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Daawat-e-Ishq
...is the most irresponsible film to emerge from mainstream Bollywood this year. No, Habib Faisal, it’s not okay to trivialise issues as serious as dowry
Sep 2014
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Daas Dev
A Devdas-cum-Hamlet story still feels like it is worth a shot, perhaps even another shot by Mishra, but this one fails to live up to its promise despite an excellent central performance and an unusual interpretation of two iconic literary characters.
Apr 2018
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D-Day
Why bother with common sense and logic when populism has been known to work magic at the box-office? Why bother even if it messes up an otherwise decent film?
Jul 2013
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Court
It’s the simplest of films, yet unimaginably complex. It’s straightforward yet marvelously thoughtful. In its understatement lies melodrama. In its refusal to dress itself up lies its richness.
Apr 2015
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Dec 2020
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Commando 3
...is technically glossy and the fight choreography is slick. The writing though is contrived.
Nov 2019
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Commando 2
The film’s impressive action scenes and pretty hero cannot make up for its limited substance, which matters particularly because the action is not unrelenting.
Mar 2017
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Coffee With D
...made me angry because it has managed to come to theatres and get good time slots in prime halls despite being a zero, while some excellent small films never manage a theatrical release.
Jan 2017
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Coffee Bloom
...I found Coffee Bloom an unexpectedly satisfying film. It is paced in a fashion that might be considered too slow and too languid by some. To me though it felt relaxed, reflective, unusual and offbeat.
Mar 2015
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Cocktail
...bubbly in the first half, boring in the second, pretending to be free-thinking but actually narrow-minded and stereotypical to the core.
Jul 2012
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Chhichhore
The writing of Chhichhore (by Tiwari himself with Nikhil Mehrotra and Piyush Gupta) is so lacking in depth, and the direction so passionless that it is hard to believe it is brought to us by the same person who made Dangal. Despite its sporadic bursts of humour, Chhichhore comes across as a half-hearted enterprise.
Sep 2019
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Chhapaak
...means well, no doubt, but the screenplay is surprisingly thin – surprising because of Meghna’s brilliance with Raazi and Talvar. Combine that with plotline weaknesses, an excessive effort to stay low key and the unexpected shot at being a conformist fairytale in the end, and the result is a film that seems curiously detached from its heroine, despite the devastating true story that inspired it.
Jan 2020
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Chennai Express
...is not unrelentingly laugh-worthy, but it’s still good enough for a relaxed, pleasant evening.
Aug 2013
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Chef
It is pleasant in parts, pretty almost throughout, and the cast is appealing. In the absence of heft and a commitment to its genre though, it remains an ineffectual film.
Oct 2017
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Chauranga
...is so low-key that it comes across as an unfeeling drama even though the screen is, at all times, busy with multiple pressing concerns.
Jan 2016
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Chalk N Duster
It is a mark of Bollywood’s extreme gender bias that the likes of Shabana and Juhi must, more often than not, compromise on quality if they wish to play heroines. These remarkable women deserve better than this clumsy, even if well-meaning, film. So does the teaching profession.
Jan 2016
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Chakravyuh
...has absolute clarity about the political stance it is taking and makes no awkward attempts to seem balanced just for the heck of it.
Oct 2012
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Sep 2014
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Sep 2015
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Budhia Singh
...could have been a great film if only Padhi had not been chary of highlighting his chosen protagonist’s warts along with his virtues.
Aug 2016
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Boss
Too many recent solo-hero action-comedy flicks have suffered from this problem. They’ve even begun to resemble each other. Where does Rowdy Rathore end and Khiladi 786 begin? Where does Dabangg end and Ready begin?
Oct 2013
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Bombay Velvet
...is a film that’s trying to be American or something like it; a film in which Kashyap, it would appear, is trying to be someone else.
May 2015
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Bombay Talkies
...boasts of several talented actors and many worthwhile moments – moments of laughter, courage and poignance. It just doesn’t have the jaadu that the movie madaari promised.
May 2013
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Bol Bachchan
His(Ajay Devgn) acting, his characterisation by the writing team, and the absolute and deliberate defiance of logic in the writing and delivery of his dialogues are what make Bol Bachchan worth a watch.
Jul 2012
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Blood Money
This film could have been something I guess, but the production house does not seem to have cared enough to push the team to try.
Mar 2012
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Bhoothnath Returns
...until it gets confused about what it wants to be – feature film or docu, children’s film or adult fare, light-hearted entertainer with a message or dead serious – Bhoothnath Returns is a lot of fun.
Apr 2014
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Bhoot Returns
The result: after the chills in the first half, the rest of the film and particularly the ending are an absolute damp squib.
Oct 2012
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Bharat
Far from being a Forrest Gump with Salman Khan, Bharat is mostly a plodding trek through post-1947 to contemporary India.
Jun 2019