Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ram, Laxmi, stories from the Hindu epics are seen in carvings, paintings and murals, as well as recognisable figures from mythology, like Garuda, Sheshnag, Nandi and Apsaras, notes Deepa Gahlot, savouring the beauty of Cambodia.
The visuals in Mayasabha are overwhelming, the treatment is heavy-handed, and the performances overdone, observes Deepa Gahlot.
In the year gone by, quite a few of the younger actors flexed their acting muscle. Whether the films were blockbusters or not is immaterial, what matters is the effort put in.
'There is a fortune in stolen money, counterfeit notes floating around, and political skullduggery afoot, along with treachery, double dealing, kidnapping and all manner of wickedness packing the series so densely that the pace never flags and a profusion of twists keeps the story engaging even when it strains credibility,' notes Deepa Gahlot.
There were quite a few female-led shows in 2025, and actresses got to play some interesting, non-cliched parts.
Tokyo -- the songs Japan, Love In Tokyo and Sayonara from the 1966 Hindi film automatically pop up in the mind -- is buzzing and crowded like any other metropolis, discovers Deepa Gahlot. The modern apartment blocks are built cheek by jowl, so close together that one can open the window and borrow sugar from the neighbour in the next building. One of the fears of the Indian traveller is the unavailability of vegetarian food. Every city and town in Japan has an array of Indian restaurants that serve every variety of cuisine, right from Gujarati to Punjabi to Andhra and Kerala meals.
2025 had some interesting performances on OTT series and films. Deepa Gahlot picks the Top 10 Male OTT Performances.
Since there is no box office pressure on OTT, actors are willing to experiment with roles, as well as open to performing with greater sincerity.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo delivers his best performance yet in The Lincoln Lawyer 4, applauds Deepa Gahlot.
Will these brilliant Iranian filmmakers reflect the turmoil in their country?
Train Dreams refuses to pander to an attention-deficit audience and is not afraid of the silence of emotional depth, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Bugonia's ending, though not unexpected, is still shocking, reveals Deepa Gahlot.
Though it revisits a terrifying period of Brazilian history, The Secret Agent just skims over the surface of the darkness, not losing its pace, colour, music and a sense of optimism, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Jazz City could have been enjoyable had it not been so densely over-plotted and unevenly executed, notes Deepa Gahlot.
O'Romeo is an ordinary plot about a man's obsession, but Vishal Bhardwaj lays it out like a lavish spread, with stylish and very violent action set pieces, effectively used music (Bhardwaj composes Gulzar's delectable lyrics), and a romance that has moments that are tender as well as bitter, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Dharmendra got his He Man image with Phool Aur Patthar, which was so strong that he never managed to fully shrug it off.
Even with its convoluted plot and a bit of a mid-series sag, Young Sherlock is tremendous fun, applauds Deepa Gahlot.
Saali Mohabbat escalates the hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned theme, and fashions a dark domestic thriller, discovers Deepa Gahlot.
In 2025, the top actresses remained absent, the ones who could have commanded strong roles. In any case, great roles for women are not even written in mainstream cinema, but when they get a role worth working for, they did their best.
While some of them were excellent, most were passable. But many were far superior to the theatrical releases.
Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos is not supposed to make sense, and doesn't even pretend to, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Deepa Gahlot picks 10 must-watch movies about singles and the consciously uncoupled.
The Night Manager Season 2 is a comfortably paced, tension holding series, with a couple of solid twists, observes Deepa Gahlot.
On the basis of his rogueish Veeru in Sholay and Parimal in Chupke Chupke, Dharmendra softened his He-Man image and went on to do a series of charming comedies.
'The war scenes in which Indian soldiers fight fearlessly and the powerful dialogues are meant to make the audience proud of the loyalty and valour of Indian soldiers,' observes Deepa Gahlot.
From the swag displayed in the King teaser, there is no dimming of the klieg light of his superstardom... yet, notes Deepa Gahlot.
The Great Shamsuddin Family is a seemingly light chamber piece that hides its claws of social commentary under the chirpy banter of an apartment full of women, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Thamma is mostly entertaining and not grotesquely horror-inducing, observes Deepa Gahlot.
In 2025, OTT series were entertaining enough, even though most were in the crime genre.
Ranveer has shown the right instincts in his choice of roles, which he has played with seeming effortlessness, backed with preparation and understanding.
Big films like Dhurandhar, Chhava and Kantara: Chapter 1 hit box office gold in 2025, and its directors, Aditya Dhar, Laxman Utekar and Rishab Shetty, have proved their worth. But many other directors made an impact with their 2025 releases, in various languages.
Christmas Karma narrowly misses being a highway pile up, mainly because its heart is in the right place, believes Deepa Gahlot.
You can watch some of the Oscar nominated films on OTT.
Because it treats soldiers as human, and concentrates on their emotions as much as their bravery, Border 2, probably without meaning to, speaks out against war, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Deepa Gahlot picks 10 Bollywood horror flicks to mark Friday the 13th.
The 97th Academy Awards are days away and there are some strong contenders for the top awards.
10 great movie choices for that date night on February 14.
The trailer of Jolly LLB 3 shows the two Jollys pitted against each other, which is a very clever idea, because both stars are terrific with comedy, notes Deepa Gahlot.
By not turning Mrs Deshpande into a monster like the notorious Hannibal Lecter, the show may have reduced the chills. Still, it's an efficiently made crime show, which depends on the stardom of Madhuri Dixit, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli lacks the wit and the wickedness to go anywhere with the mildly intriguing setup, observes Deepa Gahlot.
