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Jul 2017
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Hichki
...is a genuinely earnest film made with heart. But it doesn’t take enough risks and consequently doesn’t touch a raw nerve in the way that Taare Zameen Par did. But it’s always nice to see a talented actress with all guns blazing.
Mar 2018
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Haseena Parkar
In the hands of director Apoorva Lakhia, writer Suresh Nair and actor Shraddha Kapoor, this material becomes the stuff of unintentional comedy.
Sep 2017
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Gully Boy
If you’re looking for a good time, Gully Boy is everything you can ask for. It’s just that I wanted it to be more. I wanted it to be the film its lyrics deserved.
Feb 2019
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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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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
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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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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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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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Dec 2017
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Fanney Khan
Even when the film becomes a slog, Kapoor saab, as I call him, stands tall.
Aug 2018
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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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Dhadak
Shashank is the successful maker of frothy romances. Here he steps out of his comfort zone but not enough to tackle head-on, the ugly truth of caste. The hurdles are more palatable and consequently, synthetic.
Jul 2018
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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
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Daas Dev
...is meant to be a study of power and what happens to those who lust for it. It’s a solid idea lost in execution.
Apr 2018
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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
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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
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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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Chhapaak
...hovers dangerously close to becoming a public service announcement. The messaging becomes bigger than the movie, which reduces the impact.
Jan 2020
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Chef
...the film is too bumpy to leave you satiated. But it is a pleasant enough diversion.
Oct 2017
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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
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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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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
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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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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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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