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Naam Shabana
And next time you wish to make a prequel to a hit, again, please do so because you have a substantial story to tell, not because you want to cash in on a successful brand.
Apr 2017
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Phillauri
Too many Hindi films are lost to the curse of the second half. Fortunately for Phillauri, its affliction is the exact opposite.
Mar 2017
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Anaarkali Of Aarah
Bless you Avinash Das for celebrating in a most entertaining fashion, every gutsy, rebellious, non-malleable, non-compliant uss type ki aurat through your Anaarkali. And bless you Swara Bhaskar for bringing this wonderful woman to life on screen.
Mar 2017
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Trapped
...the film is unable to maintain those interest levels through its 102 minutes and 56 seconds running time. This promising premise combined with the formidable talents of Vikramaditya Motwane and Rajkummar Rao should have added up to much more.
Mar 2017
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Mantra
If the film does not come together as a whole, it is for clearly identifiable reasons: first, the cast is a mixed bag; second, the English dialogues do not sit well on several of them; third, the equation between the five Kapoors is not fully established...
Mar 2017
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Badrinath Ki Dulhania
...a dishonest film, neither fully committed to the causes it apparently espouses nor to its own closeted conservatism.
Mar 2017
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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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Rangoon
The Bhardwaj who made Maqbool, Omkara and Haider is a man perfectly suited to a film like Rangoon. Sadly, without the writing brilliance of the director’s Shakespeare trilogy, Rangoon gets many things right, but fails to come together as an involving, engaging whole.
Feb 2017
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The Ghazi Attack
...70% cracking suspense (which is remarkable since we know the outcome from the start), 30% clumsy deshbhakti and mawkishness.
Feb 2017
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Running Shaadi
...loose writing, unforgivably limited social insights, feeble direction and screenplay.
Feb 2017
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Irada
Little purpose is served though if you zero in on a crucial theme but do not breathe life into it. Irada (meaning: intent) is an opportunity lost to draw mass attention to a pressing concern.
Feb 2017
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Jolly LLB 2
...it pulls off humour and emotional resonance in several places, but those passages are also a reminder of what might have been if more time and thought had been invested in the writing of this film as a whole.
Feb 2017
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Alif
...is proof, if any were needed, that good intentions need good writing, good direction and good production values to be translated into a good film. This is an important story. It just needs to be told in a better film.
Feb 2017
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Kaabil
The kindest review I could give Kaabil is to say it is not unbearable. What it is is commonplace, unremarkable, unthinking and shoddy.
Jan 2017
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Raees
The first half of Raees is supremely interesting and filled with promise. Besides, Shah Rukh Khan is a joy to watch in this new, exploratory innings of his career. The second half lets him down though. Style trumping substance is rarely a good thing for a film.
Jan 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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Ok Jaanu
... is interesting at first, but as it rolls along it reveals its hollowness, a failing that even the lead couple’s charms and the attractive production design cannot overcome.
Jan 2017
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Dangal
...may be confusingly cautious around popular notions on the parental front, but in the matter of sporting achievement it does not mince words: silver is second best, it tells us unequivocally, and there is nothing wrong in aiming for gold.
Dec 2016
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Befikre
...is watchable for its packaging alone and not for what lies beneath. Even Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor’s boundless verve, all that kissing, unbridled sex and tiny Western clothing cannot mask the story’s traditionalist core.
Dec 2016
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Dear Zindagi
I loved SRK in the film, Bhatt is always a pleasure to watch, the story visits many themes that are uncommon in Bollywood, and several of the discussions are either witty or insightful or both. Overall though, the film comes across as being not enough because the writing needed more substance.
Nov 2016
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Nov 2016
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Nov 2016
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Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
...is not an immersive experience and after a while I lost interest in its rigmarole of relationships, the many datings and matings, break-ups and patch-ups, marriages, divorces, friendships and the one-way scenarios involved.
Oct 2016
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31st October
Thousands of Sikhs were slaughtered, raped and driven out of their homes in the riots of October-November 1984. Their story needs to be told with delicacy and intelligence, not with the sloppiness and hollowness that are the hallmark of 31st October.
Oct 2016
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Saat Uchhakkey
...stands out for its excellent casting, excellent acting and – when it is not self-conscious – excellent humour. Now if only that had been enough...
Oct 2016
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Mirzya
There were moments when the Critic thought, “Ah, this looks and sounds so good. Maybe soon the life blood will flow?” And she waited, and waited, and waited. But it did not.
Oct 2016
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M.S. Dhoni
If Neeraj Pandey needed to be this careful, perhaps he should have manufactured a bottle of antiseptic instead of making a film.
Sep 2016
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Parched
The women’s hesitant exploration of each other in forbidden areas is riveting, as is the vein of comedy in each of them. The film is only episodically engaging though. In its entirety, Parched left me thirsting for much much more.
Sep 2016
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Sep 2016