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Guddu Rangeela
Kapoor tries so hard to make sure his film is quirky that he doesn’t care about how clever or funny it actually is, and Guddu Rangeela could well have fallen flat -- except for the actors.
Jul 2015
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Golmaal 3
I wasn't looking for sensitivity or smarts in Golmaal 3. All I wanted were a few good jokes. The film doesn't oblige.
Nov 2010
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Ghanchakkar
...builds up and builds up and builds up magnificently before collapsing in a bloody silly heap.
Jun 2013
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Gangs Of Wasseypur 2
Like one of those unending strings of ladis, this is, then, a proper firecracker, even if far too long.
Aug 2012
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Gangs Of Wasseypur
Kashyap gets flavour, setting and character right, but the lack of economy cripples the film. There is a lot of gunfire, but like the fine actors populating its sets, Wasseypur fires too many blanks.
Jun 2012
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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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Force 2
The fundamental flaw in a film like this -- other than the repetitive wowlessness of it all -- is the fact that by creating too dry and no-nonsense protagonists instead of fleshing them out as characters, you end up failing the genre.
Nov 2016
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Fitoor
...Kapoor casts two attractive people where he ought have chosen a couple of actual actors instead, and thus it becomes hard to care about the protagonists or their sundered hearts, and despite aesthetic appeal, what we end up with is -- at best -- a screensaver.
Feb 2016
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Finding Fanny
It gives us much, much to smile pleasantly at, to guffaw at, and one moment that will make the theatre gasp -- before it brings the house down.
Sep 2014
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Fatso
...the film squanders the most potentially thrilling aspects of the idea and leaves us with something half-baked.
May 2012
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Oct 2012
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Ek Villain
Why, again, is this a remake? Why would these filmmakers steal from a film and yet leave out the good parts, the bits that made those films great? And why do we do it over and over again?
Jun 2014
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Ek Tha Tiger
It could have been snappier, and the girl could have been much better, but the film should be applauded for giving us a non-sleepwalking Salman, and enough genuine bang for our buck.
Aug 2012
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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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Dum Laga Ke Haisha
...a truly simple story. So simple, in fact, that Dum Laga Ke Haisha never gives you a single moment of unpredictability. It’s a two-hour film, and yet drags its feet enough to feel long and stretched. There are superb actors performing a sweet script, but after a while all you have is flavour.
Feb 2015
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Drishyam
It’s a depressingly ordinary film, and the allegedly stolen plot -- about a crime being covered-up -- is something we’ve seen many, many times before.
Jul 2015
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Dec 2011
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Dishoom
...the film is clearly aiming for laughs, and even when it gets lost along the way, blindsided by some unnecessarily elaborate action moment or by a bicepped un-actor, it still provides a fair bit of corny fun.
Jul 2016
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Dil Dhadakne Do
Despite its flaws, I find myself looking back at Dil Dhadakne Do and smiling.
Jun 2015
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Dhobi Ghat
...a middling debut, watchable due to its nuances but simply not interesting enough to recommend. Yet Rao seems assured of her craft, and worth looking out for in the future.
Jan 2011
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Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!
...for all its stylishness and period grandeur it is not as intelligent a film as it yearns to be, the plot isn’t cunning enough and the conveniently-unravelled puzzle never quite sucks the viewer in.
Apr 2015
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Delhi Belly
A nice, tight, pacy little plot which has lots of satisfying little set-ups and pay-offs, and where everything comes together very well indeed.
Jul 2011
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Jan 2014
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Dear Zindagi
...is a lovely picture, made with finesse and heart, and one that not only takes some stigma off the idea of seeking therapy, but -- in the most natural of ways -- goes a long way in making a viewer think of the people who matter most.
Nov 2016