. It turns out to be a high-level customs officer called Min Joo-Yeong, although the corrupt officer pretends to not recognize Dong-ju. There’s no proof against Joo-Yeong, clearly the antagonist of the series, while Dong-ju’s close friend Lee Gyeong-il (Lee Jung Ha) is framed in the hit-and-run case that results in the death of a customs officer. So episode 3 follows Dong-ju’s efforts to prove Gyeong-il innocent, but a tragically dark turn of events make it harder to investigate the truth.

Titled ‘Million Dollar Baby’, episode 3 of ‘Good Boy’ opens with a flashback of Dong-ju’s crush Ji Han-na (Kim So-hyun) from 2018 Olympics, showing how she missed her chance at winning Gold, despite being a top contender. The focus then shifts back to Dong-ju efforts to investigate the hit-and-run case, and save Gyeong-il from falsely being convicted. Meanwhile, his boss Min Joo-yeong (Heo Sung-tae), also the leader of the newly formed special team, comprising of former Olympic athletes, is still working on convincing Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi) to join their squad and also dissuade Han-na from quitting the force.

This episode is fast-paced, serious, and noticeably darker in tone than the first two episodes of ‘Good Boy‘, although comedic scenes are still sprinkled here and there. The bulk of the humor comes from the Tom-and-Jerry-like relationship between Dong-ju and his senior, Min Joo-yeong. Dong-ju’s impulsive, emotional actions in the case keep giving Min Joo-yeong a headache; however, the boss has clearly grown fonder of his junior.

Dong-ju is the kind of character one would root for, and Park Bo-gum portrays him with endearing charm, flitting between super cute in the light scenes and fiercely intense in the action sequences. Lee Sang-yi, too, continues to be suave as Jong-hyeon, serving as a worthy love rival to Dong-ju, as both of them are in love with Han-na. This episode even features a mildly funny face-off between the two men.

By the end of episode three, everybody in Dong-ju’s team is convinced that the hit-and-run case isn’t as simply as it seems, with a mysterious expensive watch serving as a crucial clue to unraveling what’s happening.

You can stream the series on Prime Video.

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Ginny & Georgia Season 3: The Kids Grow, Georgia… Not So Much

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Well, Ginny & Georgia season 2 ended with a great cliffhanger: Georgia gets arrested right after her wedding to the mayor on charges of murder. So, season 3 of the Netflix series is all about Georgia screaming at her lawyer to prove her innocence, while her kids, Ginny and Austin deal with the horrid aftermath of becoming the children of the ‘Mayoress Murderess’, while grappling with the fear of losing their mom to prison. No more running for Gerogia in this season!

Honestly, at this juncture of ‘Ginny & Georgia’, there have to be many viewers that think Georgia (Brianne Howey) ought to finally face the consequences of murdering people. But the series is intent on trying to prove how ‘hard’ her life was through flashbacks, as a way to defend her. And these flashbacks were plain boring in season three. So this season, I only stuck around to watch what happens to Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Austin (Diesel La Torraca). And given that a full-blown murder trial is going on against Georgia, the sub-plots involving Ginny’s teen friends pale out and become annoying distractions in this edition.

Georgia’s husband Mayor Paul (Scott Porter) is unsure if he should continue to the marriage, or get a divorce to save his public image. Meanwhile, Ginny has it worse, she is still in therapy, in danger of reverting to self-harm, and her love life is on the rocks. If you remember, Marcus Baker (Felix Mallard) breaks up with Ginny in ‘Ginny & Georgia’ season 2, so this season sees their continued struggle to cope up with the heartbreak. Marcus is too depressed to focus on romance, while his twin sister Maxine pursues new crush Silver (Katelyn Wells). And even though some of Ginny’s friends at high-school start behaving weirdly, Maxine and Abby (Katie Douglas) continue to have her back.

