War
...is a defining action movie of our time. It’s Hollywood enough to rock the multiplexes, but it doesn’t forget its roots.
Oct 2019
Dream Girl
These are one-joke characters, and this is a one-joke movie. Very quickly, a sense of staleness sets in.
Sep 2019
- Sep 2019
Judgemental Hai Kya
It’s just that the film is far more convincing as an art installation about a mental condition than as a whodunit, whydunit or did anyone indeed dunit in the first place!
Jul 2019
- Jul 2019
Bharat
...is rooted neither in the cinema traditions of the decades it covers nor is it the designer masala of this day. It’s a series of very perfunctorily staged scenes that flit past us. This happened. And then, this happened. And then this.
Jun 2019
- Jun 2019
Student Of The Year 2
...the clothes, the technicians, the sets, Tiger Shroff — must have cost crores, so why does Arshad Sayed’s script feel like it cost 50 paise? This is a question we keep asking our big-budget productions. SOTY 2 is undernourished and overlong.
May 2019
Kalank
...the overall feeling is that of disappointment. Kalank is certainly not a lazy failure, but it ends up being an odd bird: watchable, but neither generic enough to overlook its flaws nor specific enough to embrace with all your heart.
Apr 2019
Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aaata Hai?
This “conceptual remake” could have used less concept, more thought on why they were remaking the earlier film in the first place.
Apr 2019
Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
It’s classic masala, and Abhimanyu Dassani’s impressive performance mirrors the director’s vision: a mix of affectionate mocking and serious homage.
Apr 2019
Badla
...despite an overall watchable quality, especially towards the end, Badla is a tepid affair.
Mar 2019
Sonchiriya
...is very watchable, but sometimes, when some parts are so great, it’s a bigger disappointment when the rest of the film falls behind.
Mar 2019
- Mar 2019
Gully Boy
If you’re looking for a good time, Gully Boy is everything you can ask for. It’s just that I wanted it to be more. I wanted it to be the film its lyrics deserved.
Feb 2019
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
This very “safeness” is this film’s secret strength. This isn’t Blue is the Warmest Colour. It’s a YashRaj-style romance with two girls. Without discomfiting the mainstream audience, it makes it possible to talk about a “bedroom subject” in the living room.
Feb 2019
Manikarnika
...is all ingredients. There’s no cook. Technically, of course, there are two: Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi and Kangana Ranaut. But there’s very little in the film that looks “directed”. It’s just a dull series of events...
Feb 2019
Thackeray
A celebratory epic that’s less about a leader’s psyche than his penchant for punch lines.
Jan 2019
- Jan 2019
Simmba
On his good days, Salman Khan can really carry off a “mass” movie. But based on his extraordinary performance in Simmba, Ranveer Singh can apparently do this even on a bad day.
Jan 2019
Kedarnath
A generally watchable film whose scenery does more heavy-lifting than the screenplay.
Dec 2018
Thugs Of Hindostan
A dull attempt at a masala potboiler that hopes star power will trump the script.
Nov 2018
Helicopter Eela
A terrible mother-son story with a Freudian subtext it doesn’t know what to do with.
Oct 2018
Andhadhun
Despite questionable second-half detours, Sriram Raghavan’s new film is a most entertaining ride.
Oct 2018
Sui Dhaaga
A surprise-free drama that’s well-acted, sweet-natured, and quite satisfying.
Oct 2018
Laila Majnu
An idiosyncratic take on the legend takes a while to soar, but it’s worth the wait.
Sep 2018
- Sep 2018
Gold
Unlike Talaash, which was incendiary material that could be handled in Reema Kagti’s tasteful style, Gold needs a director who’s a shameless hustler.
Aug 2018