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Sep 2012
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A Gentleman
...despite the clunky plotting, A Gentleman never becomes a crashing bore. Credit must go to Sidharth Malhotra, who is in almost every frame.
Aug 2017
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Kaamyaab
The film has heart but it doesn’t deliver the emotional heft or depth that a showbiz film like Luck By Chance did because the writing isn’t sharp enough.
Mar 2020
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Karthik Calling Karthik
...is inconsistent with its own internal logic. When you backtrack and see how the pieces fit, it doesn’t hang together.
Feb 2010
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Rakht Charitra – I
...how much you relish Rakta Charitra is directly connected to your threshold for gore.
Oct 2010
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May 2013
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Kedarnath
...feels like it belongs to an earlier decade. Apart from Mukku’s character, there is little that is fresh or contemporary.
Dec 2018
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The Sky Is Pink
...is sincere and heartfelt but it never gets raw or messy. Until that final stretch, it doesn’t pierce your heart the way this subject should.
Oct 2019
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Jail
Bhandarkar’s cinema has often been called hard-hitting but the trouble with Jail is that it simply doesn’t hit hard enough.
Nov 2009
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Hunterrr
...has layers and a depth that those films didn’t even aspire to. But ultimately Harshavardhan, fritters away the opportunity.
Mar 2015
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Chhapaak
...hovers dangerously close to becoming a public service announcement. The messaging becomes bigger than the movie, which reduces the impact.
Jan 2020
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Patiala House
It is an old-fashioned Hindi movie with big drama, solid dialogue-baazi and moments that are genuinely moving and rousing.
Feb 2011
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Jannat 2
Logic isn’t a priority here. Deshmukh is creating an old-school Bollywood film with high drama, punchy dialogue, thunderous background music and villains who glare and maim with aplomb.
May 2012
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Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola
...didn’t stir up any keen emotions in me. Parts of the film soar but many are saggy and ultimately I was just underwhelmed.
Jan 2013
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Go Goa Gone
I think the trouble with Go Goa Gone is too much cleverness and not enough plot.
May 2013
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Highway
Imtiaz skillfully creates moments that are at once, tender, funny and fragile. But my problem was that I simply didn’t buy into the story.
Feb 2014
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Tubelight
...is cinema as a sermon. Which makes the film flat and emotionally unconvincing. The good intentions and lectures on yakeen don’t translate into a gripping narrative.
Jun 2017
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Mar 2012
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Akira
... the writing — by Murugadoss and Santha Kumar — isn’t good enough to give us a memorable heroine.
Sep 2016
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Dhadak
Shashank is the successful maker of frothy romances. Here he steps out of his comfort zone but not enough to tackle head-on, the ugly truth of caste. The hurdles are more palatable and consequently, synthetic.
Jul 2018
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Kesari
What does wobble is the writing, which needed to be tighter and more layered. The characters are all one-note and the film is 150 minutes long – the entire first half is an introduction to the characters and a build up to the battle, which only begins in the second.
Mar 2019
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Nov 2013
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Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Ultimately, there is enough eye-candy in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to see you through, but I wish the film had more meat and less dressing.
Jun 2013
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Shaadi Ke Side Effects
...is in equal parts, enjoyable and exasperating. Pretty much like the average marriage.
Mar 2014
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Motichoor Chaknachoor
...the film doesn’t become memorable in the way that other small-town tales like Dum Laga Ke Haisha or Bareilly ki Barfi or Stree were. But it’s passable entertainment. And sometimes that’s enough.
Nov 2019
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Simran
...is a brilliant performance trapped in a sloppy screenplay - ironical given the headline-hogging, fall-out between writer Apurva Asrani and Kangana Ranaut over writing credits. Actually, the writing is the weakest part of the film.
Sep 2017