The two most crucial new characters introduced in ‘Ginny & Georgia’ season 3 are Georgia’s lawyer, and a potential new romantic interest for Ginny called Wolfe (Ty Doran), who she meets in her poetry club. Unlike the broody, depressed, pseudo ‘bad boy’ Marcus, Wolfe is a lot more easygoing, funny, and has the right kind of energy to counter all the harrowing experiences Ginny is going through. Ty Doran and Antonia Gentry surprisingly make a very cute onscreen pair. Unfortunately, the writers stick to being predictable, and keep Marcus as ‘end game’ for Ginny.

Apart from the legal conflict and suspense over Georgia’s murder case, a lot of the drama in ‘Ginny & Georgia’ involves the fathers trying to take influence their kids. Austin’s biological father Gil (Aaron Ashmore) tries hard to convince Ginny’s dad Zion (Nathan Mitchell) that it would be best if they fight for custody for their kids and not leave them with Georgia. So, there’s a lot of tension involving the parents in this season. Then there’s some sappy suspense over who has Georgia’s heart, is it her ex Zion, the Mayor husband, or Joe (Raymond Ablack) from the coffee shop. Who cares if there’s a serious murder trial going on, right?

Between Ginny & Georgia, I used to be ‘Team Georgia’, but in season 3, Georgia is quite unbearably entitled and bratty, her constant scheming is no longer entertaining. Brianne Howey continues to be loud, bold, and convincing as Georgia, but the character arc is awful this time around. Nikki Roumel reprises her role as the younger Georgia in flashbacks, but like I wrote earlier, the throwbacks to her past felt absolutely unnecessary this time around, doing little to rouse viewer interest, although it does look like some of it will serve as background for new characters in season 4. But at ten episodes long, ‘Ginny & Georgia‘ season 3 is already overstretched and should’ve simply ended.

For me, this season was underwhelming in terms of Georgia’s subplot, although Antonia Gentry has grown by leaps and bounds as a performer and was riveting as a more mature Ginny. Her character also touchingly steps up as Austin’s guardian, taking him to school and helping him navigate the new challenges of being without their mom. While the show earlier clearly stood out with its mother-daughter theme, the siblings’ relationship takes center stage in the second half of season 3. Earlier, it was Ginny and Georgia against the world; this time around, it’s Austin and Ginny versus the world for their mom.

The climax wraps up Georgia’s trial in an all-too-convenient manner, and the end message seems to be “like mom, like daughter.” Despite their differing personalities, Ginny and Georgia prove to be two sides of the same coin. While this season has its merits, I still think Netflix really should’ve ended this series by episode ten, but the climax leaves ample scope for a fourth installment.

Watch Ginny & Georgia on Netflix.

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Perfect 10 Liners Review: Campus RomCom Upgrade from ‘We Are’

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Thai series ‘Perfect 10 Liners’ is all about an exclusive group of university students across different years from different Engineering streams and their romantic entanglements. It could’ve alternatively been titled ‘hot boys chasing dumb clueless crushes’.

Directed by New Siwaj Sawatmaneekul, whose last two series were also campus romances featuring multiple couples (‘Fourever You’, ‘We Are’), the 24 episode long ‘Perfect 10 Liners’ takes place over three years, following three primary pairs and can be distinctly divided into three parts. The first part follows cute fresher Arm (Book Kasidet Plookphol), pursued by hot senior Arc (Force Jiratchapong Srisang), whose flirtatious actions confuse the naive Arm endlessly. While Arc wants to date Arm, the junior often wonders if he wants to murder him.

The second primary pair is Yotha (Perth Tanapon Sukumpantanasan), an Engineering student, known for constantly changing girlfriends and getting into violent brawls. But he tries to mend his ways when he starts to fall for campus roommate Gun (Santa Pongsapak Udompoch), a super-sweet, cheery peer, with a deep fear for the dark. The third love-story follows Yotha’s younger brother Faifa (Junior Panachai Sriariyarungruang), an extroverted popular campus star, who starts to develop feelings for Wine (Mark Jiruntanin Trairattanayon), who is part of the ‘Perfect 10 Liners’ and is Yotha’s mentee.

