When Cameron Crowe first asked John Cusack to hold the boom box say anythingThe actor was uncomfortable with the idea. He thought that this would make him a fool. Only after much persuasion did Cusack pick up the boom box with an angry, defiant expression on the last day of shooting – and it was this take that made it into the film with Peter Gabriel in your eyes Highlighting that today is an iconic moment in pop culture history.
Traditionally heroes feel shy in playing soft roles. This is not enough for his idea of ​​a hero. Perhaps that’s why Pradeep Ranganathan, despite his fair share of haters – which will only increase if he continues to mimic his poor-cousin version of Dhanush, himself a poor-cousin version of Rajinikanth, with his demeanor – is still worth watching.
But it’s to his credit that Pradeep works for all his stiffness, yearning and lack of originality because he’s not afraid to be vulnerable on screen. Every time a character in his films slaps or spits on him, we feel represented, because he plays the most despicable scoundrels – whether it’s the sexist hypocrite who has more shit on his phone than he judges his girlfriend. love todayor unpleasant, cigarette-chain-smoking Pythonor now, Friend Joe breaks up his ex-wife’s marriage to find out why she left him!
If Rajinikanth is a superstar and Dhanush is a self-proclaimed soup boy, Pradeep has made Supreme Soup Boy his brand. He is willing to play the role of scum – who represents the worst of male behavior – to show that he too has a chance at redemption.
It’s definitely a step forward for Tamil hero types, but it has all the progressiveness Friend At best, that’s on a surface level, as Pradeep plays the softboy with aggressive male toxic energy – be it the snap of his fingers or the slap on the girl’s face. The kind of softboy who feels entitled to an award or another heroine at the end for doing minimal decent work. “The donkey who doesn’t smell camphor” or Slowboy.
Or perhaps it’s 26-year-old director Keertheeswaran’s inexperience in handling difficult situations. Friend is a disappointing film because it’s been brilliant and full of hope for more than half its running time, as it keeps piling on the conflicts and themes, only to be undone by the weight of it all in the final act, when the film collapses in the last half hour trying to tie up all the loose ends. Although it is admirable that the young narrator does not want the girl to return to her childhood love, the story gives us little to see why she chooses the men she does.
The filth of romance or honor killing cannot be cleaned with ribbons. If the idea was to show female agency, the film could have seen her have a child with one guy and end up with another. But it is still very much patriarchal, where an accidental pregnancy seals her choice of partner. It’s a rom-com that needs a female perspective but is happy to be flawed. Friend Perspective on things.
from still Thamma
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
dead on arrival
Ayushmann Khurrana has made his career by playing the weak softboy in Maddock. Thammawho tries to expand it Woman In the franchise involving vampires, the vegetarian Softboy is bitten, lovingly brought back to life, and becomes the post-human Batal.
And just like that, the heroine with superpowers, Taadka (played by Rashmika), has been relegated to playing her supportive girlfriend in the second part because the makers – who started off with feminist themes Woman-Reverted to selected template due to poor taste. The hero has no redeeming qualities that would make us feel he deserves to be a superhero.
The writing is as elaborate as Varun Dhawan’s wardrobe in the post-wolf transformation cameo – barely so much so that there’s nothing to cover its back.
Keeping in mind that we have just seen much better Lokah In the same vein, if you’re ever so bored it’s best to skip this low-resolution scripted version and catch up on OTT.
from still bison
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
softboy fighter
Dhruv Vikram actually comes to the age of Mari Selvaraj bisonWhere a Dalit softboy whose world revolves entirely around his love of Kabaddi has to fight his way out of situations while avoiding violence – it’s second nature to the world he lives in. A world where being separate from others is a way of life and the seeds of division are sown in the minds of the youth through the language of violence.
This is a film where sports transcends decades-old differences and divisions, and all the characters, no matter how bad, are filled with humanity – except perhaps the negative coach, who is a proponent of the broken Indian sports system.
This is a film where the elder girl (played by Anupama Parameswaran) decides who she wants, and the sister fights for the brother, while the men in the world are fighting with knives.
A film that really makes us fall for Softboy.
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published – October 24, 2025 04:08 PM IST