Pad Man
...dramatises his reality to accomodate romance and distinction with a calculation that is one of the weakest aspects of an otherwise constructive narrative.
Feb 2018
- Jan 2018
Tiger Zinda Hai
Safe idealism or simply phony, you decide if you intend to endure 161 minutes of this toothless, tiring, plastic Tiger Zzzzzinda Hai.
Dec 2017
Fukrey Returns
...the gags, contrived around comically hostile interactions and burdened by a steady supply of predictable rejoinders, fall completely flat.
Dec 2017
Firangi
Firangi's persistence to club romantic overtures, non-cooperation movement mania, 19th century naiveté and con-adventure spunk in its 160 minutes running time proves to be its undoing. That's just too much to take in a movie that neither wants to be fun or funny.
Dec 2017
Tumhari Sulu
Despite its love for feel-good, Tumhari Sulu isn't stuck in a fool's paradise and confronts the conflicts thrown in its path.
Nov 2017
Chef
Grown up angst is a valid and neglected aspect of our storytelling. Except Menon’s digressing exploration of it feels more dull than delicious.
Oct 2017
Judwaa 2
Judwaa 2’s balloon of recycled gas soon goes phus and what’s left is tedious buffoonery of the brainless, for the brainless and by the brainless.
Sep 2017
Bhoomi
...Bhoomi’s blood-splattering, bone-crunching vigour is as unwelcome as the rest of this ghastly movie.
Sep 2017
Lucknow Central
Writer Aseem Arora's low-hanging ambitions and straightforward conflict between negotiators of harm and reform renders Lucknow Central a surprising watchability.
Sep 2017
- Sep 2017
Baadshaho
...Baadshaho's sluggish screenplay and humourless rhythm are spectacularly low on swagger and daredevilry as well.
Sep 2017
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Every single scene of this freewheeling entertainer is peppered with witticism that deserves to be savoured and parroted. But it's not always an uproarious one-liner -- and rest assured they are there in abundance -- highlighting the broader picture of this wholeheartedly frolicsome rom-com.
Sep 2017
Qaidi Band
Qaidi Band's biggest undoing is its superficial treatment of a thought-provoking premise.
Aug 2017
Sniff
...Gupte sources his own experiences growing up in the said neighbourhood, employing a large number of non-actors to fill the frames with authenticity and flavour the narrative in a humour that comes from a place of familiarity.
Aug 2017
Toilet
...Toilet's sanctimonious tone and melodramatic inclinations that takes every possible complexity -- social, cultural or religious -- and shoves it down the viewer's throat in the garb of rushed protests and simplistic resolve.
Aug 2017
Jab Harry Met Sejal
In essence, Jab Harry Met Sejal's titular characters wander aimlessly from one place to another from inside a bubble, holding on to a dream that's playful yet unreal, surprising but hollow. Had Imtiaz treated it like one and not surrendered to predictable fantasy, I'd still admire his audacity.
Aug 2017
Munna Michael
...Sabbir Khan's teetering timing, glaring ineptitude for farce and two stiff leads make it a slog to sit through.
Jul 2017
Jagga Jasoos
...isn't a particularly bright caper. It's about seeking nirmal anand whose playful ingenuity is held together by a bag of unending tricks that lend the trip wind in its wings and cheer in its will.
Jul 2017
Shab
...Onir documents the most intimate facets of his characters lives with confounding distance. Blame it on the sloppy screenplay and flimsy characterisation, but not a single character elicits any sort of emotional response -- good or bad.
Jul 2017
Mom
The film's predictability is not as much an issue as its messy climax that loses much of its drive and darkness to accommodate wishy-washy masala tropes, an ill-timed Rahman ditty and reckless ideas of fair play. What it never loses sight of is its leading lady's invincibility and for that alone, Mom's the word.
Jul 2017
Tubelight
If Tubelight had a real story and wasn't just flip-flopping between monotonous episodes of fluky coincidences treated like divine intervention and cursory battle scenes devoid of danger, urgency or tension, it might have earned some points for heft and affability.
Jun 2017
Bank Chor
Even if one overlooks at the glaring loopholes in its tonal switch and professed slyness, it's frustrating how much Bank Chor delays its denouement because nobody cried wolf.
Jun 2017
Phullu
...unwisely presumes that promoting a humanitarian angle absolves it of mediocrity. For all its do-gooder fixation, Phullu neither has the passion to succeed as a film nor the seriousness of a valuable message.
Jun 2017
- Jun 2017
Dear Maya
Watching the mild-mannered actress return to screen after a personally difficult time resonates with the headway she makes as Maya.
Jun 2017
Half Girlfriend
The constant issue in Half Girlfriend is its wimpy characters and the contrivances they resort to arrive at its predictable conclusion. Stupidity is responded with equal, if not more, stupidity.
May 2017
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
There are times Baahubali shows the strain of expectation, especially in the second half's doddering pace and excessive, unconvincing VFX, but when it communicates from a place of heart, it moves and enthralls.
Apr 2017
- Apr 2017