Since this is a GMMTV series, one can see that the budget wasn’t an issue, and the show has cameos by nearly every young actor on the payroll of the company. It’s sort of like a silly, fluffier, saccharine version of the GMMTV campus drama ‘Only Friends’, which was all about angsty, painful situationships, but ‘Perfect 10 Liners’ is about cutesy, comedic situationships, and both shows have plenty of romantic moments between the lead pairs.

And as if three primary couples weren’t enough for this overlong show, it also stuffs in multiple side couples who randomly appear throughout the episodes. Their storylines seem to exist only to add some variety to the overstretched romance of the lead pairs. For instance, Force and Book (previously also seen in Boss and a Babe and Enchante) as Arc and Arm look great and have decent chemistry, but their ‘courting phase’ is prolonged for far too long in ‘Perfect 10 Liners’. Both of them like each other, kiss a bunch of times, but even then, dummy Arm is confused about what Arc wants from him.

It was more entertaining to watch Arm goofing around with his best-friends Sand (Poon Mitpakdee) and Pipo (JJ Chayakorn Jutamas), the latter being hilarious jokers. Poon Mitpakdee is adorable as Sand, and he ends up dating Arc’s friend (Marc Natarit Worakornlertsith), who is a lot faster in securing himself a boyfriend. Gun’s antics with his childhood best-friend Kong (Aun Napat Patcharachavalit) are also quite funny, especially when the two of them are introduced as loud freshers, quick to scream and scram when they make mistakes, like when they confuse their senior’s dorm room for their own on their first day.

The other two lead pairs have better progression, with brothers Faifa and Yotha also having some serious family baggage to deal with from their parents’ divorce. Yotha is also significantly scalded from his last serious relationship with his older brother’s friend Warit (Boom Tharatorn Jantharaworakarn). Interestingly, Boom’s Warit is the rare ex in a Thai show, who isn’t villainous or over-the-top, although his new boyfriend Klao (Aou Thanaboon Kiatniran) always gets into fights with Yotha.

Junior Panachai Sriariyarungruang looks significantly older than the rest of the cast of ‘Perfect 10 Liners‘ as Faifa, but he emerges as one of the best characters in the show, largely due to Junior’s smooth portrayal. Faifa is introduced as a friendly, overtly kind, and considerate student, always putting others’ needs before his own. This is shown to be a coping mechanism after being dumped by his mother at his father’s place when she finds a new partner. The second half reveals the more sensitive side of Faifa – the one that’s not constantly putting up a brave, cheery front for others, and Junior Panachai Sriariyarungruang convincingly portrays both these sides of the character.

Overall, ‘Perfect 10 Liners’ is more entertaining in its comedic moments, than in the romantic tales of its protagonists. Although, the humor in the series isn’t consistent, with plenty of childish jokes that fall flat, but then there are also some really funny ‘laugh out loud’ scenes. It’s definitely a slight improvement from Thai series ‘We Are’ from the same production house and director, especially since the long runtime is able to do justice to the stories of its main characters.

Rating: 6 on 10. Watch ‘Perfect 10 Liners’ on YouTube.

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One of Them Days Review: SZA & Keke Hustle Hard for Rent

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What’s worse than being nearly broke? Finding out you might also be homeless if you don’t pay your rent in nine hours, especially when you thought you already paid it, only to discover your friend’s squatter boyfriend stole the money instead of handing it over to the landlord! Singer SZA makes her acting debut in the 2025 comedy ‘One of Them Days’, where she plays waitress Dreux, while Keke Palmer is her best friend and flatmate Alyssa (the one who gets conned by the boyfriend).

