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Table No. 21
If there was ever a movie in need of an enhanced computer-generated imagery budget, it is this one.
Jan 2013
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Jazbaa
The movie loses momentum after the interval and the contradictions pile up as in a train wreck, but there is always a scorchingly lit corner in a never before-seen shade of yellow or green to gaze upon.
Oct 2015
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Ki & Ka
The main characters are too sketchy for the movie Balki hopes to have made, and they are not light enough for the movie he should have made.
Apr 2016
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3
The law of diminishing returns has finally caught up with one of the most unlikely film franchises in recent memory.
Jul 2018
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Zero
Khan’s fanbase will possibly be even more perplexed with Zero. By trying to play the man next door rather than a larger-than-life personality, Khan has all too literally let himself be cut to size. The romantic declarations are less effective, the conviction with which Khan has carried off more modest romances is missing, and the package is smaller than before.
Dec 2018
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Nakkash
Imam doesn’t have enough layers to weave around a threadbare plot, and the double life that Alla Rakha leads, which is the most interesting aspect of the story, gets drowned by the melodrama.
May 2019
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Mausam
...starts promisingly but runs into rough weather as soon as it leaves rural Punjab and goes globe-trotting.
Sep 2011
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May 2016
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A Gentleman
...is unable to overcome its derivative cool and come up with new ways of reimagining the action comedy.
Aug 2017
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Guzaarish
...Guzaarish points to a limited imagination that is so much in thrall to European costume dramas it lacks a soul of its own.
Dec 2010
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Agneepath
...richly detailed and grandly mounted sequences that just about manage to conceal the fact that this is a redundant remake.
Feb 2012
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Dhoom 3
...sallies forth boldly into Hollywood genre territory but resorts ever so often to longstanding Hindi movie contrivances to keep the plot ticking.
Dec 2013
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Roy
...is ponderous, slow-burning to the point of being slow-moving, and too self-absorbed to notice that it isn’t going anywhere. But it always looks tip-top.
Feb 2015
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Raabta
...reincarnates a tried and tested formula without capturing the mystery and sense of aching loss that mark the better entries in the genre. Some experiences don’t last beyond a single lifetime.
Jun 2017
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Gone Kesh
The light touch that peppers most of the scenes feels misplaced, given the gravity of Enakshi’s condition and the association between beauty and hair. The shattering of self-image and the tragedy of Enakshi’s plight, given her youth, are barely explored.
Mar 2019
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404
A tighter script and crisper running time could have vastly improved 404's chances, although the film manages to stay a few steps ahead of the usual over-long Bollywood product.
May 2011
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Bharat
...is an unfeeling and overstretched affair that botches its source material and squanders the opportunity to say anything meaningful about Bharat’s journey from the 1940s till the 2010s.
Jun 2019
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Madam Chief Minister
...is about as sophisticated as a college play. The complexity of identity politics is reduced to palace intrigue.
Jan 2021
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Hamari Adhuri Kahani
Suri’s ability to pass off superficial observations on life and its attendant miseries has paid off in the past in Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain, but the emotional landscape of Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ completely defeats him.
Jun 2015
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Noor
Noor’s nose for news is weak, but at least she gets the romance beat right. She would make a questionable investigative journalist, but a fine relationship advice columnist.
Apr 2017
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Simran
The monomania that characterises Simran – the furtherance of the assertion that Kangana Ranaut can carry off just about anything – dooms the movie to repetition and facetiousness. Ranaut gives the role her all, but her relentless optimism and self-belief in the face of trying circumstances are barely convincing.
Sep 2017
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Luka Chuppi
...isn’t quite radical, let alone consistently funny, but the long walk to the altar is far less conservative than it could have been.
Mar 2019
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Khandaani Shafakhana
There isn’t enough humour of the gentle or wicked variety across the sluggishly-paced film to communicate its larger themes.
Aug 2019
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Street Dancer 3D
The movie leaps to life only in the last 30 minutes, as various crews twist and twirl their way through the inevitable contest. But to get there, you have to wade through sentimental slush and endure trite humour (the tin-eared dialogue is by Farhad Samji) and endless distractions.
Jan 2020
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Phullu
If marks were given for good intentions and sincerity, Phullu would top the university. But if marks were also given for presentation and execution, Phullu would be somewhere at the lower levels.
Jun 2017
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Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana
...sets up its plot with confidence and coherence before going off the rails in spectacular and painful fashion.
Nov 2017
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Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain
...has enough sense to confront the lovelessness that characterises far too many middle-class marriages, but not the courage to get to the heart of the problem.
May 2018
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Ready
...an inoffensive but unmemorable comedy that rests entirely on Salman Khan’s very broad shoulders.
Jun 2011
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Baar Baar Dekho
It wants to be seen as a departure from sentimental Hindi film romances, but it doesn’t want to let go of the messy bundle of emotions these films tap into.
Sep 2016