-
Badlapur
...feels vaguely familiar because the aesthetic and storytelling are so heavily inspired by modern Korean noir, in which everyday people reveal themselves to be capable of extraordinary cruelty. What Badlapur lacks, however, is their tautness.
Feb 2015
-
LoveYatri
Niren Bhatt’s script is old wine in recycled bottles, just with a new faces and a new setting.
Oct 2018
-
Sab Kushal Mangal
Khanna seems to be having fun with his moustache, mischief, heartland politician, and rough around-the-edges Casanova character. The film hits the right notes when he is on screen but declines to near pallid when it focuses on the flimsy romance between Sharma and Kishan.
Jan 2020
-
Baadshaho
Baadshaho's finale unfolds in a sandstorm and is the one scene that is visually arresting, though the story loses itself somewhere within the vortex.
Sep 2017
-
Fanney Khan
A weak script with some directing inconsistencies, Fanney Khan had room to be an enjoyable comedy or satire. Instead it careened towards over-the-top melodrama with debatable messaging.
Aug 2018
-
Junglee
Russell’s Hindi language action thriller has the right intention, but much is lost between intent and execution.
Mar 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
-
FryDay
Dogra’s direction is unimaginative and the production values so sub-par that besides Govinda fans with a penchant for physical comedy, there is no reason to thank god for this FryDay.
Oct 2018
-
Bhangra Paa Le
In spite of best efforts by the actors, a feeble script, by-the-numbers direction, unimaginative choreography, and contrived drama are unable to burn up the dance floor.
Jan 2020
-
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
-
Poster Boys
The audience gives up on the film by the point it starts making sense again, which is just a sign of weak filmmaking by a debutante director who lacks the technical acumen to shoulder a film with a promising premise.
Sep 2017
-
Bharat
Far from being a Forrest Gump with Salman Khan, Bharat is mostly a plodding trek through post-1947 to contemporary India.
Jun 2019
-
Jazbaa
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is sincere, but needs a better director than Sanjay Gupta.
Oct 2015
-
Dilwale
...wasn’t a tough film to salvage, and wouldn’t have been this unbearable, if Shetty had the basic skills to execute its most crowd pleasing bit — the chemistry between Khan and Kajol — superficially well.
Dec 2015
-
Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive
What I found missing in the sequel was the audacity of the first film where the director and the team had nothing to lose.
Feb 2016
-
Vodka Diaries
First-time director Kushal Srivastava's effort is evident as he attempts to make the most of this messy material, building suspense in some scenes, but dropping the pace in others.
Jan 2018
-
Mom
While Sridevi and Nawaz deliver excellent performances, the plot and the story is line is too feeble. A mother taking revenge against the rapists of her step daughter — now that's a meaty plot if we were in 2005.
Jul 2017
-
Khajoor Pe Atke
Though the senior actors dive into the material and bring out the humour, random songs, side plots and an emotional vacuity eventually flatline this film.
May 2018
-
War
...could have been a suspenseful, eyecatching, entertaining ride. But for its politics.
Oct 2019
-
Bhoomi
...is better dressed, better filmed and better performed than the old-fashioned revenge drama it actually is.
Sep 2017
-
Hunterrr
Ladies, Hunterrr is a nightmare and gentlemen, this is not a date movie. No sensible woman is going to feel kindly towards Indian men after Hunterrr.
Mar 2015
-
Maatr
...while Tandon makes you feel her desperation, the script too simply and unintelligibly transforms her into a vengeance-seeking serial killer.
Apr 2017
-
Padmaavat
How do you support a film that glorifies the very beliefs you don't stand for? Do you accept it as a portrayal of the times in which the film is based, or do you give into your disappointment?
Jan 2018
-
Street Dancer 3D
...has its heart in the right place, one only wishes the music and the choreography had something new to offer.
Jan 2020
-
Shab
...should have augmented Onir’s oeuvre. Perhaps being based on a script written over a decade ago contributed to the feeling of datedness.
Jul 2017
-
Luka Chuppi
Utekar directs what can best be defined as an overwritten dummies guide to live-in relationships.
Mar 2019
-
The Last Color
You could reassemble its striking images in practically any order, and you’d end up with a similar aesthetic experience. The film’s heart is in the right place, but touching anyone else’s feels like a chasm too wide to cross.
Dec 2020
-
Kalank
...it is fronted by such a likeable cast and comes in such pretty packaging. There is nothing pretty though about the lack of nuance in its portrayal of Hindu-Muslim equations...
Apr 2019
-
The Power
...is engaging to begin with, but as it rolls along it becomes clear that it falls in the ‘if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all’ category of underworld dramas.
Jan 2021
-
May 2019