Squid Game Season 3: Record-breaking season's 7 burning questions answered
The highly anticipated third and final season of Squid Game has taken over the world with a record-setting No. 1 debut in all countries ranked.
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Did Detective Jun Ho finally discover the existence of the Squid Game?
Detective Jun Ho finally tracked down the betrayer, Captain Park, and landed just as the game wrapped up. But before he could act, Jin Ho gave the order to blow up the island and bailed.
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Squid Game spin-off on the cards?
There is a big possibility, and it makes sense, given Cate Blanchett's role was a treasure in the very last part as a recruiter, suggesting the operations will now be shifted to America. Earlier, in an interview with talk show host Jimmy Fallon, actor Lee Byung Hun aka the Front Man, teased a possibility of a spin-off featuring his character.
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ChatGPT picks 9 Bollywood moments that made us stop scrolling
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Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Tehran: John Abraham's geopolitical thriller isn't smarter than a fifth grader, no matter how many newspapers it reads
There is a scam in Punjab that Rajkumar Hirani would've heard about while researching Dunki. Shady travel agents are charging crores from desperate (and mostly uneducated) Indians with the promise of arranging safe passage to the American state of Georgia. The scam? These poor men are being sent to the country of Georgia instead. In most cases, they've sold off family land, quit their jobs, and exhausted their entire life savings; some of them even have wives and children with them. All to be sent to the land of khachapuri. To put it simply, there are a bunch of people from Bathinda knocking about in the Caucasus right now. Anyway, the folks who made the new John Abraham film Tehran are no smarter. The movie opens with a voiceover in which we are told about an operation carried out by Iran in 2012, where Israeli diplomats were targeted in Thailand, India, and Georgia. They meant the country. But the map that the movie shows instead is that of the US state. You'd agree that it isn't the strongest of first impressions that a movie like this could've made, especially since it wants to be perceived as more intelligent than the average Bollywood thriller. These days, John seems to have mostly strayed from his past life as a superhuman tank. His last attempt at quasi-realism, The Diplomat, came across as a muddled mess — an oil-and-water combination of edgy intentions and 'massy' execution. The result was something so determined to follow the rulebook that it inadvertently echoed the problematic belief systems of those who write the rulebooks these days. Thankfully, Tehran hews closer to the tone that its subject demands. It's no Syriana, but it isn't Ek Tha Tiger either. Also read – Ground Zero: Hatemongering comes so naturally to Bollywood that it can't make an antiwar movie even when it tries; Emraan Hashmi's film is proof The most interesting thing about the movie, however, is how it positions its star; you cannot help but read it as Abraham's most self-expressive film in years. He plays a special cell police officer called Rajeev Kumar, a burly hotshot who's drawn into a geopolitical mess when some Iranian terrorists target Israeli officials on Indian soil, leaving an innocent young girl dead. Outraged at how two warring nations could use India as a battleground and turn its people into collateral damage, he takes it upon himself to first identify the perpetrator of the attack, and then — this is where the movie jumps the shark — bring them to justice by sneaking into Iran. Rajeev somehow finds a way to annoy three separate governments, including his own. But he pushes through, driven by a sense of justice and patriotism. There is no shortage of actors in Bollywood who would pretend to motivated by these same ideas, both personally and professionally. But with John, the 'josh' feels genuine. Whereas most of his colleagues would prefer to maintain an arm's distance from making political statements, John flexes his biceps, cracks that crooked grin of his, and hurls a motorbike at the idea of hesitation. But if there's an art to remaining apolitical on screen, John has perfected it. In both Vedaa and The Diplomat, he was motivated by personal choices; his politics were incidental to the plot of those films. The movie Batla House was similarly dangerous in what it was proposing. John has said that he'd never make a movie like The Kashmir Files, but he doesn't seem to realise that he already has. In Tehran, which is the cinematic equivalent of a shrug, Rajeev Kumar literally declares that he won't take sides in the Israel-Iran conflict; all that he cares about is avenging the death of