May was on to an encouraging start with Gabbar Is Back, which kicked up a storm at the box office. Theanti-corruption background in films has a way of getting heavy-handed or plain preachy. Akshay Kumar redeemed himself after the dreadfulEntertainment with Baby and now as a vigilante, masquerading as the eponymous villain from Sholay.

If that was a commercial release to overshadow all others, May 9th’s Piku breezed into the halls and garnered publicity by positive word-of-mouth. The strong star cast and snappy dialogue made for thoroughly entertaining fare despite turning every filmy trope on its head. A film that was turned on its own head in the same weekend was kiddie film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.The trippy time-travelling made for the most fun segment, but was caught somewhere between catering to the newer generation of moppets and retaining the nostalgia for its previous, maturing audience.

When we speak of inventiveness in Hindi cinema, Anurag Kashyap is instant recollection as someone who brought gritty realism to mainstream audiences. However, his foray into commercial filmmaking with Bombay Velvet(15th May) had a less than lack-lustre response. The director may consider it his labour of love, though mere glamorous art deco does not a good film make. His turf is a ballsier alternate cinema, a madness that his fans grew to appreciate.

Yet, few filmmakers can match the level of insanity unleashed by George Miller as he furthered his post-apocalyptic drama with Mad Max: Fury Road. A huge leap from the low-budget Mel Gibson series, this one ups the ante with exhilarating set pieces and is a huge salute to the earlier instalments that have endeared themselves to genre aficionados.

May 22nd brought joyous tidings to the film industry with Tanu Weds Manu Returns, a thumping success of a sequel to the cutesy predecessor. It remains grounded in its small town appeal, even if the logical loopholes may be too much for some viewers to accept (this columnist included). Tomorrowland is a stark departure from earthiness with a fictitious megalopolis that promises a better tomorrow. Somewhere between preachy and attempting to be uber-cool, the film loses the plot which is barely anchored by a good performance from leading man George Clooney.

The closing weekend was a busy week for Hollywood on Indian shores with releases like San Andreas, Maggie and Poltergeist (the remake) hitting the screensall at once. Interestingly, all three films follow the common thread of a family soldiering on through calamity, whether natural, supernatural or one of affliction.San Andreas is definitely oodles of fun while Maggie has been criticised for its sluggish pace whereas Poltergeist does not match up to the original. Amidst these movies, Hindi cinema serves up Welcome 2 Karachi, which is about as welcome an addition to cross-border comedy as mismatching belt and shoes are to fashion (not that you can tell with the latter).

June will open with the much-awaited Dil Dhadakne Do and will also see the release of the anticipated Jurassic World, Humari Adhuri Kahani and ABCD 2, making our wait for the coming month an exciting one.