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Ram-leela
...is so generic, it could have been made by anyone with the sense to hire a good cinematographer and art director.
Nov 2013
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Krrish 3
...shows no signs of heightened or indeed, any brain activity. This is a big dumb movie without the trashy thrills that we sometimes get from big dumb movies.
Nov 2013
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Mickey Virus
The trick is to convey a sense of breathlessness, and Saurabh Varma’s Mickey Virus manages this only in spurts.
Oct 2013
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Shahid
Shahid isn’t a polemic but – in the tradition of our cinema – a deeply humanistic drama. The film makes us think, but more often, it makes us feel.
Oct 2013
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Boss
Akshay Kumar does what he can to keep things afloat, taking care of the action and the drama and the comedy, but unless you’re Amitabh Bachchan, these one-man circus shows are never a good idea.
Oct 2013
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Oct 2013
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Phata Poster Nikhla Hero
We really only care about the laughs. But what Santoshi’s making aren’t just comedies. They’re reverential homage. They’re tongue-in-cheek throwback. They’re a love letter to the movies. They’re utterly one-of-a-kind.
Sep 2013
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The Lunchbox
...a fascinating mix of fact and fiction, documentary-like realism and flights of poetic whimsy.
Sep 2013
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Sep 2013
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Zanjeer
The most frustrating aspect of this Zanjeer is the cynicism on display, as if the audience would show up just because lines like “Yeh police station hai, tere baap ka ghar nahin” are reproduced.
Sep 2013
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Shuddh Desi Romance
When a subtle writer’s work is filmed by a subtle filmmaker, maybe we end up with too… understated a product. A little brashness isn’t out of place in a love story...
Sep 2013
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Satyagraha
...wonder why Jha insists on following the commercial Hindi-film model when his heart is so clearly not in it.
Sep 2013
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Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara
The directors from the Mahesh Bhatt stable know their way around the darker side of desire and they know how to shape characters that are real yet just this side of larger-than-life. Other filmmakers venturing into these waters come off as posers...
Aug 2013
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Bajatey Raho
...galling to put oneself through a Khosla ka Ghosla rip-off with none of the charm and wit.
Aug 2013
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Aug 2013
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Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
There’s always something happening, but very little perspective on why this man’s life demanded to be made into a movie.
Jul 2013
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Lootera
...while The Last Leaf, with its daft romanticism in the end, is better imagined than seen on screen, where the literalness of the images makes everything look foolish.
Jul 2013
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Ghanchakkar
Raj Kumar Gupta is a tasteful filmmaker with an eye for colourful detail and the archly droll moment. But he cannot rein in the various dimensions of the story, and the film feels like it’s stuck in a loop.
Jun 2013
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Shortcut Romeo
A remake is usually a way to take care of the things that did not work earlier, but Ganesh is too busy having his African extras shake their buttocks...
Jun 2013
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Raanjhanaa
I was left with mixed feelings, torn between admiration for what was being attempted and frustration that a film dealing with such serious subject matter had chosen to take an audience-friendly approach, showcasing its protagonist as someone you just can’t help loving.
Jun 2013
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Fukrey
What’s missing is the sense that something is at stake. Rather, we see what’s at stake, we know it, but we don’t feel it as the film progresses.
Jun 2013
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Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
...my experience of it was similar to what I felt with Wake Up Sid – plenty of beautifully thought-out moments, lots to like, but it should have been so much more. Mukerji has this tendency to pick up heavy subjects and treat them lightly, which can be frustrating at times.
Jun 2013
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Ishkq In Paris
It’s hard to decide what’s worse - this psychobabble, or the bland drama that it sets up.
May 2013
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I Don't Luv U
...isn’t terrible and it could have been saved with a rousing climax, but the end is shockingly low-key.
May 2013
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Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb, which should have been much better, plays like a mashup of Hindi cinema before it became Bollywood.
May 2013
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Gippi
...follows a tried-and-tested Hollywood template, and it doesn’t try to do too much. Its triumphs are minor (though not insignificant).
May 2013
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Go Goa Gone
...it knows what it wants to do - clear a low bar - and does it pretty well, with a jaunty tone and cheerfully foul-mouthed one-liners.
May 2013