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Nov 2017
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Love Sonia
The plot feels like it is designed to reflect newspaper headlines and everything gets resolved so easily that it seems implausible. But Sonia’s tortured face will haunt you.
Sep 2018
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Apr 2019
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2.0
Shankar’s cinema uniquely combines scale with social message. Just in case you’ve missed the point of this film, at the end, Dr. Vaseegaran spells it out again. Like everything else in 2.0, it’s a tiring overdose.
Nov 2018
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Sonchiriya
...tries to blend Spaghetti Western style-action drama with social commentary but it isn’t entirely satisfying on either count.
Mar 2019
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Ajji
In some scenes, it feels like the director is almost reveling in your discomfort. The bleakness snuffs out the humanity of these characters. The ugliness is so unrelenting that you begin to ask, why am I subjecting myself to this.
Nov 2017
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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
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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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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
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Baaghi 2
...is an improvement on the generic Tiger action movie. At least the action is grounded in some emotion.
Mar 2018
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Uri
...is an unabashed love letter to the Indian army. If you want nuance or insight into the hearts and minds of brave men and women who willingly put themselves in the line of fire, you won’t find it here.
Jan 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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Why Cheat India
...like the hybrid of fact and fiction, needed far more imagination and audacity.
Jan 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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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
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Toilet
I must repeat that it’s refreshing to see Hindi cinema tackle such challenging subjects. But a film has to work as a film. This one does, in fits and starts.
Aug 2017
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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
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Padmaavat
I’m an admirer of Sanjay’s passion and rigour, of his operatic sensibility and his commitment to creating epics. He isn’t subtle but he always plays for broke. To steal a line from the poet Robert Browning – Sanjay’s reach always exceeds his grasp. That’s what a heaven’s for. This time he doesn’t quite get there.
Jan 2018
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Jul 2019
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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
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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