Dreux and Alyssa have only nine hours to find rent money, or they’ll be kicked to the curb, so the girls desperately run around town trying to make quick cash, which includes selling their blood, seeking out suspicious loan sharks, and unwittingly getting involved with dangerous gangsters. It’s definitely ‘One of Them Days’ where things just keep getting worse and worse. And while some of their shenanigans are comedic, a lot of it isn’t all that funny.

About 1 hour and 37 minutes long, ‘One of Them Days‘ is largely driven by the charm of lead girlies SZA and Keke Palmer, both of whom look stunning and are quite hilarious as the bumbling girlfriends trying to scrounge up rent money. Keke’s Alyssa is the dumber, boy-crazy one, an aspiring artist with no paying job, while SZA’s Dreux is smarter, hard-working, and earnest, though she gets tongue-tied in front of her crush. Towards the end, the two friends team up to rip off bougie white folks by selling them overpriced artwork, which is probably one of the funniest subplots in the film.

Well, ‘One of Them Days’ is obviously a no-brainer comedy, relying on familiar stereotypes and caricatures to push the plot forward. Much of the humor feels outdated, like it was made in the ’90s, and even though the script features a few chuckle-worthy moments, there are too few laugh-out-loud scenes for a comedy flick. Watch it only if you’re a fan of the lead actors. They certainly have the right screen presence and I’d definitely watch them if they’re featured in another comedy as friends.

Rating: 2 stars on 5. ‘One of them Days’ is on Netflix.

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Fight For You Review: Less Spying, More Swooning

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘Fight For You‘ follows Bai Zhou Qi, a rookie investigative officer tasked with spying on Hei Yu Bo, believed to be working for a criminal cartel. So, Bai rents the same flat as Hei, and the two become flatmates. But when they begin to develop romantic feelings for each other, Bai finds his professional mission jeopardized by his personal life.

Directed by Joe Tsai, the 12-episode Taiwanese series ‘Fight For You‘ (對立而已) is supposed to be an action-romantic-comedy, but it ends up largely being a silly, cutesy romance, with some elements of action and comedy sprinkled here and there. Nelson Ji plays newbie undercover investigator Bai Zhou Qi, while Andy Ko portrays his target Hei Yu Bo, a young man working for a service run by gangster Dou Ke Yi (Wills Sia), which entails doing anything for the customer, from finding lost cats to attacking people. Dou Ke Yi is the primary criminal suspect for the intelligence bureau, and Zhou Qi’s strict boss Bu Xing (Matthew Han) hopes to find out more about Dou’s shady dealings by tracking Yu Bo.

One of the funniest things about ‘Fight For You‘ is how little homework Zhou Qi does on Yu Bo, despite being from the intelligence bureau: he doesn’t even know that Yu Bo’s younger sister Jia Li (Mimi Shao) is hospitalized with a serious health condition. In fact, Yu Bo’s only family is his feisty grandmother Hei Shi Lin (Lam Sau Kwan), who runs a small restaurant and has no idea about Jia Li’s hospitalization. Zhou Qi’s parents are absent as well, and he is raised by his strict, proud, and fierce grandfather, along with his older brother, Bai Zhou Guo (Mike Lin), who shares Zhou Qi’s laid-back nature and is also in the intelligence bureau.

Yu Bo is the more serious, reserved, asocial type, while Zhou Qi is cheery, chatty, energetic, and easily manages to win his flatmate over. Their subsequent attraction gets him in a lot of trouble at work. And we all know the eventual conflict is going to be about Yu Bo finding out the truth. However, as the title indicates, Zhou Qi is convinced that Yu Bo is innocent, and he fights for his love despite mounting pressure from both his superiors and his grandfather not to get too deeply involved with someone who has a dubious background.

The first few episodes of ‘Fight For You‘ are slow, although the onscreen chemistry between Nelson Ji and Andy Ko as lead pair Zhou Qi and Yu Bo is quite adorable. The whole intelligence and spying plot is borderline ridiculous and comedic, and the creators throw in an unnecessary secondary romantic pair in the story towards the second half, involving Zhou Qi’s brother. Some of the more interesting themes of the show include the generational gap between the lead pair’s grandparents, and how each grandparent reacts very differently to their love.