a young child. This makes no sense; it's antithetical to the very DNA of the film. It's almost like watching a Batman movie in which the Dark Knight concerns himself not with catching criminals, but with trying out the best new restaurants in town. In one scene, it is shown that the primary antagonist — a maniacal murderer who lives by a skewed code — is a supporter of the Free Palestine movement. This, more than any nuclear war nonsense, is his primary grouse against the Israeli regime. Perhaps it's the film's way of underlining how, even a righteous movement can be hijacked by fundamentalists. But, if it wanted to say this, maybe it should've just come out with it. This isn't Superman, where director James Gunn took (the correct) political stance via fake placeholder nations. Tehran is set in the real world. It alludes to a real-life conflict; it needed to have the courage of its convictions. A more cynical reading of the film would lead you to assume that it is conflating a terrorist organisation's crimes with the plight of the Palestinian people, which, by the way, Rajeev mocks in one scene. Read more – Ulajh: Movies that talk down to the audience are an epidemic in Bollywood, but this one is almost unwatchable While Gunn kept pretending that Superman wasn't about real life and quietly communicated everything he wanted to via his film, Tehran keeps insisting that it's about grave real-world injustices, but it ends up being a movie about nothing. Rajeev Kumar isn't rescuing a person in peril; he's safeguarding the very idea of sovereignty. How could a foreign nation encroach upon our land and carry out an operation that causes harm to our citizens? Rajeev is scandalised by the mere thought. Nobody tell him about the Chinese. But somebody please tell him that a movie about invaders and occupiers simply cannot sit on the fence, especially when its own protagonist is shown to be bothered by such behaviours. But does this mind-your-own-business attitude stem from John's own personality? He has long been a lone wolf of sorts, having worked with everybody from the Bhatts to the Chopras, from the Jayantilal Gadas and Bhushan Kumars to the Sajid Nadiadwalas and the Tauranis. He has also starred in films directed by Deepa Mehta, Anurag Kashyap, Vivek Agnihotri and Vishal Bhardwaj. It's quite the bold spectrum. Only someone who stays in their lane and doesn't talk out of school can get away with something like this, especially in a clique-dominated industry like Bollywood. In other words: being apolitical pays. The recent film Dhadak 2 proved that it is possible to balance Bollywood melodrama with an abrasive personality, whereas Tehran opens by revealing that it probably flunked geography in school. You be the judge.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
In Ayan Mukerji's War 2, science, math and emotions are missing in action
Three hours of War 2 feels much longer— not because of the film's intensity, but as it's a sheer drag. For a film that promised entertainment, patriotism, and slick action, it is low on delivery. Instead, it serves up a reported ₹400-crore spectacle where the laws of science, math and common sense don't apply. As an Independence Day release, one expects goosebumps, or at least a stirring 'India first' moment. Instead, the film reduces patriotism to a hollow slogan, repeated by every character until it loses all meaning. Even the central relationships are sketched so lazily that a single song is expected to convince us that Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) and Kavya (Kiara Advani) are in love. She proposes to him after he chooses his country over her, but the scene evokes no pain or heartbreak. The irony is that the film tries to present itself as modern and tech-driven, with its villains—an organisation called Kali—appearing only as holograms, their faces hidden in shadow. But instead of feeling fresh, it looks borrowed. The masked, faceless rich villains feel inspired straight out of Squid Game, while the rhetoric of Kali's Indian head, played by KC Shankar, recalls Special Ops. 'Wahi purani desh bhakti jinhe nayi duniya ke naye rules nahi pata,' he declares, echoing the cynicism of global-citizen villains like Tahir Raj Bhasin's character in Special Ops. Like in Squid Game or Hunger Games, Kali is portrayed as a collective of ultra-rich, power-addicted individuals who exploit chaos, not for politics or patriotism, but simply because they can. 