-
Saina
Eventually, authenticity isn’t as important as capturing the essence of a person and evoking emotion. Saina, shining with sincerity and hard work, also misses this crucial point.
Mar 2021
-
Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar
Dibakar and Varun orchestrate a masterful takedown of Indian masculinity and capitalist greed and corruption.
Mar 2021
-
Mumbai Saga
...slick editing, green-toned filters and the painfully loud sound design (there isn’t a car in this film that doesn’t screech to a halt) are too limited to fill the hole that is the story.
Mar 2021
-
Roohi
...a film that wants to juggle many balls – horror, comedy, feminist messaging, a love triangle, a bromance – but ends up dropping almost all of them.
Mar 2021
-
Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
I know the idea of starting new year with a film about death doesn’t seem very appealing but Ram Prasad ki Tehrvi leaves you with hope and a smile.
Jan 2021
-
Coolie No.1
The earlier Coolie No 1 had a cheery lunacy and a degree of innocence that allowed the ridiculous plot to play out as an extended joke. Govinda’s effortless clowning helped viewers to ignore the more problematic parts of the film. But in 2020, the narrative is dated and offensive on so many levels.
Dec 2020
-
Angrezi Medium
...even when the writing gets sloppy and tedious, the emotions feel authentic because the actors in the frame are so damn good.
Mar 2020
-
Baaghi 3
Bronzed and shirtless, Tiger can outrun helicopters, tanks, men. What he can’t outrun is the mediocrity of this film.
Mar 2020
-
Kaamyaab
The film has heart but it doesn’t deliver the emotional heft or depth that a showbiz film like Luck By Chance did because the writing isn’t sharp enough.
Mar 2020
-
Thappad
This film compels us to question our complicity. Which is the first step to change. I strongly recommend that you see Thappad.
Feb 2020
-
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
In an interview, Ayushmann described Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan as an introduction to homosexuality for an average Indian homophobe. The film might work as that. But for those of us who aren’t in this target group, it doesn’t connect enough. Though it’s heartening that with this film and Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga last year, Bollywood has at least begun the conversation.
Feb 2020
-
Bhoot – Part One
Bhanu plays with the usual horror tropes – creaking doors, found footage, mirrors, children, dolls and cell-phones not working exactly when you need them. Which isn’t the problem. You pretty much sign up for this when you go into a horror film. The trouble is that beyond the first hour, the screenplay gets repetitive and increasingly silly.
Feb 2020
-
Love Aaj Kal
...is a confounding film about confused people. Perhaps writer-director Imtiaz Ali was attempting to have the storytelling reflect the emotions of his leads. The result is an unholy mess.
Feb 2020
-
Jawaani Jaaneman
...doesn’t become more than the sum of its parts. I’m a big admirer of Nitin’s first film Filmistaan, in which he combined humor, pathos and depth with a skillful lightness. I wish Jawaani Jaaneman had delivered more.
Jan 2020
-
Street Dancer 3D
For the running time of this film – two hours and twenty-four minutes – people are pirouetting, leaping, flipping, contorting and moving their limbs in impossible ways. Watching them, I thought – if the script was half as nimble as these gifted people, this film would have been a smash. Sadly, that is not the case.
Jan 2020
-
Panga
Some will argue that Panga is too sanitized and optimistic. The actual struggle of a mother picking up a career again is much harder. Of course it is. But for now, I’ll take the warmth and hope that this film offers. I think you should too.
Jan 2020
-
Jai Mummy Di
...the acting is bizarre, the writing is sloppy, the plot is incoherent and the background music is so purposefully annoying that you want to weep.
Jan 2020
-
Tanhaji
...there is no room here for nuance or arcs. Actors play outsized, one-note characters. The Marathas, with a few exceptions, are valiant, noble warriors who sacrifice their lives for their motherland. The Mughals are largely avaricious usurpers who demand ‘jaat’ and ‘jaan’.
Jan 2020
-
Chhapaak
...hovers dangerously close to becoming a public service announcement. The messaging becomes bigger than the movie, which reduces the impact.
Jan 2020
-
Good Newwz
It wants to make you laugh a lot, weep a little, and walk home with a grin. The good newwz is that it checks all these boxes.
Dec 2019
-
Dabangg 3
...is a joyless, exhausting ode to the superstardom of Salman Khan. It’s a masala movie with little spice in it.
Dec 2019
-
Mardaani 2
Ladaai ab bhi baki haai we were told in Mardaani. I hope Shivani will return for round 3. Let’s just find her a more layered script.
Dec 2019
-
Pati Patni Aur Woh
...Mudassar Aziz attempts to deliver a remake that is lively, funny and at least superficially, progressive – he doesn’t always succeed but there is fun to be had here.
Dec 2019
-
Panipat
This is writing by committee and it shows on screen – instead of an organic story, we get a fractured, leaden structure that moves from one scene to another with the help of a voice-over and animated maps.
Dec 2019
-
Commando 3
...is a celebration of hyper-masculinity and hyper-patriotism. That’s not a good combination – either in cinema or in life.
Nov 2019
-
Pagalpanti
...is so soul-sucking and brain-dead that it makes Bazmee’s last film Mubarakan look like high art.
Nov 2019
-
Bypass Road
My takeaway from Bypass Road is that perhaps it isn’t such a good idea to let an actor write a script, play the lead role, co-produce the film and have his brother direct it. Because then what you get isn’t a film, it’s a showreel.
Nov 2019