Since each episode is less than 30 minutes long, Fight For You doesn’t get too overbearing, even though its primary plot about investigating criminals feels like a joke. It could’ve been a simpler flatmates-to-lovers romantic comedy – and in fact, that’s what it really is; the rest of the show is just extra padding. The official posters of the series might lead viewers to think this is a dark, serious action show, but it really isn’t. So if you’re up for a familiar romantic drama with a fresh pair, it’s a decent one-time watch.

You can watch ‘Fight For You’ on Viki and iQIYI.

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Gram Chikitsalay Review: City Doctor vs Rural Quirks

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Dr. Prabhat Sinha is a young doctor from an affluent family, who voluntarily takes up a posting at a ‘Gram Chikitsalay’, a primary health centre in a tiny village, only to discover it’s in complete disarray: dysfunctional, with not even a road leading to it, stranded in a sea of illegal crops sown by a farmer. The idealistic health professional faces the uphill task of get it up and running to serve patients in the area. This sets him up for a tough life lesson: you can bring a doctor to the village, but that doesn’t mean the village will come to the doctor.

Created by Deepak Kumar Mishra, Arunabh Kumar, Shreya Srivastava, and Vaibhav Suman, the 5-episode Prime Original series ‘Gram Chikitsalay’ stars Amol Parashar as primary protagonist Dr. Prabhat Sinha, struggling to get any patients at the health centre he is posted in. Anandeshwar Dwivedi plays Phutani, the compounder, who’s confident the new big-city doctor will leave the village by the end of his first day – giving him the freedom to slack off and profit from the medical supplies sent to the center. However, Gobind (Akash Makhija), the ward boy, is more optimistic about working with the newcomer. So, what’s it going to be? Will the city boy flee after facing the hardships of village life, or stay on to fulfill his duties without compromising on his ideals?

The first episode is the strongest edition of the show, establishing the basic personalities of the primary characters of ‘Gram Chikitsalay’. Amol Parashar is the idealistic yet naïve Dr. Prabhat Sinha, sticking out like a sore thumb in the village, struggling to blend in, hoping all his issues would be solved by shooting written complaints to the government. The BP machine has been chewed up by rats? The compounder is selling free government medicines in black? Farmers are illegally growing crops on land meant for the health centre? No matter what problem he encounters, Prabhat’s first thought is to file a complaint. It’s another doctor who offers him some useful advice: learn to accept things as they are and fix your own problems.

Thus, the primary theme of the show is the classic ‘insiders versus outsider’ struggle. Even though Prabhat is the only qualified doctor around, the village-folk would rather consult the local quack, Chetak Kumar (entertainingly portrayed by Vinay Pathak), who literally googles symptoms, than give the government doctor a chance. The series, however, misses an opportunity to highlight that it’s not just a matter of trust, it also stems from a widespread (and long-held) misconception among the poor that government health centres are inherently unreliable.

Anandeshwar Dwivedi’s Phutani is one of the most hilarious characters in ‘Gram Chikitsalay‘, an apt representation of a corrupt, lazy, opportunistic government employee. However, Anandeshwar wasn’t completely convincing as a rural resident, something about his personality betrayed the character’s earthiness. Akash Makhija as Gobind, the young, enthusiastic ward boy, is an easy-to-like character in the series, a simple, friendly worker, who genuinely roots for Dr. Prabhat’s success. Garima Vikrant Singh portrays Indu Devi, a hard-working nurse who works on the ground, mostly on vaccination duty, while Santoo Kumar plays her son Sudhir, a minor character at first but one who becomes much more important in the climactic episode, in a turn of events that felt unnaturally dramatic. A minor character who stands out in the series is the cantankerous, perpetually drunk farmer Ram Avtar Singh, portrayed effortlessly by Akhileshwar Prasad Sinha. Living right next to the health centre, Ram Avtar is the one who illegally cultivates crops on government land, creating frequent headaches for the doctor.

