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Azhar
...is a superficial look at the life of one of the most enigmatic and intriguing sporting stars this country has ever seen. It is an opportunity lost.
May 2016
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Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
...is really funny in places, but it’s so insubstantial, unimaginative and regressive that that’s just not enough.
Jul 2014
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Thugs Of Hindostan
Khan, on the other hand, crackles, pops and sparkles as a swashbuckling scoundrel. The writing of his character and his performance are the only reasons why Thugs of Hindostan does not turn out to be a stylishly produced but disastrously dreary repeat of Acharya’s first film, Tashan.
Nov 2018
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Ekk Deewana Tha
...works in places, but is filled with so many incongruities and strikes so many discordant notes that it is hard to get entirely drawn into the story.
Feb 2012
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Sanju
The object of the film is two-fold: to project Dutt as a misguided but well-intentioned man and all-round nice guy, and to scapegoat others for his failings.
Jun 2018
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Jazbaa
All the megawatt casting, stylish camerawork and blue-gray tints in the world cannot alter the fact that when it comes down to brass tacks and a scrutiny of the climax, Jazbaa is a hollow film.
Oct 2015
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Dear Dad
...is well intentioned but once it sets off on its journey, it does not seem to know where to go.
May 2016
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Laila Majnu
Dear Sajid and Imtiaz, from the space in your minds where that came from, why could you not have thought up a more credible, imaginative adaptation of Laila Majnu? Why?
Sep 2018
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Agent Vinod
The issue with Agent Vinod is that it’s trying to achieve a certain coolth but falls flat on its face in the face of impactless writing.
Mar 2012
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Khiladi 786
I don’t mind mindless comedies. My issue is that this one is predictable and flat and just occasionally amusing.
Dec 2012
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Gunday
This is not an unwatchable film. It’s simply unremarkable, inconsistent and unoriginal.
Feb 2014
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Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive
...is not crude or distasteful in the manner of low-brow comedies we have seen emerging from Bollywood in the past. It is just proof – since so many people seem to need proof – that comedy is one of the hardest things to achieve in the arts.
Feb 2016
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Sarbjit
The true story of Sarabjit Singh Atwal is a tragedy of gargantuan proportions that is enough to move a rock to tears. Yet director Omung Kumar somehow manages to make a curiously unmoving film out of this inherently heartbreaking story.
May 2016
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Mickey Virus
...takes just too long to establish its setting and settle down before the action takes off in the second half, by which time it’s a tad bit late.
Oct 2013
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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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Mission Mangal
...is fun and educational at one level, but make no mistake about this: its veneer of progressiveness masks a highly conservative, prejudiced core.
Aug 2019
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Panipat
...is shorn of Padmaavat and Kesari's insidious intent, but it is not exactly an innocent, truthful chronicler of Indian history. Add to that its lack of polish and spark, and for all its occasional positives, it ends up as just an average affair.
Dec 2019
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Sep 2018
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Sep 2012
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Ankur Arora Murder Case
For the sake of good cinema one can only hope that Suhail Tatari gets back on his feet, brushes himself off and finds a great script in which he invests sincerity and conviction, to make a film that’s worthy of his talent. Ankur Arora Murder Case is not that film.
Jun 2013
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Jul 2014
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Housefull 2
...there is a difference between being cheeky and being distasteful, between being politically incorrect and downright insensitive.
Apr 2012
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Soorma
...but just when it needed to give us an inside view of Sandeep Singh’s life, it inexplicably decides to become an aloof observer.
Jul 2018
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Mere Pyare Prime Minister
Despite its heartwarming intentions, liberal soul and some interesting actors, Mere Pyare Prime Minister is an underwhelming experience.
Mar 2019
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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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Bharat
Far from being a Forrest Gump with Salman Khan, Bharat is mostly a plodding trek through post-1947 to contemporary India.
Jun 2019