-
Chhapaak
...means well, no doubt, but the screenplay is surprisingly thin – surprising because of Meghna’s brilliance with Raazi and Talvar. Combine that with plotline weaknesses, an excessive effort to stay low key and the unexpected shot at being a conformist fairytale in the end, and the result is a film that seems curiously detached from its heroine, despite the devastating true story that inspired it.
Jan 2020
-
Good Newwz
...is a smart sociopolitical commentary on class would be a slight exaggeration. But it truly is an accurate, evolving into ideal, representation of our social zeitgeist.
Dec 2019
-
The Body
Unfortunately, and not unlike the original, The Body places more emphasis on answering the question of why rather than how.
Dec 2019
-
Dec 2019
-
Panipat
...is shorn of Padmaavat and Kesari's insidious intent, but it is not exactly an innocent, truthful chronicler of Indian history. Add to that its lack of polish and spark, and for all its occasional positives, it ends up as just an average affair.
Dec 2019
-
Pati Patni Aur Woh
In 2019, the men as seen in this movie, are still taking women for granted, and the women, who maybe independent-spirited, are still responsible for forgiving and forgetting.
Dec 2019
-
Commando 3
...is technically glossy and the fight choreography is slick. The writing though is contrived.
Nov 2019
-
Pagalpanti
...is sporadically entertaining, but for the most part it feels stale and ordinary.
Nov 2019
-
Motichoor Chaknachoor
Shetty throws her all into playing that one-dimensional small-town girl, but, pitted against Siddiqui, Chibber etc, the mismatch in aptitude is unambiguous.
Nov 2019
-
Bala
...inconsistent characterisation and the team's lack of awareness of their own prejudice robs Bala of much of its value.
Nov 2019
-
Ujda Chaman
The director amps up the background music and sound effects in an attempt to underline the lame attempts at humour and also forgoes finesse and subtlety in storytelling.
Nov 2019
-
Made In China
...fails to hit the bull's eye because it sorely needed an evening out of pace and tone, depth of characterisation and detailing in the plotline.
Oct 2019
-
Jacqueline I Am Coming
...is a simple story, that is simply made and simply told. Its simplicity is both its appeal and its shortcoming.
Oct 2019
-
Laal Kaptaan
...the director, had all the pieces to craft an effectual Indian western: the terrain, the long-suffering sadhu, an age of flux, elements of magic realism, and touches of Shakespearean tragedy. But Laal Kaptaan falters on an over-written script and visually over-told story.
Oct 2019
-
The Sky Is Pink
Without seeming to try too hard, it is funny, believable and heartwrenching all rolled into one.
Oct 2019
-
War
...could have been a suspenseful, eyecatching, entertaining ride. But for its politics.
Oct 2019
-
Chhichhore
The writing of Chhichhore (by Tiwari himself with Nikhil Mehrotra and Piyush Gupta) is so lacking in depth, and the direction so passionless that it is hard to believe it is brought to us by the same person who made Dangal. Despite its sporadic bursts of humour, Chhichhore comes across as a half-hearted enterprise.
Sep 2019
-
Mission Mangal
...is fun and educational at one level, but make no mistake about this: its veneer of progressiveness masks a highly conservative, prejudiced core.
Aug 2019
-
Khandaani Shafakhana
...the best thing about this film is that it deals with a tricky subject without getting icky at any point. That apart, Khandaani Shafakhana is an opportunity lost.
Aug 2019
-
Judgemental Hai Kya
...is based on an interesting concept, it is often funny and fascinating, but in the ultimate analysis, it does not make the grade.
Jul 2019
-
Super 30
...comes across as a project that someone somewhere lost interest in at some point and then it all came apart.
Jul 2019
-
Malaal
...an inexorably dull retelling of the clichéd conviction so many people hold in real life: that a good woman can reform even the worst of men.
Jul 2019
-
One Day
The story of a vigilante judge trying to bring justice once he has given up the duty of following the rule book had potential, but Ashok Nanda’s direction exposes flaws in the performances and tears open the already gaping holes in Alaukik Rahi’s story.
Jul 2019
-
Article 15
...is the best that Indian cinema can be in these troubled times if it chooses to hold a mirror up to our society, compelling us to confront the worst that we are and the best that we can be when we are not busy saving our own skins.
Jun 2019
-
Kabir Singh
Kabir Singh and its Telugu forebear Arjun Reddy must rank among the most disturbing examples of the obsessive stalker hero being glamourised by Indian cinema.
Jun 2019
-
Game Over
...is inventive, it is intelligent, it does not take the viewer lightly and above all else, it is terrifying.
Jun 2019
-
Bharat
Far from being a Forrest Gump with Salman Khan, Bharat is mostly a plodding trek through post-1947 to contemporary India.
Jun 2019