Since season one of ‘Gram Chikitsalay‘ is only five episodes long (and it’s evidently made with the hope of being followed up with more seasons), I thought I’d be able to binge-watch it on a Sunday. However, despite its laid-back, comedic rural charm, the show is crafted in a way that doesn’t create significant curiosity or excitement about what’s going to happen next. The second half begins to slack a bit, getting overtly sappy in parts, with different characters either manipulating Dr. Prabhat for their own gains, or giving him sermons about village life. And these sermons get a bit much over time, dissonant with the story’s mostly light-hearted comedic tone.

The cinematography is simple, capturing the rustic charm of rural life, along with curiosities and customs of the northern hinterland.  Dr. Prabhat unwittingly finds himself entangled in local politics, courting politicians merely to promote his health centre, unaware of the complications that come with mingling with netas. An excellent background musical score keeps the doctor’s misadventures and struggles upbeat, even when things start to feel a little boring.

Overall, ‘Gram Chikitsalay’ is an amusing one-time watch, rooted in village politics and community interactions.

Rating: 6.5 on 10. Watch Gram Chikitsalay on Prime Video.

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‘Super Chill: A Year of Living Anxiously’ Book Review

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘Super Chill: A Year of Living Anxiously’ is a small, quick comic book by Adam Ellis, which is a collection of snippets from his life, some comedic, some that are maybe mildly amusing, and a few are just eyeroll inducing. Adam anxiously worrying about how to respond to a stranger’s attempt to start small talk at a party: relatable for introverts or those with social anxiety. Adam drinking a healthy-looking green juice and expecting to look like Chris Hemsworth almost immediately? Meh. That’s just ridiculous wishful thinking. What grade is Adam in? He is a grown adult with a good job at BuzzFeed at that juncture in the book. (Or maybe not, since the anecdotes aren’t necessarily chronologically arranged, but he mentions quitting BuzzFeed in the second half of the book, after the green juice tale)

Well, I enjoyed Adam Ellis’ cartoony, cutesy artwork and illustrations, which were slightly reminiscent of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s drawings in the ‘Scott Pilgrim’ comics. A lot of his antics are juvenile but also sort of fun, so it’s an easy book to read. There’s no story here; it’s more of a visual diary, recording different incidents from the creator’s life, some of which are certainly imaginary or exaggerated for entertaining readers. It’s a whole package of varied millennial dread, and of course, you can include Gen-Z too.

The tagline for ‘Super Chill’ – A Year of Living Anxiously, feels over-exaggerated because one of the most serious problems that Adam faces in the book is not having an itinerary for his trip to Japan. Considering how expensive Japan is as a travel destination, that’s a very first-world ‘privileged person’ problem. The fact that he gets to go there alone is a fact that’s likely to raise more envious scorn from a reader who’s had Japan on their “want to go” list for far too long. Yes, that might include me too. Okay, but I get it, for those who have social anxiety, what seems “regular” to others might feel “overwhelming” to them, and Adam tries to show that in a casual, humorous manner.

From not drinking enough water, to hoarding useless crystals (sorry if you believe in their healing powers… truly), or calling his mom to make his hair appointment, Adam Ellis shares lots of funny and unfunny anecdotes from his life. The art, for me, made this a breezy read, and if you’re looking for something silly and “chill,” go give this under-150-pages book a read.

Rating: 3 out of 5. Super Chill is also on Kindle Unlimited.

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Eyestring Review: Eight Minutes of Creepiness

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Well, this was pretty creepy for an eight minute short horror film! Created by Javier Devitt, and Alena Chinault, ‘Eyestring’ stars Alena as Veronica, a young woman grappling with a strange string protruding from her eyes.

