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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
...is packed with delightful surprises, not the least of which are the ways in which it turns the genre on its head.
Mar 2019
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Talaash
By no means is Talaash the end of your search for the perfect whodunit. But there is so much going for this compelling, slow-burning, well-acted tale set in the dark, grimy underbelly of Mumbai that you can barely take your eye off the screen.
Nov 2012
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Sixteen
...pulls no punches when it matters. But it remains a warm, endearing film even when it gets down to tackling the bitter truths of life.
Jul 2013
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Kai Po Che!
...a competently crafted, well acted and consistently engaging drama that makes its point without sinking into preachy paroxysms.
Feb 2013
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Talvar
Mining riveting yet balanced drama from a real-life murder case lost in a tangled web of fact, fiction, hearsay and insinuations could not have been easy. But not a wee bit of the effort shows.
Oct 2015
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Dear Zindagi
...pulls at the heartstrings. It is also loaded with genteel humour. But what works above all is that the pop philosophy/psychology that underlines the drama at the film's core isn't the least bit pulpy.
Nov 2016
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Kapoor & Sons
...is intense and incisive in its observation of human inadequacies but is always entertaining.
Mar 2016
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Tanu Weds Manu Returns
...vindicates the general belief that Kangana is currently in a zone where she can do no wrong.
May 2015
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Jul 2017
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Pataakha
Take it or lump it, Pataakha packs exaggerated flourishes of the kind that aren't all that common in Bollywood films that aren't strictly driven by mainstream impulses.
Sep 2018
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Game Over
Taapsee Pannu, as she has been in her recent outings, is never less than convincing. While she may be the primary reason why you must go out a watch this film, it certainly isn't devoid of other intrinsic merits in terms of substance and execution.
Jun 2019
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Ra.One
It delivers more than your money's worth in terms of pure entertainment. It is impressively shot, technically good enough to pass muster and the hi-jinks drama has the pace to keep tedium at bay.
Oct 2011
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Bewakoofiyaan
...scores with its disarming simplicity. Even as it doesn’t soar to dizzying heights, it is never less than watchable.
Mar 2014
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TE3N
The slow-burning drama about crime, tragedy, guilt and retribution has the potential to repay the patience of those that don’t switch off their brains when watching a film.
Jun 2016
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Monsoon Shootout
...has the sinews of a high-octane, action-packed Bollywood underworld tale. What defines it more significantly is its overly arty packaging. It turns the film into a stylish, if a touch laboured, piece of cinema.
Dec 2017
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Bareilly Ki Barfi
...is definitely worth a watch provided you do not expect the world from it. It is happy to be what it is: a modest barfi from nondescript Bareilly.
Aug 2017
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Mardaani
Director Sarkar receives high quality assistance from his principal technicians, who combine to keep Mardaani simple and focused on its clearly delineated plot all the way through.
Aug 2014
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Yahaan Sabki Lagi Hai
...is about people screwed up as much by the system as by their own follies, but the final impact of the film is not as gloomy as the title might suggest. Give it a shot.
Mar 2015
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Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola
Few filmmakers in Mumbai engage with ideas and issues of contemporary relevance as felicitously as Bhardwaj. He might have fallen short this time around, but even when he is not at his best, he is infinitely better than most in the business. A director who does not fear failure merits our support.
Jan 2013
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Bajirao Mastani
There isn't a dull moment in this colourful and dramatic film that embraces excess with unabashed abandon.
Dec 2015
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Jagga Jasoos
If Jagga Jasoos, for all its deviations, passes muster, it is largely due to a pivotal star turn that is worth its weight in gold and the heartily surreal touches that Basu imparts to this colourful, imaginative fantasy.
Jul 2017
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Aug 2010
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Cocktail
...has just the right mix of fizz and flavour to allow the occasional and inevitable crinkles of triteness to flow well below the surface.
Jul 2012
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Manjhi
A lighter touch might have made Manjhi - The Mountain Man a markedly more convincing biopic.
Aug 2015
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Aiyyaa
It careens from the dreamy to the delirious, the realistic to the raucous, and the perfectly logical to the utterly nonsensical as it turns many a time-honoured convention of Hindi commercial cinema on its head.
Oct 2012
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Fukrey
...is full-on entertainment although it stops shy of being an outstanding comedy.
Jun 2013
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Jawaani Jaaneman
Saif will draw you into Jawaani Jaaneman. Alaya will keep you glued even when the pace of the film seems to flag a bit.
Jan 2020
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Inkaar
For a film that is remarkable in many significant ways, it ultimately disappoints because, despite showing the nerve to deal squarely with a demanding subject, it eventually chickens out of the prospect of going the whole distance to a coherent and radical conclusion.
Jan 2013
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Shab
...is a courageous film and not only on account of its theme. It dares to go against the grain of what is passes for 'well-made' cinema in the Bollywood playbook. It is stylish, layered, evocative and not averse to embracing subtle obliqueness.
Jul 2017