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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
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Gully Boy
...the beauty of Gully Boy is that even if you are entirely unfamiliar with this world, like I was, the film will still stir your soul.
Feb 2019
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Lipstick Under My Burkha
...has clumsy spots and contradictions. But there are moments here that you’ve probably never seen in a Hindi film.
Jul 2017
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Andhadhun
With precision and control, Sriram constructs a theatre of the absurd. The surroundings – high-rises, leafy streets and old houses in Pune – seem perfectly normal but what’s happening inside is deliciously twisted. There’s murder, betrayal, sex and a mountain of lies. In short, you can’t look away.
Oct 2018
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Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
There’s none of that ‘leave your brains at the door, just go have fun’ condescension, and there’s no star-pandering. Rajamouli takes the genre seriously – he doesn’t pander to the audience either.
Apr 2017
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Stree
Director Amar Kaushik and writers Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru create a horror-comedy, which turns out to be subversive commentary on the position and treatment of women in India. It’s clever and very funny.
Aug 2018
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Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar
Dibakar and Varun orchestrate a masterful takedown of Indian masculinity and capitalist greed and corruption.
Mar 2021
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War
...is a defining action movie of our time. It’s Hollywood enough to rock the multiplexes, but it doesn’t forget its roots.
Oct 2019
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Gali Guleiyan
...there is enough to admire in this ambitious first film – especially the unstinting talent of Manoj Bajpayee.
Sep 2018
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Manmarziyaan
Like love, this film is messy and flawed and glorious. You have to sign up for all of it.
Sep 2018
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Monsoon Shootout
The scenario might be new but the set-up and visuals we’ve seen before – the mean streets of Mumbai, killers, cops, slumlords, brothels, blood.
Dec 2017
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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
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Raid
...aims for a gritty realism but the characters are painted in broad strokes. Eventually the punch is predictable but after a few stumbles, it does land.
Mar 2018
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Photograph
...doesn’t come together as beautifully as The Lunchbox did. The screenplay isn’t as sharp or insightful. In places the film is so quiet that it feels inert. I’m not going to lie – I did get impatient. And yet the next morning, I found myself thinking about Rafi and Miloni. There is a tenderness that stays with you.
Mar 2019
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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
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Gold
...inconsistencies and the exhausting length weigh down Gold. But Reema ably pulls the loose threads together in the thrilling climactic match.
Aug 2018
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
...is a fanboy’s ode to the movies. Writer and director Vasan Bala goes back to his childhood and summons up the films he grew up loving – from Hong Kong martial arts movies to Manmohan Desai.
Mar 2019
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Kaalakaandi
But the psychedelic, anything-goes vibe is hard to sustain and energy levels take a definite dip in the second half. I felt like Akshat has bunged in twists so he can wrap up the narrative strands.
Jan 2018
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Chhichhore
...allows us to revisit that first flush of youth. The film never matches the the inspired grunge vibe of In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones (1989) or the magic of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. But it’s a satisfying journey back to woh din!
Sep 2019
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Mukkabaaz
...is also a scathing critique of corruption in Indian sport, of the caste system, which keeps worthy men in chains and of extremists who spread mayhem under the cloak of religion. It’s a love story and a sports underdog story, which in the second half transforms into a suspenseful revenge drama. It’s a lot to weave together and ultimately Mukkabaaz becomes as exhausting as it is energizing.
Jan 2018
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Beyond The Clouds
...is a mixed bag. It is likely to be a footnote in Majidi’s rich filmography. But the film is worth seeing as an intriguing experiment.
Apr 2018
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Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
...revisits the themes of honor, duty, goodness and courage. It doesn’t always succeed but the sheer ambition and scale deserves applause.
Apr 2017
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Article 15
Article 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth but in much of India, caste continues to constitute identity. Article 15 is that rare thing – a mainstream Hindi film that confronts this horror. For that alone, it deserves applause.
Jun 2019
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Manikarnika
...Kangana has said that 70 percent of it is her work. If yes, then she is an effective storyteller but the actor in her undermines the director. Because the actor becomes larger than the narrative. But despite these flaws, Manikarnika reveals Kangana as an artist with boundless ambition and I’m excited to see what she creates next.
Jan 2019