The film opens with Veronica speaking on what appears to be a therapy call, only to reveal she’s dialed into a randomized hotline where callers rarely speak to the same person twice. She shares her thoughts on loneliness and isolation, and is told to “follow your mind’s eye”, a piece of advice that marks the unsettling start of her mysterious eye troubles.

Just people touching their eyes can get a few people uneasy (including me), so the body-horror in ‘Eyestring‘ instantly made me uncomfortable and scared for whatever was happening to Veronica. The young protagonist scrambles around to find a solution to her weird problem. And as a viewer, your first thought is, “Why is she not going to an eye doctor?!” But then you think, oh well, she probably doesn’t have health insurance, and that’s truly the terrifying silent aspect of the tale: that people cannot afford healthcare. Is ‘Eyestring‘ a metaphorical criticism of the health system? Not sure.

The other way to look at ‘Eyestring‘ is through Veronica’s mental health perspective. She rarely steps out of her house, is lonely, probably depressed, and just when she is told to follow her “mind’s eye,” the creepy protrusion forces her out of her home, out of her comfort zone, pushing her to find answers to her problem. Although she doesn’t do a lot, eventually goes back home and simply starts resorting to simpler, desperate steps. And just when she thinks she might’ve solved her problem, things get worse!

Maybe it’s a metaphor for her not doing enough to cleanse herself from whatever it is that’s holding her back, so the darkness within her grows despite her superficial efforts to get rid of it. Damn, I wasn’t trying to turn this review into an explainer, but oh well.

The cinematography is simple, straightforward, and the eye-thing is disturbing to say the least. Overall, ‘Eyestring’ is an interesting little film, and even though the ending is almost comedic and abrupt, it offers plenty of food for thought for the thinking viewer.

Rating: 7 on 10. The film is now on Alter’s YouTube channel.

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Loveyapa Review: Loud, Glossy Delhi-Style Take on Love Today

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The romantic-comedy ‘Loveyapa’ is a glossy, shiny, Bollywood version of Pradeep Ranganathan’s ‘Love Today’, and is almost as entertaining, with a few aspects improved, and some other elements watered down. I could pretty much copy-paste my old ‘Love Today’ review, because ‘Loveyapa’ is quite faithful to the original in terms of core plot, big twists, and themes.

Directed by Advait Chandan, Loveyapa is an official remake of Love Today, with Pradeep Ranganathan serving as one of the producers. It stars Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor as lead couple Gaurav Sachdeva and Baani Sharma. The plot is the same: when Baani’s strict father, Atul Kumar Sharma (Ashutosh Rana), finds out that she is dating Gaurav, he challenges the young couple to swap their phones for 24 hours to see if they still trust each other enough for marriage after the exchange. Their future at stake, the young couple reluctantly agrees to the idea. But will their love survive all the digital secrets hidden in their cell phones?

The premise was fresh and fun when Love Today came out, and Loveyapa benefits from the zany plot, managing to be just as comedic in the first half, with the lovers scrambling to get their phones back, and then fighting over their discoveries. One of the few things Loveyapa does better than Love Today is the interactive graphics used to show the chats, messages, and other exchanges on Baani and Gaurav’s phones. These improvements are largely due to the fact that Loveyapa has a much bigger budget, 60 crore INR versus Love Today‘s modest 5 crore INR. So, the sets are also shiner, grander, and unlike the more relatable middle-class settings of its Tamil counterpart.

Ashutosh Rana is excellent as Baani’s strict father, who stirs up trouble in the couple’s cutesy, cringe-y love life by forcing them to exchange their phones, thereby exposing their double digital lives. Grusha Kapoor also hilariously plays Gaurav’s loud, dominant Punjabi mom, who is constantly upbraiding him for being glued to his phone all the time. One of the funniest montages in Loveyapa shows Grusha’s character repeatedly snatching Gaurav’s phone at various moments, right after he wakes up, at the dining table, in the bathroom, even while driving, chiding him each time with lines like “Not while eating!”, “Not in the bathroom!”, and “Not while driving!”.

