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Zero
This film reimagines the all-consuming charisma of its leading man with a cool spin, but constantly cushions it in padding just in case he falls. The result is a middling vaudeville occasionally lifted by a clever line or a peak in the music score, pushing towards a trite and predictable climax that can be seen from space.
Dec 2018
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Why Cheat India
...is a neatly-observed film that needed more tonal clarity to be taken seriously. It features a refreshingly amoral protagonist, portrayed by a talented male lead — but the faux-thriller-like posturings of what is essentially a dark social satire gives him little elbow room to play with.
Jan 2019
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War
Despite the toughness of its leading men, the film tires them out with its convoluted writing — which, I am afraid, is the only villain in this skirmish. The rest are just in it for the money.
Oct 2019
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Uri
...plays out in the precarious sub-genre of the 'well-made' propaganda. The ambitious production design and consistent visual flair come scarily close to masking out the timely histrionics. The film is well-executed, if not well-intended.
Jan 2019
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Ujda Chaman
The result is a tone that’s constantly wobbly, from jokey to insensitivity.
Nov 2019
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Tumbbad
It is not easy for a subversive horror film to trim away its genre tentacles and still land an 800-screen release. Tumbbad has pulled off a rare trade-off, but its authenticity has taken some beating. It is the closest we have come to breaking new ground, but is it really the way forward?
Oct 2018
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Total Dhamaal
Shall we blame a slapstick comedy for sticking to the slaps? There’s little that’s freshly funny about Total Dhamaal...
Feb 2019
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The Tashkent Files
...becomes increasingly weird as it goes along. A chaos of quotes, citations, claims and counterclaims grab you by the throat.
Apr 2019
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The Sky Is Pink
With The Sky Is Pink, Shonali Bose has crafted a happy dream. And she is more than willing to admit it.
Oct 2019
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The Accidental Prime Minister
Films like The Accidental Prime Minister make a strong case against the politicisation of Indian cinema. They embarrass both sides with their shoddiness, and expose strange limitations of the medium...
Jan 2019
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Thappad
Taapsee is at her best fusing fortitude with doubt. She unfurls the timidity of her character without making her sympathetic.
Feb 2020
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Super 30
...is not quite the masala potboiler it wants to become. The emotional beats are grand but disingenuous, while the wit is hollow.
Jul 2019
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Student Of The Year 2
...in trying to tell a rags-to-riches story in a franchise that solely celebrates the latter, he belittles the spirit of genuine sports films worth their salt. As a love story, too, the film is bereft of spark, with tired tricks and predictable arcs promptly giving away who will go with whom.
May 2019
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Stree
The subtext is heavy, but not heavy-handed. The film swings intently between humour and exposition: there’s depth to be explored, but also fun to be had.
Aug 2018
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Sonchiriya
Devious and unforgiving, Abhishek Chaubey’s filmmaking lugs Sonchiriya into uncharted mainstream territory. Its reflective pace might puzzle a few, especially audiences unaccustomed to revisionist cinema, but I’m hoping for the humour to sell.
Mar 2019
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Simmba
...is a decent enough commercial film when not angling for resonance — with some of the funnier lines really popping on screen — but its self-serious orations on the topical issue of rape make a parody of the whole situation.
Dec 2018
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Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Audiences going for Hindi cinema’s first queer romance will be disappointed. Yes, you get a kiss between the male leads (two, in fact), but no real insight into their relationship.
Feb 2020
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Shikara
...is tentative in its politics, earnest in its design, and ultimately moving in its human scope.
Feb 2020
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Dec 2020
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Setters
...is a Neeraj Pandey movie directed by someone else (Ashwini Chaudhary), one that features Shreyas Talpade and Aftab Shivdasani in place of Akshay Kumar and Manoj Bajpayee.
May 2019
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Section 375
...as the politics of Section 375 gradually comes into view, it loses all claim on even-handedness. This is a film too smug about its own neutrality, using it as a front to sneak in a damaging conclusion.
Sep 2019
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Satyameva Jayate
For a film thumping its own patriotism, Satyameva Jayate unites us through only one common emotion: boredom.
Aug 2018
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Mar 2021
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Oct 2019
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Roohi
Just a few years into its revival, the Hindi horror-comedy has upped and died. The biggest blow was Laxmii (2020), with Akshay Kumar in a red saree, and now another is dealt by Roohi, starring Janhvi Kapoor as a human-witch hybrid.
Mar 2021
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Romeo Akbar Walter
Purportedly based on a real man, the film has little interest in truthfully engaging with its subject, clearly driven by the singular ambition of cashing in on patriot season.
Apr 2019
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Jan 2021
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Radhe
Any Prabhudheva movie is a challenge to rote plot summaries; even then, Radhe takes the cake. There’s no logic between, under, over or in the middle of scenes.
May 2021
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May 2019