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Motichoor Chaknachoor
...the film doesn’t become memorable in the way that other small-town tales like Dum Laga Ke Haisha or Bareilly ki Barfi or Stree were. But it’s passable entertainment. And sometimes that’s enough.
Nov 2019
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Ujda Chaman
The biggest problem with Ujda Chaman is that the film wants to have it both ways – first make you laugh with cheesy jokes about sex and virginity and then deliver an important social message about why we shouldn’t judge people by their looks.
Nov 2019
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The Sky Is Pink
...is sincere and heartfelt but it never gets raw or messy. Until that final stretch, it doesn’t pierce your heart the way this subject should.
Oct 2019
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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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War
...is very much a bromance which sparkles because Hrithik and Tiger are combative without being competitive. I had a good time. I think you will too.
Oct 2019
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Dream Girl
These are one-joke characters, and this is a one-joke movie. Very quickly, a sense of staleness sets in.
Sep 2019
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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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Saaho
I know that a popcorn entertainer like Saaho isn’t driven by logic or coherence. And I would have made my peace with it if the film delivered a good time. My biggest complaint is that it’s a crashing bore.
Aug 2019
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Batla House
...make no mistake, Batla House isn’t a Rashomon-like investigation of many truths. The film is firmly on the side of the beleaguered cops and it makes its point with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Which is why Batla House will satisfy John Abraham fans. Those biceps were not made for nuances. Viewers looking for a more layered exploration of izzat, farz, desh should probably go elsewhere.
Aug 2019
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Jabariya Jodi
...is over-plotted – characters keep getting married, kidnapped, nearly married and separated. Folks slap each other, which counts as humor. And the narrative swings wildly like there is no one steering it.
Aug 2019
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Khandaani Shafakhana
The film wants to be funny but the writing is too weak and the feeble jokes are underlined with loud background music, cueing us to laugh. The film also wants to deliver a serious message about the importance of being open about sex – so entire scenes play out like public service announcements, in which characters espouse the cause.
Aug 2019
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Arjun Patiala
No matter how low your bar is, Arjun Patiala won’t meet it. Making movies is hard work and I always try and look for something to recommend in each film. The only plus here is that it’s short. You’ve been warned.
Jul 2019
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Judgemental Hai Kya
The ambition of the story – both in content and style – is very exciting. But Kanika’s screenplays seem to suffer from the soft belly syndrome.
Jul 2019
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Super 30
What trips up the film is the high-pitch and the shaky tonality. Vikas and writer Sanjeev Dutta narrate in black and white.
Jul 2019
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Jul 2019
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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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Bharat
...is rooted neither in the cinema traditions of the decades it covers nor is it the designer masala of this day. It’s a series of very perfunctorily staged scenes that flit past us. This happened. And then, this happened. And then this.
Jun 2019
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Bharat
I know nothing about Korean history but by the end of Ode To My Father, I was weeping like a baby. The film is a masterclass in melodrama. In comparison, Bharat is bloated and inconsistent.
Jun 2019
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Student Of The Year 2
...the clothes, the technicians, the sets, Tiger Shroff — must have cost crores, so why does Arshad Sayed’s script feel like it cost 50 paise? This is a question we keep asking our big-budget productions. SOTY 2 is undernourished and overlong.
May 2019
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Student Of The Year 2
You signed up for a fantasy and that’s precisely what director Punit Malhotra is providing. What you can complain about is the poor writing.
May 2019
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Blank
...Blank isn’t merely an adjective, it’s an entire sensibility. Which, as you can imagine, makes for a pretty dull movie.
May 2019
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Apr 2019
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Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aaata Hai?
...made with crowdfunding and good intentions but it never comes near where it wants to go.
Apr 2019
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Romeo Akbar Walter
This material had the potential to be a suspenseful espionage drama. But the film is too drab to soar.
Apr 2019
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Junglee
The elephants are on point but the humans have the depth of cartoon characters.
Mar 2019
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Gone Kesh
...I think that this story might have been better served as a short film. There isn’t enough meat here to merit a feature. The craft also wobbles.
Mar 2019
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Kesari
What does wobble is the writing, which needed to be tighter and more layered. The characters are all one-note and the film is 150 minutes long – the entire first half is an introduction to the characters and a build up to the battle, which only begins in the second.
Mar 2019
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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