A slew of new comedy, horror, thriller and romance movies are set to hit the theatres this week in a prelude to Diwali on October 22. Here’re our picks from the weekend releases.

Aye Zindagi

Director: Anirban Bose

Cast: Revathy, Satyajeet Dubey, Mrinmayee Godbole and others

Based on true incidents, Aye Zindagi tells the story of Vinayak ‘Vinay’ Chawla (played by Satyajeet Dubey), a young computer engineer suffering from liver cirrhosis. He travels from Lucknow to Hyderabad to meet Revathi Ranjan (played by Revathy), an organ donation counsellor. Revathi ignites Vinay’s hopes about finding a liver donor who would meet his parameters. But the task turns out to be arduous. Frustrated, Vinay begins to lose hope. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for him and that forms the crux of the film.

Code Name: Tiranga

Director: Rivu Dasgupta

Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Harrdy Sandhu, Sharad Kelkar, Rajit Kapoor and others

An espionage thriller, Code Name: Tiranga tells the story of RAW agent Durga Singh (played by Parineeti Chopra) on a deadly mission across several countries. She is in a race against time to nab dreaded terrorist Khalid Omar (Sharad Kelkar). But circumstances force her to choose between her love for the country and her love for Dr Mirza Ali (played by Harrdy Sandhu).

Doctor G

Director: Anubhuti Kashyap

Cast: Ayushmann Khurana, Rakul Preet Singh, Shefali Shah, Sheeba Chaddha

This lighthearted medical comedy chronicles a male doctor’s struggle as a gynaecologist. Ayushmann Khurrana’s Uday Gupta wants to specialise in orthopaedics but ends up with gynaecology. He gets into trouble after asking his patient to remove her clothes for diagnosis at a clinic. Uday’s boss Nandini Srivastav (played by Shefali Shah) wants him to “lose the male touch”. His girlfriend Fatima Siddiqui (played by Rakul Preet Singh) rags Uday because he is the only male student in the gynaecology class. The situational comedy hints at a rib-tickling experience in the theatre.

Kantara

Director: Rishab Shetty

Cast: Rishab Shetty, Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, Achyuth Kumar and others

An action thriller set in Keraadi of coastal Karnataka, the film tells the story of Shiva (played by Rishab Shetty), a Kambala champion, who comes to loggerheads with an upright DRFO officer, Murali (played by Kishore). The honest officer wants the forest land to remain untouched. However, Shiva is adamant about carrying out the annual ritual of spirit worship in the jungle. But traditional beliefs are not the only bone of contention in this tale—a deep conspiracy involving smuggling of forest wood is being hatched in the shadows.

Bijoya Dashami

Director: Souvik Dey

Cast: Rajatava Dutta, Aryann Bhowmick, Anindya Pulak Banerjee, Gulshanara Khatun and others

A series of murders rock a sleepy town in Howrah; the victims are all middle-aged women. On Mahalaya, the serial killer claims another victim. The latest victim’s son (played by Aryann Bhowmick) pleads with the police to trace the identity of the murderer. Meanwhile, a ruthless police officer (played by Rajatava Dutta) vows to hunt the killer down. A series of twists await the duo as they try to solve this web of lies and deception.

Halloween Ends

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Kyle Richards and others

In this film, set four years after Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) lives with her granddaughter and is trying to finish her memoir. As masked killer Michael Myers (played by James Jude Courtney) has not been seen since their last encounter, Laurie finally decides to move on. However, when a young man is accused of murdering a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror, forcing Laurie to confront her past.