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May 2015
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Dharam Sankat Mein
To succeed with all this within the framework of a broad-strokes, Censor Board-friendly comedy isn’t easy. At times, you may feel a more appropriate title would have been Fuwad Khan Sankat Mein.
Apr 2015
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Apr 2015
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Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!
A sluggish pace. This wouldn’t be a problem if the characters were well-drawn, interesting, or if the plot was gripping. But no and no.
Apr 2015
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NH10
...isn’t quite a disaster, but it’s a confused film, one that makes the mistake of having too much on its plate.
Mar 2015
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Coffee Bloom
After a gentle two-thirds or so, the plot picks up and the film becomes hurried and less satisfying.
Mar 2015
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Mar 2015
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Ab Tak Chhappan 2
...the decision to add another chapter to Shimit Amin’s 2004 film (this one is directed by Aejaz Gulab) is a curious one. It was neither a blockbuster, not a cult film – so why bother?
Feb 2015
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Badlapur
...goes beyond genre and simple homage. It isn’t slick. It has a verité feel.
Feb 2015
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Roy
Roy is what happens when an art-house English film masquerades as a mainstream Hindi movie.
Feb 2015
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Hawaizaada
Puri has toiled hard to make his film look outré, but that isn’t enough – you wish he’d expended an equal amount of energy to infuse a similar eccentricity into the plot and the characters as well.
Feb 2015
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Dolly Ki Doli
...Abhishek Dogra, tries desperately to convince us that it’s a comedy, but the jokes are essentially one-note, the same setup warmed up and served over and over.
Jan 2015
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Baby
The director Neeraj Pandey realises that he isn’t making a film about ideas. He’s making an action movie, a thriller. Baby feels long at over two-and-a-half hours, but there’s nothing that feels redundant.
Jan 2015
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Tevar
Sharma is a genuine filmmaker. His scenes are artfully lit, staged, populated with extras – he makes a masala movie as if he’s making something loftier, worthier, and Tevar is the better for it.
Jan 2015
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PK
The bigger problem is that the film practically reeks of formula. Hirani has become some sort of Madhur Bhandarkar, telling, essentially, the same story and simply focusing on a different facet of society.
Dec 2014
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Happy Ending
Surely directors this smart should know that you can’t mock a genre and embrace it at the same time.
Nov 2014
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Kill Dil
At every point, you keep wanting Kill/Dil to be so much more – but this isn’t a lazy failure. If anything, Ali tries to do too much.
Nov 2014
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The Shaukeens
It’s only when Akshay Kumar shows up – he plays himself – that we perk up.
Nov 2014
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Happy New Year
...relentless cannibalisation (and self-cannibalisation) is a pity because Farah’s real talent lies in the mad bits she cooks up...
Oct 2014
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Tamanchey
What we’re left with, then, is an unsatisfying mix of blood and laughs. Even with our low expectations, that’s not enough.
Oct 2014
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Haider
...left me cold. It’s extraordinarily crafted, but it’s something you admire from a distance.
Oct 2014
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Bang Bang!
...the film needed better location photography. It needed better writing. It needed better songs. And it needed a better director, someone with attitude and style.
Oct 2014
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Raja Natwarlal
...isn’t a great – or maybe even a good – movie, but it serves up some of the innocuous fun we used to get from Hindi films before the industry went all global and classy on us.
Aug 2014
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Mardaani
Coming a week after the dreary Singham Returns, Mardaani is essentially a demo on how to do this kind of film with class and a certain sensibility.
Aug 2014