Do Deewane Seher Mein's trailer seemed alright and it has released with minimal hopes. However, it has turned out to be a surprise of the season. To begin with, the male protagonist is not toxic or does not sport a heavy beard. He's kind towards women and that automatically helps the film stand out in today's times of hyper masculinity. Both characters are very relatable; viewers will know someone who’s like them or they’ll see themselves in these characters. The ending is lovely and touching. However, the goings-on are a bit random and incoherent in some places. The narrative seems stretched in the middle of the second half. And the biggest issue with the film is the poor soundtrack. Not a single song is memorable and this is just not fair for a love story. Siddhant Chaturvedi gets into the skin of the character completely and is quite lovable as Shashank. The stunning Mrunal Thakur (Roshni) delivers a heartfelt performance, yet again proving that she’s a powerhouse of talent. Sandeepa Dhar leaves a mark in a supporting role. Viraj Ghelani, as expected, raises laughs. Naveen Kaushik (Shashank's boss), Ila Arun (Ila Rastogi; Roshni’s nani), Ayesha Raza (Kusum Shrivastav; Roshni’s mother), Joy Sengupta (Adarsh Shrivastav; Roshni’s father), Mona Ambegaonkar (Sudha Sharma; Shashank’s mother) and Achint Kaur (Mandy) are lovely in supporting roles. All in all, Do Deewane Seher Mein is like a breath of fresh air and deserves to work. Here’s hoping audiences who missed out on last week’s gem, Tu Yaa Main, don’t repeat the mistake with Do Deewane Seher Mein.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

Assi begins on a shocking note that grips the viewers instantly. The makers inform at the very beginning that a rape is reported in the country every 20 minutes. This information is reminded to the viewer after every 20 minutes into the runtime and it further packs a punch. The courtroom scenes are the most memorable. At the same time, director Anubhav Sinha focuses on what the survivor goes through and the female members of the rapists' families, further enhancing the impact. Despite so many plusses, the film sadly slips at several plusses. In some scenes, the film has been executed in a 'film festival' style. Anubhav should have ideally helmed it like Mulk or Taapsee's Pink – films which were legal dramas, were not masala entertainers as such and yet, had mainstream appeal. Secondly, for some reason, a lot of prominence is given to the character of Kartik (Kumud Mishra), which distracts the viewers from the principal story. Even the cop character's track doesn't pack the intended punch. Speaking of performances, Taapsee Pannu returns to the zone that she owns and is too good, as always. Kani Kusruti plays a very difficult character and comes out with flying colours. Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub gets to play a lovable, unconventional character and he essays it with panache. Kumud Mishra is okay. Satyajit Sharma (Navratan; defence lawyer), Rajendra Sethi (senior cop), Jatin Goswami (Sanjay; cop), Revathy (Vasudha; judge), Manoj Pahwa (rapist's father), the actor playing ASI Vanita and others lend able support. Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak and Seema Pahwa are impressive in special appearances. All in all, Assi is definitely worth a watch, but could have been a classic had the direction been consistent.

My rating - *** out of 5!

Like Zootopia, GOAT depicts a world of anthropomorphic animals. The imagination is solid. The city of Vineland is seen to be believed while the idea of having a game called 'roarball' adds a novel touch. The stadiums are also quite imaginative. The ending is lovely and a few scenes are touching. While Tyree Dillihay's contemporary direction is appealing, it also acts as the film's minus point. This is because the fast-paced cuts and sensory overload gets too much after a point. The humour is minimal, which is surprising for a film of this kind. Caleb McLaughlin does well in voicing the protagonist, Will. Gabrielle Union (Jett Fillmore) comes next. Jenifer Lewis (Florence Everson, aka Flo), is the best voice actor in the film, followed by Nick Kroll (Modo). All in all, GOAT is a timepass animation entertainer.

My rating - *** out of 5!

WILL THE COURTROOM DRAMA AND LOVE STORY BRING CHEER AT THE BOX OFFICE?

Last week’s releases, O'Romeo and Tu Yaa Main, have underperformed. As predicted last week, O'Romeo opened at Rs. 7.50 crores. It saw a huge jump on Saturday, when it earned Rs. 11 crores. The Valentine’s Day holiday came to its rescue and also, many preferred to see the film on Saturday than Sunday. The crucial India vs Pakistan T20 match was held on the third day and it impacted collections. Usually, Sunday collections are higher than Saturday. But O'Romeo earned Rs. 8.25 crores on its third day.

From Monday, the makers opted for Buy One Get One (BOGO) Ticket offer. The next day, the discounted Tuesday offer was also implemented. The collections on fourth and fifth day, thus, were Rs. 4.25 crores. The first week collections are expected to be around Rs. 42-43 crores. With barely any competition, the film should aim to at least cross the Rs. 60 crore mark.

Meanwhile, Tu Yaa Main collected just Rs. 50 lakhs, which was way below the expectations of Rs. 1 crore-1.50 crore. Like O'Romeo, this film also jumped on Saturday, collecting Rs. 1.35 crore. On Sunday, the collections slipped to Rs. 75 lakhs. On Monday and Tuesday, Tu Yaa Main earned Rs. 40 lakhs and Rs. 45 lakhs respectively. At this rate, the first week collections are expected to be around Rs. 4.50 crores. Hopefully, the film will remain steady from here on but it won’t help much as the collections are so low. Interestingly, the word of mouth is very positive and yet it hasn’t translated into respectable collections. 

This week will also see the release of two films. Assi sees the return of Taapsee Pannu in a hard-hitting role. It is directed by Anubhav Sinha; both had collaborated earlier in Mulk and Thappad. The trailer of Assi packs a punch and has caught attention due to its content and dialogues.

The makers came up with an interesting strategy for promotion. Last month, it was revealed that a film named Assi is coming; it had no mention of the makers, cast, director etc. The next poster mentioned that the highest paid crew member on the film is the writer! Its trailer was attached with Border 2 and that’s where viewers came to knew what the film is about and who is involved.

However, Assi seems to be disturbing and for a niche audience. Taapsee-Anubhav’s last film, Thappad, opened at Rs. 2.76 crores. It was one of the last films before the pandemic hit and since then, things have changed for such films. The best-case scenario is that the film opens at Rs. 1-1.25 crore.

The other release of the week is Do Deewane Seher Mein. It stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Mrunal Thakur in leading roles. It is directed by Ravi Udyawar who made Mom and who also directed Siddhant in Yudhra. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is involved with the film as a producer.

The trailer of Do Deewane Seher Mein is sweet and it looks like a clean, non-toxic love story. However, the hype is limited while the songs haven’t worked. Like Assi, Do Deewane Seher Mein will also open in the range of Rs. 1 crore and Rs. 1.25 crore. It remains to be seen which film manages to do better on the first day.