Top Bollywood, Malayalam and Hollywood movies to watch this weekend like Mohanlal's Hridayapoorvam

Looking for what to stream or catch in cinemas this weekend? From glossy romcoms to gritty thrillers, here’s your cheat sheet to the buzziest new releases worth your popcorn (and your time).

If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt Mohanlal–Sathyan Anthikad reunion where love literally beats with a borrowed heart, Hridayapoorvam also starring Malavika Mohanan is your ticket. It’s the kind of film that sneaks into your emotions with middle-class warmth, family feasts, and a romance that blooms when you least expect it. Call it Anthikad’s signature recipe — equal parts humor, homeliness, and heartstrings — with Mohanlal reminding us why he’s still the beating pulse of Malayalam cinema.

Be warned, Bollywood’s latest rom-com, Param Sundari, turns Kerala into a cultural caricature — all gloss, no soul. Janhvi Kapoor plays Sundari, a so-called Malayali heroine straight from Bollywood’s fantasy factory: jasmine flowers in her hair, wet saris clinging in slow motion, and Malayalam so garbled it could pass for an alien dialect. Opposite her is the equally dishy Sidharth Malhotra as Param, a spoiled Punjabi brat whose idea of impressing Kerala involves rowing Vallam Kali boats, flexing through Kalaripayattu, and — wait for it — singing an SRK hit while “teaching” Malayalis their own sport. Chemistry between the leads? Nonexistent. Both look gorgeous but seem too busy admiring themselves to spark anything together. Add in cardboard characters, token one-liners about literacy rates, and a Kathakali-masked villain, and you’ve got stereotypes on steroids. The one saving grace? The song Pardesiya, which is beautifully shot against Kerala’s backwaters. Give it a shot if you are die-hard fans of the lead pair.

Move over, Marvel and DC — Malayalam cinema finally get their own female superhero in Kalyani Priyadarshan, with Naslen adding his trademark goofy charm. The story kicks off when an aimless trio of friends stumble upon their new neighbour — a mysterious young woman whose past is as unsettling as her presence. What unravels is a darkly funny, twisted fantasy that drags you into a shadow world running parallel to our everyday lives. This isn’t your typical glossy superhero flick — it’s messier, moodier, and refreshingly local. There’s humour, there’s horror, and there’s a heroine who doesn’t need a cape to redefine what it means to be powerful. Think of it as the first chapter of a franchise that finally gives us desi superheroes we can root for — flawed, fierce, and fantastically human.

Our girl Kalyani Priyadarshan is on a roll — two back-to-back releases in one week, and both couldn’t be more different. After suiting up (figuratively) as our homegrown superhero in a dark fantasy thriller, she switches gears here for a comedy-drama that’s equal parts heart and humour. This one follows a cheerful groom whose wedding day unravels after his bride drops a truth bomb. Enter a stern young woman who nudges him towards healing and self-discovery. Just as things begin to settle, his ex resurfaces, and a final secret ties it all together with unexpected poignancy. With Vineeth Sreenivasan’s boy-next-door charm, Kalyani’s steady presence, and Fahadh Faasil’s layered performance, this Malayalam outing proves that love stories don’t always come neatly wrapped. Sometimes, they’re messy, funny, heartbreaking — and worth every beat.

Austin Butler trades his Elvis swagger for baseball grit in this offbeat thriller. He plays Hank Thompson, a former high-school baseball phenom whose dreams were cut short, but life’s still decent — he’s got a solid girlfriend (Zoë Kravitz), a bartending gig in a New York dive, and his favourite team is suddenly making a Cinderella run at the pennant. Enter Russ (Matt Smith), his punk-rock neighbour, who asks him to watch his cat. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong. Before Hank knows it, a bunch of gangsters with questionable fashion sense and bad tempers have him in their sights. They all want something from him, but he’s the only one who doesn’t know what. What follows is a slick, chaotic game of survival where Hank has to out-hustle, out-run, and out-think his enemies — proving that even if his pitching arm is gone, his street smarts are still very much alive.

Dakota Johnson is all charisma in Materialists, a New York-set romcom where she plays a sharp, ambitious matchmaker who knows how to pair everyone else but can’t quite decide for herself. On one side of the equation is Pedro Pascal, playing a wealthy, polished new suitor who seems like the safe choice. On the other is Chris Evans as her broke but irresistible ex, the kind of man who complicates everything with one smile. The setup is frothy and the chemistry is delicious — Pascal oozes charm, Evans leans into roguish vulnerability, and Johnson balances both with breezy wit. But while the love triangle sparkles on paper, the film never digs deep enough to make the outcome feel truly high-stakes. Still, it’s a glossy, charming ride through New York’s dating scene — a romcom that knows its audience and gives just enough swoon to keep us hooked.