'Nasha hai', says Gulati to Kabir when he asks them their goal. Members come from across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Russia, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Myanmar. Instead of originality, what we get is a messy cocktail of familiar tropes without the punch of those originals. ALSO READ | War 2 review: Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, Kiara Advani spy saga is so limp, you're left looking for zing If the villainy feels second-hand, the science is outright laughable and stretching suspension of disbelief to the point that it rips and tears. Consider Jr. NTR's grand entry: introduced with a tiger's roar, he clings to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as if it were a city bus, effortlessly flying to his mission. Just before takeoff, one of his teammates warns him that the UAV can't handle his weight. Raghu's solution? He sassily begins throwing away his weapons, then his shirt, then other accessories—until he even gestures at removing his pants. A fellow soldier finally stops him with, 'This won't make a difference, let it be,' and off he happily flies. Perhaps Ayan Mukerji thought audiences would laugh at the pant joke, but not a single giggle echoed in the theater. If anything, the silence proved the audience wasn't as foolish as the filmmakers assumed. Later, Raghu casually dodges a howitzer shell with his bare hands, volleying it away as if it were a beach ball. The absurdity peaks when Raghu and Kabir fight atop a private jet mid-air—wearing ordinary clothes, unaffected by air pressure, wind, or even turbulence. They smash the door open mid-flight, the cabin stays steady, and Raghu even stands at the edge of the plane like he's on his balcony—hair intact, shirt unruffled. And then there's the train sequence, which feels like a deleted Fast & Furious storyboard. Kabir and Raghu chase, jump, and fight across compartments like it's child's play. At one point, Kabir even drives a car on top of the train. Physics takes another leave of absence as both heroes escape without so much as a limp, reducing what could have been a thrilling set piece into cartoonish spectacle. The lapses in logic are as glaring as the lapses in physics. Anil Kapoor, playing RAW chief, addresses a media briefing about a covert mission—something unimaginable in real life. In another stretch, timelines make no sense. Kabir, recruited for soldier training at 14, reunites with Raghu after 20 years, making them both 34. But his love story with Kavya is shown as having happened 15 years ago, which would make him 19 at the time. At 19, she proposes marriage, but somehow this is woven into a timeline that contradicts itself at every turn. Instead of adding depth, this '15-year gap' only makes the film look careless. None of this is the actors' fault. Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR bring charisma, Kiara Advani does what she can with her limited role, and Anil Kapoor tries to lend gravitas. But when the writing lacks emotion, research, and logic, even the best cast can't salvage the wreckage. For ₹400 crore, War 2 gives us swagger without science, style without soul, and patriotism without pride. In the end, it's not the villains but the filmmaking that betrays the nation.
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Taj Mahal breached? Viral video shows man filming Shah Jahan, Mumtaz's tombs, playing 'jo wada kiya' song
A video purportedly showing the inner chamber of the Taj Mahal, including the actual tombs of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, has gone viral, triggering debate over security and public access at the world-famous monument. The clip, shared on Instagram by a popular account, appears to reveal a passageway leading to the real graves—an area long closed to tourists to preserve the sanctity and structure of the 17th-century mausoleum—as the Bollywood song 'Jo Wada Kiya' plays in the background. The footage quickly gained traction online, drawing thousands of views and comments, with many questioning how the individual managed to enter the restricted section. One user, Dipika PS (@lifewithdipika06), recalled: 'I visited Taj Mahal around 1994-95 and this area was open to the public at that time.' Another user, Twinkle Sawant (@twinkle savant), added: 'I have seen this too back in the day.' At present, visitors are only allowed to view the cenotaphs—symbolic replicas of the royal couple's graves—while the original tombs remain sealed off. The video has unsettled conservationists, who warn that such breaches could endanger the monument's preservation. The identity of the person who filmed it remains unknown, and the authenticity of the footage could not be independently verified by Mint. The Taj Mahal remains India's top tourist attraction and one of the Archaeological Survey of India's biggest revenue earners, generating ₹ 297 crore in ticket sales over five years, according to official data. In 2023-24 alone, its income far exceeded that of Delhi's Qutub Minar and Red Fort. In light of security concerns, authorities have recently deployed an anti-drone system at the site. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Taj Security) Syed Arib Ahmad confirmed that the system blocks drone signals within 200 metres of the main dome, supplementing security provided by CISF and Uttar Pradesh Police personnel.
