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Bombay Talkies
Critic reviews and ratings
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This is a beguiling, beautiful and befitting homage to 100 years of Indian cinema. It's also proof that different stories in an episodic film could comfortably have directors with different sensitivities staring in the same line of vision.
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...is one of those infrequent movies wherein you get to eyeball the superior efforts of four top notch film-makers in less than two hours.
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...a unique experiment that works very well. The collaboration between four leading directors suggests a confidence that was rare in the industry even a decade ago.
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It’s cinema that’s not afraid to come out of the closet. Filmmaking that is brave enough to wipe off the make-up. Storytelling that’s brutally honest. Treatment that is refreshingly candid.
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...a good experiment, celebrating movies, mindsets and Mumbai's moods - but it isn't the coolest film doing so.
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...an absorbing ode to the language of cinema that is part of our collective system.
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Although it leaves you slightly rueful about the fact that these filmmakers otherwise don’t attempt such gems, each film is compelling and spell-binding if not for the story than for its acting.
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It celebrates the cinema frenzied fans of the nation in a befitting manner. With each story better than the other, Bombay Talkies is a sure shot watch.
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...speaks of you and me, and speaks to you and me. Not all segments are even, but they are all cracklingly real.
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Sure they have their blips and flaws, but Bombay Talkies made me want to stand up and break out into spontaneous applause on multiple occasion.
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Bombay Talkies, with four separate stories, is a special effort to mark a tribute to Indian cinema. While all four are refreshing and interesting, there's that niggling feeling they could have been much better.
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It leaves a warm afterglow reminding us that cinema in India flourished thanks to its audience. Bollywood in its 100th year has given fans a nice gift.
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Each film comes with a distinct emotion. Zoya’s film has a wide-eyed innocent feel to it, Dibakar’s film has muted passion, Johar’s film is about helplessness and Kashyap’s film is about optimism and faith in the face of harsh reality.
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...a breath of fresh air - a wonderful gift to audiences on the 100th birthday of Indian cinema.
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...is a format that needs to be praised for its concept. The sequencing of the stories works and the pace is swift, never showing signs of lethargy.
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...doesn’t strike a single dull note. Highly recommended.
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One is left with the feeling that a once-in-a-century cinematic experiment should have had more heart and heft.
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...it seems like a well-rounded representation of our cinema. Therefore, a fitting tribute.
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Four short films. All work wonderfully at some level and don't work as well at other levels. Bombay Talkies worth a watch nevertheless.
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One is rather good, one is middling, one seems to have missed the point of the concept entirely, and one pays homage to a hero and our cinema in such a backhanded fashion that I wondered why the director bothered.
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The quartet of shorts that make up Bombay Talkies train a zoom lens on cinema, starting on the outside and slowly drawing us in.
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...a very well made film and a wonderful tribute to Hindi cinema.
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...while they unfold, the stories hold up in their half-hour individual length. But after you have left the theatre, it is not gratification you feel, but the short-lived aftertaste of a music video or a good commercial.
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For one, these are four stories told by directors whose narrative styles are poles apart. Secondly, as soon as one story is over, you are in the process of absorbing another, without getting time to savor the one just over.
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...boasts of several talented actors and many worthwhile moments – moments of laughter, courage and poignance. It just doesn’t have the jaadu that the movie madaari promised.
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