In theatres this week are films across five languages and many genres. Malayalam cinema brings mystery thriller Bouma and Nikhil Mohan’s directorial debut Melcow Pondicherry, while Tamil sees Arjun Das play a cop in the crime thriller John Doe, alongside the hair-trade thriller Black Gold. In English, stop-motion feature Wildwood arrives in theatres, and Kannada rounds off the week with the sci-fi thriller Lambodhara 2.0, marking Kunal Kapoor’s debut in the language.
Here’s what’s releasing in theatres this week:
Telugu
Directed by Sreenu Kambala, this comedy stars Mouli Tanuj Prashanth alongside Raghu Babu, Sushmitha Shetty and Rajitha. The film follows a young man's obsession with getting rich landing him in debt, leading him to plan a robbery that fails hilariously, and the trouble that follows for his family. Donga Naa Koduku releases on November 13.
This romantic drama follows Arjun, a mute man played by Sai Aniesh, and Keerthi, played by Anaswara Rajan. Written and directed by Mahesh Uppala, the film also stars Vennela Kishore, Mukesh Rishi, Elango Kumaravel. Thaman S has composed the film's music. Itllu Arjuna releases on November 13.
Tamil
Written and directed by Madhumita, this psychological crime thriller follows a police officer investigating a mysterious case as clues point to his past and everyone around suspects him. Arjun Das plays the lead, alongside Sanchana Natarajan, Srishti and Zaara Vineet. The film is produced by Prasad Devineni and Shobu Yarlagadda John Doe releases on November 13.
Directed by Dheeran Arunkumar, this action thriller is set within the human hair trade, following the mafias that control the business. The cast includes Vetri, Priyalaya, Livingston, Abirami Venkatachalam and A. Venkatesh. Black Gold arrives in theatres on November 13.
Malayalam
Rejin S. Babu’s Bouma, starring Dileesh Pothan, Sagar Surya, Vineeth Radhakrishnan, Revathy Sharma, Aditi Balan, Mokksha Sengupta, Leena, Vijay Babu and Madhupal, follows a struggling singer (Sharma) who makes her way back into an lone estate tied to her long-forgotten past. In this thriller, Dileesh steps into the role of an investigating officer who attempts to uncover the truth behind a group of missing women. Bouma releases on November 12.
Nikhil Mohan’s comedy-thriller Melcow Pondicherry centers on a group of friends who travel to Pondicherry to simply have a good time and live like their younger selves again. In a twist of events, one of their companions who goes missing, pushing the group of friends into a comedic, chaotic and unexpected series of events.
Starring Arjun Ashokan, Diya Deepan, Althaf Salim and Motta Rajendran, Melcow Pondicherry will arrive in theatres on November 13.
Kannada
Directed by Simple Suni, this sci-fi social thriller follows a young man from Bengaluru drawn into an AI-powered game that blurs his digital world with reality. The cast includes debutant Anil Shetty, Saachi Bindra and Kunal Kapoor. Lambodhara 2.0 releases in theatres on November 13.
English
Directed by Travis Knight and written by Chris Butler, Wildwood is a fantasy adventure film created by the Portland-based studio Laika, the company behind several other animation films such as Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, and ParaNorman.
Set in modern-day Portland, the film follows two teenagers, Prue and Curtis, as they embark on a journey into an enchanted forest, called the Impassable Wilderness, to rescue Prue’s younger brother, Mac, who is snatched by a murder of crows. Mac is abducted on the orders of Dowager Governess Alexandra, who wishes to use him in a dark ritual to trade him for her lost son.
The film stars Carey Mulligan as Alexandra, Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue, Jacob Tremblay as Curtis as well as Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Angela Bassett and Mahershala Ali. Wildwood will release in theatres on November 12.