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Aug 2011
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Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
For the first time, Karan Johar comes across like a filmmaker who’s going to end up making love stories with a happily-never-after.
Oct 2016
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Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
Who says a rom-com - even one with big-name stars - cannot be shaped with an invigorating voice and vision?
Feb 2012
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Shahid
Shahid isn’t a polemic but – in the tradition of our cinema – a deeply humanistic drama. The film makes us think, but more often, it makes us feel.
Oct 2013
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Pad Man
...Balki never loses sight of the fact that what he’s making isn’t an Oscar-bait biopic but a rousing audience-pleaser.
Feb 2018
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
It’s classic masala, and Abhimanyu Dassani’s impressive performance mirrors the director’s vision: a mix of affectionate mocking and serious homage.
Apr 2019
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Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya isn’t a cynical rip-off. It’s more the work of a young filmmaker who clearly adores an older filmmaker’s movie, but infuses it with his own new-gen vibe. And that vibe is infectious.
Jul 2014
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Mardaani 2
As a pure genre film, Mardaani 2 delivers. It helps that Rani Mukerji is a superb actor.
Dec 2019
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Kahaani
...is beautifully shot and put together, and its deeply atmospheric scenes are driven by a superb score...
Mar 2012
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Badlapur
...goes beyond genre and simple homage. It isn’t slick. It has a verité feel.
Feb 2015
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Pari
A rewarding slow-burn story that’s not a ‘horror movie’ so much as a horror-inflected drama about misfits.
Mar 2018
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Airlift
...a fine example of how it’s possible to incorporate Western understatement into a very Indian movie, and, more importantly, a fine model for how our aging heroes can continue playing the action hero.
Jan 2016
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Mar 2016
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Sep 2010
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Trapped
Even at a 100-something minutes, Trapped feels a tad stretched, but Rajkummar Rao ensures that the film is never less than watchable.
Mar 2017
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Mardaani
Coming a week after the dreary Singham Returns, Mardaani is essentially a demo on how to do this kind of film with class and a certain sensibility.
Aug 2014
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Jan 2016
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3
...is a bit of an underwhelmer, but not unwatchable — and the reason goes back to what the Randeep Hooda character said in Part 1: “Is haveli ke sab log pagal hain.” Everyone’s bonkers — even the filmmaker.
Jul 2018
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Chhapaak
This isn’t the angry film I thought it would be. It is, surprisingly, filled with laughter and hope...
Jan 2020
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Kedarnath
A generally watchable film whose scenery does more heavy-lifting than the screenplay.
Dec 2018
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Happy Bhag Jayegi
...the comedy, when it works, works so spectacularly that you may not care about anything else.
Aug 2016
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Panga
A superb Kangana Ranaut anchors a sports drama that’s really a story about second chances.
Jan 2020
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Simmba
On his good days, Salman Khan can really carry off a “mass” movie. But based on his extraordinary performance in Simmba, Ranveer Singh can apparently do this even on a bad day.
Jan 2019
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Bombay Talkies
The quartet of shorts that make up Bombay Talkies train a zoom lens on cinema, starting on the outside and slowly drawing us in.
May 2013
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Titli
This is an impressive debut, and the only one I can recall right now that puts up such a loveless, unlovable bunch on screen.
Nov 2015
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
I walked away from Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster with the feeling that I needed to see it again, this time brushing aside the cobwebs of the earlier film and impressing on Dhulia's conceits a feminist reading.
Oct 2011
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Main Tera Hero
...is only half what it could have been – still, that isn’t a bad half.
Apr 2014
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Tevar
Sharma is a genuine filmmaker. His scenes are artfully lit, staged, populated with extras – he makes a masala movie as if he’s making something loftier, worthier, and Tevar is the better for it.
Jan 2015