-
102 Not Out
The movie, based on Saumya Joshi’s popular Gujarati play of the same name, sticks so closely to its stage origins that it feels as though we are actually watching a filmed play. In the final bits, the cheesy humour makes way for cloying sentimentality...
May 2018
-
Running Shaadi
...a comic critique of arranged marriage? Or is it a quirky but slowburn romance between an odd couple? Running Shaadi tries to be a bit of both, and becomes neither.
Feb 2017
-
Tiger Zinda Hai
The explosive Khan-Kaif combination turns out to be a damp squib, undone by staggering ambition and matching incompetence.
Dec 2017
-
Begum Jaan
...is a mostly faithful remake of his 2015 Bengali movie Rajkahini – which means that the sensationalist plot, overwrought storytelling, screechy acting and tabloid account of the Partition have made it across the language divide unchallenged.
Apr 2017
-
Welcome to New York
Chakri Toleti’s comedy is shallow as the film industry it is meant to spoof.
Feb 2018
-
Gour Hari Dastaan
...is sluggishly paced, and fails to convey the monumentality of the protagonist's mission.
Aug 2015
-
Ghayal Once Again
Ghayal was one of the best-known entries in this genre, and the sequel labours under the shadow of the 1990 production.
Feb 2016
-
Samrat & Co.
The ending promises a sequel, which might be better suited to television, given the basic production values, sheer scantiness of the plot, and the staccato screenplay.
Apr 2014
-
PM Narendra Modi
Any insights the movie offers into Modi’s rise are inadvertent. The monomaniacal focus on one man above all else will surely be of interest to those who study how cinema can be used for propaganda.
May 2019
-
Oct 2016
-
Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se
The forced wackiness is spread thinly over 148 minutes, and the poor production values and all-round laziness indicate that nobody in this production was trying too hard.
Aug 2018
-
Boss
The action-comedy category, characterised by such films as Wanted, Singham and Rowdy Rathore, is primarily aimed at boosting the careers of the marquee male stars who headline them. Every actor who isn’t the ubermensch that no force in the world can withstand doesn’t need to bother. Why then should audiences?
Oct 2013
-
Great Grand Masti
Despite the promise held out by the title, this kind of fun is neither great nor grand.
Jul 2016
-
Jail
If there is anything unpredictable in this extremely familiar film, it is how non-sensational it is.
Nov 2009
-
Wedding Pullav
This latest iteration of the big fat Punjabi wedding movie has nothing new to say or offer.
Oct 2015
-
Mubarakan
...the cast assemble and disperse when required, pull faces on demand, and try to keep up with the twists that Mubarakan’s writers conjure up at every bend because somebody on the production thought that it was a good idea to have a 156- minute movie about mixed identities.
Jul 2017
-
Lamhaa
In attempting to explore the issues facing the Kashmiri people through the prism of a thriller, Dholakia misses the wood for the chinars.
Jul 2010
-
Entertainment
There is endless punning, a play on the names of actors and iconic Hindi movies, SMS forward-worthy jokes and the idea that a dog can get the better of humans.
Aug 2014
-
Housefull 3
The filmmakers have aimed to deliver a puerile movie, and, in fact, will be offended by any discussion about Housefull 3 that does not involve its box office prospects.
Jun 2016
-
Jai Mummy Di
The spineless and unimaginative leads are matched by the one-note matriarchs, who are never allowed to be anything more than face-pulling shrews.
Jan 2020
-
Ekk Deewana Tha
Almost nothing works in the Hindi version. Prateik flubs his way through almost every scene; the editing is video-game frenetic, the cinematography tacky...
Feb 2012
-
Sanam Re
Despite numerous plot twists, the two-hour duration feels as stretched as Samrat’s movie star ambitions. Every now and then, a song that might be better viewed on YouTube shows up to relieve the tedium.
Feb 2016
-
Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2
The director expends so much energy in running women down that he forgets just how unintelligent and uninspiring his heroes are.
Oct 2015
-
Love Games
Vikram Bhatt’s thriller on swingers exploits ideas like drug abuse and threesomes.
Apr 2016
-
Vodka Diaries
The ones who have guessed the direction in which the plot is going will have all the time in the world to ponder over why the talented Menon agreed to be a part of such dross.
Jan 2018
-
M Cream
If M Cream is what passes for underground cinema in India, perhaps it’s best that it stays underground.
Jul 2016