Ghamasaan, which has released today on Zee5, is inspired by real-life incidents. It tells the story of an honest cop and his quest to eliminate a dreaded gangster of Bundelkhand. What strikes viewers at the very onset is that director Tigmanshu Dhulia, who had faltered lately, is back with a bang with a film that reminds one of his past memorable films like Haasil, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and Paan Singh Tomar. The villain has been fleshed out perfectly. Viewers will feel terrified when he appears on screen or commits atrocities and will root for the protagonist to eliminate him. The film stagnates in some places and a few sub-plots don't connect properly to the principal plot. The final scene doesn’t pack a punch as intended. However, the portion before that is very nail biting and also clapworthy. Arshad Warsi is known for comic roles, but here he’s seen in a never-before-seen avatar and he rocks the show. Easily, one of his best performances. Rajpal Yadav also switches gears and he, too, comes out with flying colours. Pratik Gandhi gets a bit overshadowed but nevertheless, he impresses with his performance. Ishita Dutta has limited screen time and does a fine job. Jatin Goswami (Angad) yet again proves that he’s a powerhouse of talent. Deepraj Rana (Inspector Harsh), Seema Azmi (Kumari Sarojini), Pankaj Saraswat (S K Dubey), Mrityunjay Pandey (Rizwan), Paritosh Sand (Madhura Prasad), Anurag Thakur (Balram Yadav) and Hemant Dandotiya (Lakhua) lend able support. All in all, Ghamasaan is worth watching for its subject, nail-biting moments and the never-before-seen performance by Arshad Warsi.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

Last Man In Tower has been released in cinemas today and is based on Aravind Adiga's book of the same name. The topic is very relatable - it is set in a dilapidated society where a greedy builder gives an offer to the residents they can't refuse. But one resident stands his ground. The film comes at a right time as the redevelopment boom is at an all-time high. The characters are straight out of life and so are their dreams, aspirations and dilemmas. However, while the film starts on a simplistic note, it becomes a bit abstract at one point. The finale is shocking but also slightly unconvincing. A plot involving a journalist is underdeveloped. It is also strange and rather disappointing that certain shots, presented in the trailer, are missing from the film; those scenes would have added a lot to the film. Manoj Bajpayee delivers a very heartfelt and heroic performance. Boman Irani's builder act is flawless. Divya Dutta, as always, comes out with flying colours. Chandan Roy Sanyal (Ramesh Ajwani), Uday Chandra (Mr Pinto), Madhuri Bhatia (Mrs Pinto), Swaroopa Ghosh (Mrs Rego; single mother) and Sukant Goel (Gaurav Mishra; Yogesh's son) also do well. All in all, Last Man In Tower is worth watching for the performances and relatability.

My rating - *** out of 5!

Haiwaan's first hour is disjointed and random. Too many characters and subplots are introduced and one wonders where the film is heading and what exactly is the point. Three songs are forced into the narrative, which makes the goings-on tedious. The interval block raises some hopes but it all goes downhill in the second half. A few scenes and moments stand out and save the day. The climax is unintentionally funny. The plot is promising; however, since Priyadarshan's direction is shockingly shoddy, the film ultimately fails to entice. Akshay Kumar is great and the way he lets his silence do the talking is impressive. However, his dialogue delivery is a bit over-the-top. Saif Ali Khan has the maximum screen time and entertains with his blind act and also action. Boman Irani and Saiyami Kher are dependable. Shriya Pilgaonkar is fair but is let down by the writing. Sharib Hashmi and Rajpal Yadav do well, but most of their jokes don't land as intended. All in all, Haiwaan is disappointing.

My rating - ** out of 5!

WILL HAIWAAN SURPRISE AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The box office is rocking right now thanks to two unexpected hits. Hanuman Ansh refuses to slow down. After collecting just Rs. 90 lakhs in Week 1 and a paltry Rs. 47 lakhs in Week 2, it collected Rs. 10.13 crores in the third week. It then jumped to Rs. a whopping Rs. 57.98 crores in the fourth week. The fifth week is even better. The devotional film is expected to collect around Rs. 80-82 crores in Week 5. Hence, the film’s collections have crossed the Rs. 150 crore mark. The beauty is that there’s still a lot of gas left in the tank and therefore, it won’t be a surprise if Week 6 is more than Week 5!

Mirzapur The Movie, too, sprang a surprise. It was expected to collect Rs. 10-15 crores or Rs. 20 crores at the most on the day of its release. However, it ended up earning Rs. 25.50 crores on day 1. The collections jumped to Rs. 31 crores and Rs. 35 crores on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. On Monday, films usually fall by 50% compared to Friday. But Mirzapur The Movie collected Rs. 16.25 crores on Monday and Rs. 14.75 crores on Tuesday. The first week collections are expected to be around Rs. 140-145 crores. Like Hanuman Ansh, it’ll also cross the Rs. 200 crore mark.

Now, all eyes are on this week’s big release, Haiwaan. It stars Akshay Kumar and is directed by Priyadarshan. But unlike their past outings, Haiwaan is a thriller. This time, they are joined by Saif Ali Khan, who plays a blind man. Meanwhile, Akshay plays a villain after ages.

Sadly, the trailer hasn’t left the desired impact and hence, audiences have adopted a wait-and-watch strategy. It means that most of them will book tickets if the reports are encouraging. Hence, if all goes well, the film’s collections may see a jump on Saturday. There’s a Ganesh Chaturthi holiday on Monday in Maharashtra, which will prove to be an advantage. However, if the word of mouth is not up to the mark, the film will face an uphill task.