We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Editor’s note: The one film you shouldn’t miss this week is Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, in theatres. On OTT, you can witness the best of Indian streaming with Freedom at Midnight season two. Thriller-hounds, there’s The Night Manager season two and the limited series His & Hers. And a treat for BTS ARMY as well.
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New releases
MasterChef India season 9 (Hindi)
The battle to make the perfect parathas is on. One promo has a contestant from Chhattisgarh claiming to be using ingredients from “Ayurvedic textbooks”. One of three judges, celebrity chef Kunal Kapur, responds that it’s time to take “tribal to global”. You get the gist; one participant is admonished, “batter ki consistency ko samajhiye.” (Understand the batter’s consistency!)
The other judges: Michelin-starred Vikas Khanna, and too-viral Ranveer Brar. This one’s for the foodies and the home chefs.
Where to watch: Sony LIV
The Chronology of Water (English)
Generational talent and icon Kristen Stewart’s feature directorial debut is a tour-de-force looking at a young woman’s fierce battle for salvation. Based on the 2011 memoir of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch. Imogen Poots plays the protagonist who pursues a swimming career with an eye on the Olympics, as she battles drug abuse and explores her sexual identity through BDSM. Will she find herself? We strongly hope she will.
Robert Abele of Los Angeles Times writes, “What obviously matters to Stewart is the totality of experience and The Chronology of Water, arty and naturalistic in equal measure, is no toe-dip into directing — it’s deep-end stuff from start to finish.” The trailer gives an immersive, cutthroat look at what to expect.
Where to watch: Theatres
People We Meet on Vacation (English)
Only in the movies. Poppy (Emily Bader), restless, and Alex (Tom Blyth), cautious, have been best friends for a decade, who take annual summer trips. Romantic tension begins, after 10 years and then some, on one final vacation. Only in the movies, we repeat. They suddenly admit their love for each other. Haters-to-lovers arc aficionados, stay away. This one's only for the cottagecore audience.
Where to watch: Netflix
His & Hers (English)
Estranged spouses, a cop and a news reporter, compete to solve a murder case where each believes the other is a suspect. Juicy. Credible talents Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal play the leads. A top-notch creative team is driving this limited six-episode series, based on the 2020 Alice Feeney crime novel of the same name. Intense and pacey, you must not miss this.
Where to watch: Netflix
Run Seokjin Ep. Tour : The Movie (Korean, English)
BTS member Jin had his first worldwide tour last year, in support of his first two albums, Happy and Echo. The concert film is here. BTS ARMY, where u at?
Where to watch: Theatres
Fresh off the big screen
De De Pyaar De 2 (Hindi)
Aging star Ajay Devgn has found a nifty way to romance far younger heroines. This one is a self-aware age gap romance. A sequel to the 2019 hit, DDPD2 has Ashish (Devgn) trying to convince his girlfriend Aisha’s (Rakul Preet Singh) parents, played by Madhavan and Gautami Kapoor, that he’s got the goods. Dad-son duo Jaaved and Meezan Jaaferi appear in supporting roles. This is a Luv Ranjan (Pyaar Ka Punchnama, Sonu Ki Titu Ki Sweety) production, so expect smarter-than-average laughs and barbs about cis-het romance.
Where to watch: Netflix
Weapons (English)
The sensational horror hit from 2025 is finally streaming. Seventeen children from the same classroom run away from their homes in the middle of the night and disappear, except one. The film is structured non-chronologically, broken into chapters, to keep the mystery confounding till the very end. The cast includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, and Benedict Wong. Pay attention to the dynamic score by Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay, and writer-director Zach Cregger.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
One more chapter
The Night Manager S02 (English)
Season one was based on the novel of the same name by the legendary John le Carré, master of the glacial and true-to-life spy thriller. The latest installment has the protagonists (Tom Hiddleston; her commanding officer played by Olivia Colman) in a similar set-up again. Jonathan/Alex (Tom) has to infiltrate the bad guys, be "the snake in the garden". Thrills aside, watch it for eye candies galore. Locations include the UK, Colombia and the best of Spain. The sumptuous cast includes Hayley Squires, Diego Calva, Camila Morrone and Indira Varma.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
The Pitt S02 (English)
Fifteen episodes unfold over a chaotic Fourth of July weekend at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Frontline healthcare workers lose it, and then gain it back, as medical crises and personal challenges make a tough cocktail. Noah Wyle reprises his Emmy-winning role as Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Freedom at Midnight S02 (Hindi)
What is adult life, even at the highest corridors of power, but high-school politics and powerplays continuing ad infinitum? Watch Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lord Mountbatten and Md. Jinnah break brains over figuring out Partition without violence.
Critics are delighted. Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India spotted the quieter, intimate moments in an extremely busy series. He writes, praising the show’s “celestial touches” —
"…a narrative that conceals a dark sky behind its stars. India’s tryst with destiny remains incomplete, because its tryst with faith is endless; all midnight brings is freedom from the previous day. This perceptively-made series might be over, but its essence is far from finished. After all, history is just objects — and subjects — in them are closer than they appear."
Where to watch: SonyLIV
souk picks