Those who have been complaining that there is nothing to watch after the recent highs of Baaghi and Captain America: Civil War, please note: there are seven releases this week.
Azhar Tony D’Souza’s much-awaited biopic of the controversial cricket Mohammed Azharuddin must be praying for a lucky Friday the 13th. Emraan Hashmi plays the disgraced former captain of the Indian cricket team, who steered India to several victories in the 1990s. Banned for life in 2000 after allegations of match-fixing, Azharuddin earned a reprieve in 2012 when the ban was lifted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The movie has been written by Rajat Aroraa (Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and its sequel; The Dirty Picture). Prachi Desai plays Azharuddin’s first wife Naureen, while Nargis Fakhri has the plum role of Sangeeta Bijlani, the cricketer’s second wife.
Money Monster A Wall Street thriller directed by Jodie Foster. Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the popular host of a market analysis show who is taken hostage by an investor, Kyle (Jack O’Connell), whose savings have been wiped out by a bad tip. Julia Roberts is the television producer who keeps tempers calm and saves Gates’s skin.
Pele: Birth of a Legend The other sports biopic of the week is about one of the greatest footballers on the planet. Jeff Zimbalist (Favela Rising) directs this account of Pele’s rise to national and international stardom from the slums of Rio De Janeiro. Kevin De Paula plays the adult footballer.
Dear Dad Arvind Swamy, in only his second Hindi movie, plays the father of a troubled teenager who bonds with his son while dropping him off to boarding school. The father has a secret to share with his son (), but is the adolescent ready for the revelation? A debut by Tanuj Bhramar.
Buddha in a Traffic Jam Vivek Agnihotri, director of such films as Chocolate and Hate Story, is finally hitting the cinemas with his long-delayed movie about an ideological battle for the soul of India. The story is told through Vikram (Arunoday Singh), a business school student who tries to improve the lot of poor people in the Naxal-affected belt of India.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 What can the story of a sequel to a breakout comedy that came out in 2002 possibly be? This one is not really about Toula (Nia Vardalos) and her husband Ian (John Corbett), but about their parents, who find out that they have not been officially married. The stage is set for another wedding, this time involving the daughter of Toula and Ian, who would rather not be Greek at this point.
Criminal A Central Intelligence Agency operative dies before he can expose a plan to seize control of all the nuclear defence codes in the world. The agent’s memories are implanted in the damaged brain of a convict (Kevin Costner), who escapes the CIA’s clutches before the secrets can be retrieved. Also starring Gary Oldman, Ryan “Deadpool” Reynolds, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gal “Wonder Woman” Gadot.
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