An archive of Hindi movie reviews and ratings from 2010 to 2020.

Critic reviews and ratings

  • The patriotic fervor and simple, effective narration works big time.

    69

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  • ...unites every true Indian and makes their heart feel with pride and respect and that’s the biggest triumph of this well intended movie.  

    69

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  • What ‘Parmanu’ lacks in detail and authenticity, it makes up with emotions and a sense of national pride. The narrative isn’t explosive but it does have the dramatic moments to keep the viewer engaged.

    69

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  • John Abraham’s deadpan expressions are a hindrance but he somehow manages to hold his ground. Other actors follow his footsteps. It’s the writing that saves the day for Abraham and Parmanu.

    59

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  • Sharma unashamedly plays the patriotic card. Without apology, he yanks our heartstrings and evokes a rush of pride when the bombs finally explode. Larger questions about megaton killing machines go unasked. You might question the authenticity and plausibility of what you see in Parmanu but it does deliver on drama.

    59

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  • The film does have minor flaws and loose ends but you kind of gloss over them because of its emotional impact. At the end of the day, you feel proud of the achievements of the nation’s scientists, of our army.

    59

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  • An obviously over-simplified account of an extremely engaging real-life event. The real-life bit is what keeps you glued despite tacky execution.

    59

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  • Director Abhishek Sharma had a compelling story which could’ve rendered a thrilling watch, if only he could’ve focussed on telling it with some conviction. Perhaps throwing in a few more turns in the script and cumulatively making the inevitable seem bleak may have been the answer.

    49

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  • If you can get through two hours of clichéd dialogues, occasional deadpan textbook dialogues from John Abraham and much desh-bhakti, there is an interesting climax as a reward waiting for you, at the end.

    49

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  • ...merrily mixes fact, fiction, Quora-type information, artificially generated suspense and domestic melodrama to roll out a nationalistic yarn about India’s transformation into a nuclear state.

    39

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  • ...can scream 'desh' all it wants and turn up the volume as loud as it likes to make a big deal. But it's ultimately a cursory glance at a tough tactical choice and tame recreation of a controversial reality whose face is a stiff star.

    39

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  • John Abraham needs to be applauded for choosing unusual stories. That said, if the execution of this film weren't so shabby, 'Parmanu - The Story Of Pokhran' would have been a taut thriller.

    39

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  • ...takes a little too much freedom with the "based on true events" story as director Abhishek Sharma chooses to go Bollywood-ish way by implanting random bits of patriotism in the movie.

    39

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  • ...with all its faults, is moderately entertaining fare.    

    39

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  • Yes, you can base a film on a true event and then fictionalise parts of it. But it is jarring to see a story that is muddled with way too many obvious tension-building fabrications to suggest that the impossible mission was no mean task.

    29

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  • You will get the money shot of Abraham and co walking in slo-mo to swelling background music, enveloped in a comic book feel. You will not get crucial nuance and detail, essential requirements for a film to be to taken seriously.

    29

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  • Abraham goes all-out in portraying the sincerity and blinkered nationalism of Raina, but the character feels two-dimensional and flat.

    29

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  • ...is as a flat as a pancake, a hopelessly limp exercise with creaky nucleus that is buried under a mound of forced tropes before it can get going.

    29

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  • ...has all the ingredients to be a propaganda film – from “desh ke liye shaheed (martyred for the nation)” dialogues to caricaturish portrayal of the enemy (American CIA and Pakistani ISI) to obscurantism and oversimplification of a complex mission.

    29

    Critic rating (?)

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