The Diwali 2023 weekend in India saw at least nine new movie releases across languages, and the festival going theater audience have a variety of genres to choose from this holiday season. Here is a list of all the films that have come out or yet to, a gist of what they are all about and how well they have been received so far:

1. Jigarthanda DoubleX [Tamil - November 10, 2023]

A spiritual sequel to the 2014 Karthik Subbaraj hit Jigarthanda, Jigarthanda DoubleX marks the return of the director to the theaters after 4 years. And the filmmaker has been welcomed with an aplomb no less. Not only is the Raghava Lawrence, SJ Suryah starrer period action comedy being hailed for being interesting, Jigarthanda DoubleX which just like its prequel revolves around a gangster who wants to become a hero, has also gained acclaim for its performances and technicals.  Jigarthanda DoubleX Review

2. Japan [Tamil - November 10, 2023]

Another major release in Tamil this Diwali was the Karthi starrer heist action comedy Japan, which is written and directed by Rajumurugan of Joker (2016) fame, and produced by Dream Warrior Pictures. The movie which comes with an ensemble of Anu Emmanuel, Jithan Ramesh, KS Ravikumar, Sunil, Vijay Milton, Vagai Chandrasekhar, Bigg Boss Tamil 7 fame Bava Chelladurai, Tamil YouTuber Irfan among others, revolves around the theft of Rs. 200 Cr. worth jewellery, and has GV Prakash for music. Japan Review

3. The Marvels [English - November 10, 2023]

Diwali 2023 in India also saw the release of MCU superhero film The Marvels starring Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Iman Vellani (Ms Marvel) and Teyonah Parris (Wanda Vision) in the lead. How Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan i.e. Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau from Wanda Vision, forcing them to work together to save the universe, forms the film's plot. The movie has been well received by MCU fans with not too many complaints. 

3D screenings with regional dubs have especially been attracting a lot of superhero/marvel fans. Helmed by the youngest MCU filmmaker Nia DaCosta, The Marvels in addition to its all-female leads has a female villain (Dar-Benn) played by Zawe Ashton. Actor Samuel L Jackson returns as Nick Fury, while K-drama royalty Park Seo-Joon, who made a special appearance in the Oscar winning 2019 movie Parasite, has a cameo in The Marvels. 

4. Raid (Tamil - November 10, 2023)

On the heels of memorable performances in movies like Ponniyin Selvan: II and Irugapatru, actor Vikram Prabhu had a Diwali release too in 2023. Raid starring him and Sri Divya in the lead is about how a daring cop takes on the task getting rid of all the rowdies in the city. A remake of the 2018 Kannada hit Tagaru, Raid is written and directed by debutant Karthi and has dialogues by director M. Muthaiya of Komban fame.  

5. Garadi [Kannada - November 10, 2023]

Yogaraj Bhat directed Garadi starring Yashas Surya in the lead and actor Darshan in a cameo, is a Kannada language sports drama that revolves around an aspiring wrestler. In true Ekalavya fashion, the titular character trains himself in wrestling by observing a pro whom he has spiritually accepted as his teacher. Why and how this happens, and what 'Garadi Soori' achieves in the end is what forms the rest of the story. 

6. Vela [Malayalam - November 10, 2023]

Shane Nigam, Sunny Wayne, Sidharth Bharathan, Aditi Balan starrer crime drama Vela is the underdog that emerged this Diwali season. A directorial debut by Syam Sasi and written by M Sajas, Vela revolves around how a call to the police control room is conflictingly handled by a newbie police officer and a senior one.  The 148-minute movie has Sam CS for music. 

7. Kida [Tamil - November 11, 2023] 

A slice-of-life film among the commercial lot this Diwali, Kida starring Kaali Venkat, late Poo Ram, Deepan, revolves around three characters - a grandfather, his grandson and his pet goat, and a butcher. How they are forced to take hard decisions to fulfill their dreams by the dawn of Diwali, forms the rest of this engaging Ra Venkat directorial.  

8. Bandra [Malayalam - November 10, 2023]

India has not forgotten the 2017 Kerala actress sexual assault case that shockingly revealed Malayalam actor Dileep as one of the main accused, and the notorious star ended up spending close to 3 months in jail for the same. The case relates to the abduction and sexual assault of a Malayalam actress in a moving car in February 2017 near Kochi, and Dileep is currently out on bail and facing trail; the Supreme Court of India has ordered this trail to be completed by March 31, 2024. 

This Dileep along with names like Tamannaah Bhatia, Bollywood actor Dino Morea, Mamta Mohandas, Tamil actor R. Sarathkumar, Easwari Rao, Tamil actor VTV Ganesh, Shine Tom Chacko, Chemban Vinod Jose among others have united on an action drama titled Bandra, under Arun Gopi's direction, Vivek-Harshan's edits and Sam CS' music.

9. Tiger 3 [Hindi - November 12, 2023]

One of the major player this Diwali, 2023, Tiger 3 starring Salman Khan in the lead is the last one release this holiday season. 5th movie in the YRF spy universe, Tiger 3 is an action thriller which is a sequel to  Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and  is set after the events of War (2019), and Pathaan (2023). The movie also stars Katrina Kaif, Emran Hashmi, Revathi, Ashutosh Rana among others and has special appearances by Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan. 

A production venture of Yash Raj Films, Tiger 3 is directed by Maneesh Sharma (Band Baaja Baarat, Fan fame), has screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan, and dialogues by Anckur Chaudhry.