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Jul 2017
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Tubelight
...with Tubelight, my glass is half full and not half empty. When your head points out several exasperating aspects of a film and you still find yourself weeping with it, there is something to be said about the director’s ability to strike an emotional chord.
Jun 2017
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Bank Chor
Despite its many misses, Bank Chor has more verve. Whatever little progress Bumpy has made as a filmmaker, however, is far outweighed by the insidious messaging of this film which cashes in on the prejudices that wrack Indian society today below a mask of good intentions, comedy and thrills.
Jun 2017
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Raabta
It is hard to imagine why Vijan chose to make his directorial debut with this unremarkable enterprise in which Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon and pretty visuals are all drowned out by tedium.
Jun 2017
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Jun 2017
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Hindi Medium
The film’s achievement is that it tells us things we already know yet forces us to think about them, and has lots of fun while doing so.
May 2017
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Sarkar 3
...too is lacklustre and ordinary. Coming from the House of Ram Gopal Varma, in some ways that counts as worse than being bad.
May 2017
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Mantostaan
Manto’s writings are as relevant to our troubled times as they were when he lived. Their enduring meaning and beauty are completely lost though in this poor production.
May 2017
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Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
..is a cocktail of fun stunts, attractive stars, grand settings, terrible acting, conflicted attitudes and closeted conservatism.
Apr 2017
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Noor
The film’s pluses do not eclipse its minuses though. Its news office milieu is poorly sketched...
Apr 2017
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Begum Jaan
Begum Jaan’s intriguing basic concept deserves a writer who could have expanded on it to better effect. And the lovely Vidya Balan deserves better than this soulless film.
Apr 2017
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Naam Shabana
And next time you wish to make a prequel to a hit, again, please do so because you have a substantial story to tell, not because you want to cash in on a successful brand.
Apr 2017
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Phillauri
Too many Hindi films are lost to the curse of the second half. Fortunately for Phillauri, its affliction is the exact opposite.
Mar 2017
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Anaarkali Of Aarah
Bless you Avinash Das for celebrating in a most entertaining fashion, every gutsy, rebellious, non-malleable, non-compliant uss type ki aurat through your Anaarkali. And bless you Swara Bhaskar for bringing this wonderful woman to life on screen.
Mar 2017
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Trapped
...the film is unable to maintain those interest levels through its 102 minutes and 56 seconds running time. This promising premise combined with the formidable talents of Vikramaditya Motwane and Rajkummar Rao should have added up to much more.
Mar 2017
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Mantra
If the film does not come together as a whole, it is for clearly identifiable reasons: first, the cast is a mixed bag; second, the English dialogues do not sit well on several of them; third, the equation between the five Kapoors is not fully established...
Mar 2017
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Badrinath Ki Dulhania
...a dishonest film, neither fully committed to the causes it apparently espouses nor to its own closeted conservatism.
Mar 2017
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Commando 2
The film’s impressive action scenes and pretty hero cannot make up for its limited substance, which matters particularly because the action is not unrelenting.
Mar 2017
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Rangoon
The Bhardwaj who made Maqbool, Omkara and Haider is a man perfectly suited to a film like Rangoon. Sadly, without the writing brilliance of the director’s Shakespeare trilogy, Rangoon gets many things right, but fails to come together as an involving, engaging whole.
Feb 2017
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The Ghazi Attack
...70% cracking suspense (which is remarkable since we know the outcome from the start), 30% clumsy deshbhakti and mawkishness.
Feb 2017
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Running Shaadi
...loose writing, unforgivably limited social insights, feeble direction and screenplay.
Feb 2017
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Irada
Little purpose is served though if you zero in on a crucial theme but do not breathe life into it. Irada (meaning: intent) is an opportunity lost to draw mass attention to a pressing concern.
Feb 2017
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Jolly LLB 2
...it pulls off humour and emotional resonance in several places, but those passages are also a reminder of what might have been if more time and thought had been invested in the writing of this film as a whole.
Feb 2017
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Alif
...is proof, if any were needed, that good intentions need good writing, good direction and good production values to be translated into a good film. This is an important story. It just needs to be told in a better film.
Feb 2017
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Kaabil
The kindest review I could give Kaabil is to say it is not unbearable. What it is is commonplace, unremarkable, unthinking and shoddy.
Jan 2017
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Raees
The first half of Raees is supremely interesting and filled with promise. Besides, Shah Rukh Khan is a joy to watch in this new, exploratory innings of his career. The second half lets him down though. Style trumping substance is rarely a good thing for a film.
Jan 2017
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Ok Jaanu
... is interesting at first, but as it rolls along it reveals its hollowness, a failing that even the lead couple’s charms and the attractive production design cannot overcome.
Jan 2017
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Dangal
...may be confusingly cautious around popular notions on the parental front, but in the matter of sporting achievement it does not mince words: silver is second best, it tells us unequivocally, and there is nothing wrong in aiming for gold.
Dec 2016
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Befikre
...is watchable for its packaging alone and not for what lies beneath. Even Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor’s boundless verve, all that kissing, unbridled sex and tiny Western clothing cannot mask the story’s traditionalist core.
Dec 2016
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Dear Zindagi
I loved SRK in the film, Bhatt is always a pleasure to watch, the story visits many themes that are uncommon in Bollywood, and several of the discussions are either witty or insightful or both. Overall though, the film comes across as being not enough because the writing needed more substance.
Nov 2016