Jagga Jasoos
The left half, he says, is logical. The right half is mad, magical. Anurag Basu has made a right-brain movie. I’m not sure it can be defended logically, and I’m not sure I care when the result is so mad, so magical.
Jul 2017
Shab
It’s hard to get involved with any of these lives, as their problems are so generic (though Onir could claim, rightly, that the generic is the universal). Something’s off. The revelations are underwhelming, and, worse, unaffecting.
Jul 2017
- Jul 2017
Tubelight
...Kabir Khan is no Hirani, and he is simply unable to tune into the good-hearted whimsy this story needs – and after the initial portions, Tubelight begins to drag its feet, becoming almost unwatchable.
Jun 2017
- Jun 2017
Sarkar 3
A needless, not-all-bad sequel that’s more interesting as commentary on the director
May 2017
Meri Pyaari Bindu
I’m just saying that keeping things light is one thing, and merely scratching the surface is something else entirely.
May 2017
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
There’s none of that ‘leave your brains at the door, just go have fun’ condescension, and there’s no star-pandering. Rajamouli takes the genre seriously – he doesn’t pander to the audience either.
Apr 2017
- Apr 2017
Trapped
Even at a 100-something minutes, Trapped feels a tad stretched, but Rajkummar Rao ensures that the film is never less than watchable.
Mar 2017
Badrinath Ki Dulhania
At the “leave your brains at home” level, Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya is undeniably fun. Only, it doesn’t want you to leave your brains at home. It wants you to think about the things it’s doing. That’s the trouble.
Mar 2017
Commando 2
The problem with Commando 2 isn’t that it’s a B-movie. The problem is that it isn’t B-movie enough.
Mar 2017
Irada
...leaves you with a renewed appreciation for burning-issue masala movies like Kaththi and Kodi, which, for all their flaws, at least remember to entertain.
Feb 2017
- Feb 2017
Raees
Is it possible to make a relatively “realistic” masala movie? The lines don’t have the punch they should, and the Old Bollywood scenes are an embarrassment.
Jan 2017
- Jan 2017
Ok Jaanu
I feel for Shaad Ali. Ever since his best film, the criminally underrated Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, bombed, he’s been at sea. Remaking his mentor’s works may be a way to keep himself visible, but someone should tell him an echo is not a voice.
Jan 2017
- Dec 2016
Befikre
You need emotional investment. You need to care about these borderline-unlikable characters. It’s not a good sign when you keep wishing someone would make a love story around the heroine’s parents instead.
Dec 2016
- Nov 2016
- Nov 2016
Rock On 2
...is well-staged and not entirely unwatchable, but it would have been much better had it tried to do less.
Nov 2016
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
For the first time, Karan Johar comes across like a filmmaker who’s going to end up making love stories with a happily-never-after.
Oct 2016
Parched
We’ve had many films about women, but few that have so sensitively, so generously let them be women.
Sep 2016
Pink
may be the first film to literally bridge the divide between the (perceived) sensibilities of the multiplex audience and those that frequent single screens.
Sep 2016
- Sep 2016
Akira
The low-budget, indie vibe that contributed so much to the gritty atmosphere in the original is sacrificed for big-budget razzle-dazzle – everything looks like a set. The film is very broadly staged, like something out of the 1990s – or a TV serial of today.
Sep 2016
A Flying Jatt
...is the world’s first environmental-PSA-disguised-as-a-superhero-film...
Aug 2016
Happy Bhag Jayegi
...the comedy, when it works, works so spectacularly that you may not care about anything else.
Aug 2016