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Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana
The film’s resolution of its characters’ dilemmas tends to be a bit disingenuous, but Sharma has a knack – again, befitting someone who worked on DDLJ – for the sweetly engineered plot twist.
Nov 2012
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Panga
...the film is an empathetic look at the social cost of continuing with one’s life after marriage and children.
Jan 2020
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Waiting
...walks the line between emotional resonance and emotional manipulation skilfully.
May 2016
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Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
...is undoubtedly a spectacular action film. It’s also a tradition-bound, caste-conscious macho militarist fantasy.
Apr 2017
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The Sky Is Pink
...errs on the side of caution, keeping the impending tragedy in view at all times, but wrapping everything in good vibes and the kind of courage you have no option but to admire.
Oct 2019
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Bajirao Mastani
Bhansali might be one of the last exponents of the grand old Bollywood style. Melodrama is not only something he’s comfortable with, it’s the air his characters breathe.
Dec 2015
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Neerja
Kapoor, in a break from her usual achingly hip persona, presents Bhanot as a believable mixture of quick thinking and barely suppressed panic.
Feb 2016
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Haraamkhor
...with its unadorned, unflinching treatment, Haraamkhor is a difficult film to shake off.
Jan 2017
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Children Of War
...a welcome indication that some Hindi filmmakers are starting to look outside India for stories. That Devvrat tackles his subject head-on is something else to feel encouraged about.
May 2014
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Piku
Instead of big set-pieces, Sircar gives us a series of small showdowns, confrontations and revelations. It isn’t the most arresting of films, but it’s never boring.
May 2015
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Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
...a funny, hopeful film, with enough dry wit and generosity of spirit to allow it to circumvent the farcical pitfalls of its subject matter.
Sep 2017
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Aligarh
...an even bigger victory for the film might lie in getting vaguely homophobic viewers to empathize with Siras, to understand his distaste for easy labels, to admit that even they sit in the dark with a drink and listen to old Hindi film songs.
Feb 2016
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Mukkabaaz
...is a bracing start to the movie year—overstuffed, enjoyable and urgent. It doesn’t have big stars, but feels like a commercial movie in a way that Bombay Velvet didn’t.
Jan 2018
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Drishyam
...a solid remake, but a film with Tabu as in the Vijay role and Devgn as the cop would have been so much more exciting.
Jul 2015
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Jolly LLB 2
There’s little doubt about what kind of film Jolly LLB 2 wants to be: broad, accessible and successful.
Feb 2017
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G Kutta Se
...this is a sharp, pitiless look at a society governed by feudal minds overly concerned with women’s honour while utterly dismissive of their rights. G Kutta Se might seem violent and unsubtle. Then again, so might India.
Jun 2017
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Panipat
...does do something that Bhansali, and the other directors of recent historical films, didn’t bother with – which is to give the viewer a sense of history playing out.
Dec 2019
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Tanu Weds Manu Returns
She’s (Kangana Ranaut) also the main reason the film is—even at its silliest—very watchable.
May 2015
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Parched
...it is lively, bright, charged and accessible. Chatterjee, Apte and Chawla are thoroughly enjoyable, and find excellent support in Chandan K.
Sep 2016
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Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Dhar’s mild-mannered film does something similar, setting off a bomb under a hetero cinema tradition, but turning it into something soft and pretty so as not to alarm the viewer.
Feb 2019
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Simran
After all the drama of the last month, it’s nice to be reminded that offscreen Ranaut, no matter how entertaining or scandalous, cannot hold a candle to onscreen Ranaut.
Sep 2017
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Mar 2017
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Hunterrr
...has the right comic material but lacks the timing that would make the movie sing.
Mar 2015
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Mom
...is a strange brew: audience-appeasing thriller, relationship drama and social commentary all rolled into one. To Udyawar’s credit, he manages to make it look cohesive, even as he struggles to contend with the moral quagmire of revenge and opts instead for the escape of pulp.
Jul 2017
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Manjhi
Manjhi is rousing, simplistic cinema, just about saved by a fantastic lead turn.
Aug 2015
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Jagga Jasoos
The singing stratagem occasionally gets in its own way, with dramatic scenes rendered silly by characters breaking into song. There’s also the baffling decision to cast, opposite Bollywood’s nimblest male star, the slow-reacting, risk-averse Kaif.
Jul 2017