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Shaadi Ke Side Effects
...has gained gloss and glamourous leads but at the expense of variety of tonal consistency.
Feb 2014
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Gulaab Gang
Of all the tributes to Sampat Pal’s debatable feminist politics, this one is the narrowest, and the silliest.
Mar 2014
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Ankhon Dekhi
Still, as city films and portraits of ordinary people taking a step towards an extraordinary light go, Aankhon Dekhi is an enjoyable confection...
Mar 2014
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Main Tera Hero
Varun’s youth and verve are never in doubt, but he labours under the shadow of the great Govinda, who enlivened several Dhawan productions with his ability to land a joke at just the right moment and convey the essential insanity of the enterprise.
Apr 2014
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Bhoothnath Returns
The overly busy screenplay, which clocks at 155 minutes, is packed with so many ideas that it unfolds at the pace of a multi-phase election.
Apr 2014
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Samrat & Co.
The ending promises a sequel, which might be better suited to television, given the basic production values, sheer scantiness of the plot, and the staccato screenplay.
Apr 2014
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Revolver Rani
...has a bit too much going on at any given point, but it is cast well and has an interesting set of actors who give the material much-needed heft.
Apr 2014
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Kya Dilli Kya Lahore
...feels stretched and half-baked, less of a big-screen experience and better suited to an intimate stage production.
May 2014
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Manjunath
...Varma does throw up some surprises. He effectively captures the ordinariness of the milieu that produces Manjunath, and extracts solid performances from his cast. However, the director is less sure-footed about the larger issues thrown up by Manjunath’s death.
May 2014
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Mastram
No surprises into the nature of Indian sexual desire disturb Rajaram’s orderly journey, and Bagga’s limp performance makes the character even less interesting.
May 2014
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The Xpose
...an ambitious vanity project that holds appeal only to other members of the singer’s treasure hunt.
May 2014
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Heropanti
The screenplay lurches from one scene to the next, piles on the risible dialogue, desultorily cuts to a song every now and then...
May 2014
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Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi
...has many rough edges, patches of amateurish staging and acting, misguided attempts at humour, and an ear-splitting and disposable Amar Mohile background score, but it is also good-natured, warm-hearted, and finely observed.
May 2014
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Holiday
Holiday’s slickness and the adroit use of actual locations in Mumbai can’t prevent slippages into ludicrousness.
Jun 2014
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Humshakals
Since everything is multiplied three times in Sajid Khan’s latest comedy, it’s totally fair to complain that Humshakals is thrice as excruciating as films in this genre.
Jun 2014
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Bobby Jasoos
...harnesses the classic tropes of melodrama—coincidences, conflicts, the perfect resolution—to deliver a feel-good fairy tale of a remarkably mobile heroine who gets up and leaves whenever she feels like.
Jul 2014
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Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
...an extended, 134-minute review of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge by a debutant writer and director who has watched the film closely enough to have his own spin on it.
Jul 2014
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Entertainment
There is endless punning, a play on the names of actors and iconic Hindi movies, SMS forward-worthy jokes and the idea that a dog can get the better of humans.
Aug 2014
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Singham Returns
The delusion of an incorruptible police force dedicated to upholding law and order at all costs and impervious to any manner of inducement pushes Singham Returns onto the same shelf as science fiction.
Aug 2014
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Mardaani
It’s efficient and watchable, but also cold and mechanical despite the sensationalism inherent in the material.
Aug 2014
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Creature
The pumped-up background score tries to send a few shivers down the spine, but the only impact is on the ear-drums.
Sep 2014
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Daawat-e-Ishq
...not quite sure if it wants to be a social satire or a serious-minded attack on dowry.
Sep 2014
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Hawaizaada
...would have worked nicely as a work of fiction about two individuals who dream of putting the allegories and myths on which they grew up into practice, but Puri wholly believes in his flight of fancy.
Jan 2015
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Rahasya
...it's a taut and stylish affair, which gives no quarter to extraneous elements such as songs and sub-plots over its 125 minutes. Most of the elements click into place like they would in a near-perfect crime...
Jan 2015
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Shamitabh
Here are the offbeat story, the easily flowing and witty banter, the quirky and urbane characters, and the light-hearted touch. But here are also the unwieldy and stretched narrative (153 minutes), the unresolved climax, the gimmicky nature of the material and the inability to expand on the movie’s premise.
Feb 2015
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MSG
...this excruciating and enervating experience has the potential to inaugurate a new sub-category in the Indian mythological movie genre – the godman hagio-pic.
Feb 2015
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Roy
...is ponderous, slow-burning to the point of being slow-moving, and too self-absorbed to notice that it isn’t going anywhere. But it always looks tip-top.
Feb 2015
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Feb 2015