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Thappad
It’s a hard subject to pull off, but Anubhav Sinha achieves it with first-rate storytelling. The best films inspire dialogue, they set you thinking; they can even lead to change. This one made me uncomfortable; it made me question myself and I think it will make you too. It’s essential viewing.
Feb 2020
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Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
...there is enough to enjoy and appreciate here. It takes a difficult subject and executes it with some flair.
Feb 2020
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Love Aaj Kal
...is pretty awful and dreadfully boring. It’s also overlong and hammy. The pursuit of romantic fulfilment has seldom felt so banal.
Feb 2020
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Malang
There is both a love story and some good songs in his new thriller Malang. There are also, to be fair, some interesting ideas floating around. But those ideas never come together coherently; they’re lost in a film that is more interested in surface-level stuff.
Feb 2020
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Jawaani Jaaneman
...Saif is in good form once again, but saddled with the kind of material he knows inside out.
Feb 2020
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Panga
The film’s big success is in delivering its message without making a big noise about it.
Jan 2020
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Street Dancer 3D
...the problem with this franchise is that for some reason the makers think these films need to be about something more than the dancing. Something ‘important’, something ‘serious’. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Jan 2020
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Chhapaak
Its strength is in its quietude. It goes about its business with minimal fuss. The film is both moving and important. And its leading lady is in very fine form.
Jan 2020
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Tanhaji
...you’ll appreciate the robust filmmaking, the visceral battle scenes, and a delicious performance by an actor who’s seldom got his due.
Jan 2020
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Dabangg 3
The film feels like a string of unimaginative, repetitive action scenes strung together, pausing every few minutes for an underwhelming song.
Dec 2019
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Pati Patni Aur Woh
In a very roundabout, over-simplistic way, the film is actually progressive. Thank you for small mercies. Plenty laughs are guaranteed.
Dec 2019
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Panipat
...ultimately is overlong and unwieldly. It may have its heart in the right place but its other organs are all over the place.
Dec 2019
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Marjaavaan
I came away from Marjaavaan bored and exhausted. It’s literally a film with no perceivable merit, and one that begs two key questions: How did this film get made? And why are we being taken for a ride?
Nov 2019
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Ujda Chaman
I was bored to death as Ujda Chaman unfolded slowly, verrrry slowly over two long hours.
Nov 2019
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The Sky Is Pink
Despite the blatant manipulation, there are moments that left me with a heavy heart, and with a lump lodged in my throat. Still, watching a child’s life cut short should hurt like your heart’s being carved out of your flesh. The Sky is Pink never bruises you with that intensity.
Oct 2019
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Chhichhore
The film is all about its characters, frankly, and the hoops they're made to jump. In them you'll likely find traces and memories of your own youth.
Sep 2019
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Saaho
The impressively staged but ultimately exhausting action sequences take up the bulk of screen time, but they can’t salvage this soulless film that has all the depth and emotional wallop of a video game.
Aug 2019
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Judgemental Hai Kya
While you admire the attempt at originality, you can’t help feeling frustrated at just how it all comes apart in the end.
Jul 2019
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Super 30
...is a dramatized, ‘Bollywoodized’ version of a true story, complete with too many songs, caricaturish villains, a deafening background score that cues every emotion, and the kind of rousing dialogue intended to elicit cheers.
Jul 2019
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Kabir Singh
...is an unmistakably misogynistic film, but the sad part is that it’s exactly these troubling portions that the filmmakers peddle as intense love. Even more sad is that there will be many who’ll buy into it.
Jun 2019
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Bharat
...is exhausting and pointless. It exists only to add to the legend of Salman Khan as the selfless provider, the man who has a heart as big as his biceps. In Bharat, Salman Khan plays Bhai.
Jun 2019
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De De Pyaar De
...watching De De Pyaar De is a frustrating experience because while there are things to admire, including the unconventional ending, there is no escape from the lazy stereotypes, the simplistic moralizing, and the episodic, sitcom-style screenplay.
May 2019
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Student Of The Year 2
...is both predictable, and far from original. But that’s not even the big problem with the film. Unlike the previous instalment this one isn’t grounded in emotion, so it’s hard to be invested in the characters or affected by their conflicts.
May 2019
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Kalank
...is ultimately tiring and heartbreaking even. You can see the talent on screen. If only there was a sharper script to harness it.
Apr 2019
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Kesari
...is well-intentioned but bloated. It’s a two-and-a-half hour battlefield bluster that could have done with sharper writing and judicious editing. When the lights come back on in the end, you can’t shake off the feeling of having survived war yourself.
Mar 2019
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
Vasan Bala hits the high notes frequently, even if the film doesn’t quite fall into a seamless symphony.
Mar 2019
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Photograph
The writing doesn’t pack the emotional urgency of The Lunchbox, and the characters aren’t as compelling. There is a delicate quality to the central relationship but it never takes flight. Batra keeps the story on slow-burn; how you wish he’d stirred things up from time to time.
Mar 2019