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Batla House
There’s promise here in a film about a specific police encounter being scrutinised with extreme cynicism by the rest of the nation, and it builds towards an engaging finale, but Advani takes too long to get there, meandering through wooden actors and limber item-dancers in subplots that really aren’t the point of the story.
Aug 2019
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Mission Mangal
...while there are times Mission Mangal plays out pleasantly enough as a cheesy entertainer with a message, complete with a caricaturish villain in Dalip Tahil with an unholy accent, there are other times everything feels like too much of a stretch — even the runtime.
Aug 2019
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Khandaani Shafakhana
It’s as if the filmmakers were instructed to amp up the drama to increase the storytelling stakes — I keep picturing producers and executives asking for more conflict, the way characters in this film want more ghee on their parathas — and that hurts this film’s simple, good-natured spirit.
Aug 2019
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Judgemental Hai Kya
...looks like a slick, snappy comedy but there is so much more to this smart, significant satire.
Jul 2019
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Jul 2019
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Super 30
Mathematics whiz and educator Anand Kumar has led a remarkable life, coaching hundreds of underprivileged children past the rigours of the Indian Institute of Technology entrance exams. His story deserves attention, but director Vikas Bahl confoundingly embellishes it into typical filmi fare in Super 30.
Jul 2019
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Article 15
...is not a film in search of easy answers. Instead, it is a reminder that we already know the questions but don’t ask them enough. Not cool, sir.
Jun 2019
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Kabir Singh
...I assumed Vanga (Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga) was making a cautionary tale. Instead, Kabir Singh actually applauds its pathetic protagonist, and ends up an obnoxious celebration of toxic masculinity.
Jun 2019
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Game Over
...reaches its triple-header final act swiftly, then devolves into a witless muddle, with filmmakers ramping up sudden thrills but not seeding in the problem-solving elements the film needed.
Jun 2019
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PM Narendra Modi
This is a monumental ode to hubris. The film, PM Narendra Modi, is an embarrassment, and even if every scene were true, the smugness is cringeworthy.
May 2019
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India‘s Most Wanted
All this film needed to be was smart. It is thorough — there is much waiting around and scrutiny of agents and potential double-agents — but for a film about intelligence, this isn’t particularly bright.
May 2019
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De De Pyaar De
There is genuine fodder for situational comedy, but debutant director Akiv Ali can’t strike the balance between clever humour and broad farce, making something that wants to be intelligent but looks (and sounds) like a Priyadarshan slapstick climax.
May 2019
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Chhota Bheem: Kung Fu Dhamaka
Animated films work because of how good the lines are, and Chhota Bheem appears content to settle for a few fat jokes. It’s a pity, because kids watching deserve a film as bright and spunky as the animation looks.
May 2019
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Student Of The Year 2
The film lacks drama, conflict and narrative tension, with dialogues written for mannequins.
May 2019
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Blank
...this could have been pulpy fun and there is some promise. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are shot grungily, with extreme close-ups, but while Blank wants to be a heavy metal movie, it is basically a kid with a noisy amp.
May 2019
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Kalank
From verbose lines to obscene opulence, Kalank is too theatrical and stage-y to feel current, which is where the old-world setup works… until it doesn’t. More attention is paid to the chikan embroidery on the husband’s kurtas than to the climactic revolution, and the third act exposes the story’s hollowness while the film flits inconsequentially between timelines.
Apr 2019
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Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aaata Hai?
...settling for a mediocre thriller which can’t keep up with its characters — or their indignation.
Apr 2019
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Romeo Akbar Walter
...follows spy clichés dutifully and drowns us in minutiae, but never feels immediate or exciting.
Apr 2019
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Mar 2019
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
...is an ode to joy, an ebullient celebration of the cassette-tapes its maker has been brought up on. It is an action film, about fights and villains and the importance of pain, and Bala serves up chopsocky goodness not only with directorial flair, but with the benevolence of a friendly neighbourhood ‘Chinese-van’ cook, drowning chowmein in soya sauce and vinegar.
Mar 2019
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Mar 2019
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Photograph
More than anything else, this film is poetry. Photograph reminds us to believe in minor magic. Here is a film about a city that makes room for everything, from formulaic films to ghosts. Like when posing for a camera, all we need to know is where to look.
Mar 2019
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Badla
...remains an engaging film, and while we can blame Ghosh for casting Bachchan and somewhat spoiling the climax, he can’t possibly be blamed for casting that man in a role that requires a lot of talking.
Mar 2019
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Sonchiriya
...this may be Chaubey’s best crafted film, but feels superficial, and is needlessly heavy-handed by way of metaphor.
Mar 2019
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Total Dhamaal
The script is unforgivably lazy. There are setups galore — a car has a bonnet both at the front and at the back — but there are no payoffs. Instead, Kumar and his actors move from setup to setup, hoping we have indeed left our brains at home.
Feb 2019
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Gully Boy
...is the first great Hindi film of 2019 and a rousing celebration of spunk. The writing is enthralling, the texture fantastic, and this world is a revelation.
Feb 2019
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Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
This could have been a bolder and more explicit film, but sometimes cinema should work like a street play. Sometimes we need to preach beyond the choir.
Feb 2019
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Thackeray
This is either an oblivious or blatantly self-aware film, a work not of propaganda as much as it is a work of pride, celebrating a legacy of violence.
Jan 2019
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Manikarnika
There is much intent on display, and while Manikarnika could surely have been sharper, its very existence feels like an arrow against cinema’s patriarchy, a broadside against the boys.
Jan 2019