Like the original, a crucial subplot in ‘Loveyapa‘ focuses on Gaurav’s older sister Kiran (Tanvika Parlikar) and her engagement to a dentist called Anupam (Kiku Sharda), who wins her heart with his kindness and transparency, while everyone else is skeptical of the match due to his being overweight. However, the misunderstandings and fights that erupt between Gaurav and Baani over their phone chats spill over to Kiran, as she begins to get suspicious of Anupam’s possessiveness about his phone. The diversity and differences between the two couples adds a fun touch to the runtime. The creators sprinkle in some fun Bollywood easter eggs: Gaurav and Baani are seen dancing in front of a screen playing Aamir Khan’s iconic Pehla Nasha, while Anupam and Kiran channel Raj and Simran from DDLJ in their pre-wedding shoot.

Junaid Khan’s debut film ‘Maharaj‘ saw him on more solid footing with a serious script, while the romantic comedy ‘Loveyapa‘ sees him falter here and there, even though overall, his performance is passable as a creepy guy who messages girls at random, asking for their photos. Comedy of course, is much more difficult to pull off than serious dramas. I said it in my review for ‘Love Today‘, and I’ll say it again: the lead ‘hero’ is made to look like a decent human being through the introduction of creepier dudes. So, what if Gaurav pretends to be single and flirts with women, asking them for their photos – at least he isn’t blackmailing them. L-O-L.

Baani, on the other hand, is naive, yet smart enough to keep her options open, never actively discouraging the male attention she receives online, keeping some of her guy friends on ‘the hook’. Khushi Kapoor’s portrayal of Baani has more life than her performances in ‘Nadaaniyan‘ and ‘The Archies‘, but her act is still not convincing or confident enough to pull off lead roles. The onscreen chemistry between Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor is lukewarm, although their bickering garners laughs, courtesy some casual, witty dialogues.

If you haven’t seen the Tamil original and are a Bollywood fan with a soft-spot for romantic-comedies, ‘Loveyapa’ is an entertaining affair, thanks to its funny, modern script that pokes fun at the dual lives people live online.

Rating: 6 on 10. You can watch ‘Loveyapa’ on Jio Hotstar.

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A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Trailer: Colin, Margot, and Magic Doors

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“It’s funny how the most beautiful place makes you feel the most alone, you know…”

The trailer for upcoming movie ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’, teases a magical fantasy-romance starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell as two strangers brought together by fate, and a mysterious magical door.

The trailer begins with a rain-drenched wedding scene, where Sarah (Robbie) and David (Farrell) meet for the first time. What follows is not just a date or a budding romance, but an extraordinary adventure through enchanted doorways that transport them to pivotal moments from their past. Think Narnia, but with zero mythical creatures and more emotional baggage, so the only possible villains are the ghosts of the couple’s past.

Directed by Kogonada and written by Seth Reiss, the film promises a whimsical yet soul-stirring story where memory, regret, and second chances intertwine. Sarah and David, two single guests at a mutual friend’s wedding, find themselves pulled into a series of surreal encounters that allow them to confront both joyful and painful episodes of their personal histories. As they navigate this dreamlike journey together, the possibility of rewriting their future begins to emerge.

This marks Margot Robbie’s first major role since her massive 2023 success with ‘Barbie’, while Colin Farrell returns to a romantic lead after his darker turn as Oswald Cobb AKA Penguin in the live-action series ‘The Penguin’. While the trailer doesn’t reveal much about their onscreen chemistry, the fresh pairing alone is enough to pique interest.

From the looks of it, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey may just live up to its ambitious title, a heart-tugging, time-skipping tale of rediscovery and romance. The film is expected to release on September 19, 2025.

You can watch the trailer on YouTube, it’s also embedded below.