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Blank
...this could have been pulpy fun and there is some promise. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are shot grungily, with extreme close-ups, but while Blank wants to be a heavy metal movie, it is basically a kid with a noisy amp.
May 2019
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Kalank
From verbose lines to obscene opulence, Kalank is too theatrical and stage-y to feel current, which is where the old-world setup works… until it doesn’t. More attention is paid to the chikan embroidery on the husband’s kurtas than to the climactic revolution, and the third act exposes the story’s hollowness while the film flits inconsequentially between timelines.
Apr 2019
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The Tashkent Files
“Maine itni zyaada gandgi ek saath isse pehle kabhi nahi dekhi,”... If this film ever needs an epitaph, this is it.
Apr 2019
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Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aaata Hai?
...settling for a mediocre thriller which can’t keep up with its characters — or their indignation.
Apr 2019
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Romeo Akbar Walter
...follows spy clichés dutifully and drowns us in minutiae, but never feels immediate or exciting.
Apr 2019
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
...is an ode to joy, an ebullient celebration of the cassette-tapes its maker has been brought up on. It is an action film, about fights and villains and the importance of pain, and Bala serves up chopsocky goodness not only with directorial flair, but with the benevolence of a friendly neighbourhood ‘Chinese-van’ cook, drowning chowmein in soya sauce and vinegar.
Mar 2019
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Mar 2019
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Photograph
More than anything else, this film is poetry. Photograph reminds us to believe in minor magic. Here is a film about a city that makes room for everything, from formulaic films to ghosts. Like when posing for a camera, all we need to know is where to look.
Mar 2019
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Badla
...remains an engaging film, and while we can blame Ghosh for casting Bachchan and somewhat spoiling the climax, he can’t possibly be blamed for casting that man in a role that requires a lot of talking.
Mar 2019
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Luka Chuppi
...it takes good material and excellent performers and turns them into caricatures. Sure, it has its moments and the second half is largely enjoyable, but you have to wait for the fun.
Mar 2019
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Sonchiriya
...this may be Chaubey’s best crafted film, but feels superficial, and is needlessly heavy-handed by way of metaphor.
Mar 2019
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Total Dhamaal
The script is unforgivably lazy. There are setups galore — a car has a bonnet both at the front and at the back — but there are no payoffs. Instead, Kumar and his actors move from setup to setup, hoping we have indeed left our brains at home.
Feb 2019
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Gully Boy
...is the first great Hindi film of 2019 and a rousing celebration of spunk. The writing is enthralling, the texture fantastic, and this world is a revelation.
Feb 2019
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Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
This could have been a bolder and more explicit film, but sometimes cinema should work like a street play. Sometimes we need to preach beyond the choir.
Feb 2019
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Thackeray
This is either an oblivious or blatantly self-aware film, a work not of propaganda as much as it is a work of pride, celebrating a legacy of violence.
Jan 2019
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Manikarnika
There is much intent on display, and while Manikarnika could surely have been sharper, its very existence feels like an arrow against cinema’s patriarchy, a broadside against the boys.
Jan 2019
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Why Cheat India
The writing is flat. The wheeze is ingenious enough to fill a great film, but Sen revels in obvious filmy cliché.
Jan 2019
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The Accidental Prime Minister
The one-sided intent of The Accidental Prime Minister may have appeared more insidious had it felt like an actual motion picture.
Jan 2019
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Uri
...while the action is convincing, the proceedings are unmistakably dull. The film doesn’t thump its chest as hard as the ones made by JP Dutta, but merely keeping its shirt on doesn’t make this an actual movie.
Jan 2019
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Zero
Bauaa Singh is a severely flawed character made irresistible by his pluck, and it’s remarkable how much Khan brings to the part. And he remains the best lover in the business.
Dec 2018
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Kedarnath
...is a pointless, entirely forgettable film, but some may remember the girl (Sara Ali Khan) fondly — which may well be the film’s only task.
Dec 2018
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2.0
It could have been a smarter film, but it is a mostly fun Rajinikanth ride, with solid 3D and great Atmos sound...
Nov 2018
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Bhaiaji Superhittt
...there’s constantly something worth enjoying in this film that refuses to moralise at the very end, and it is often the leading man — hapless, hilarious and never trying too hard. They could have called this movie Philadelphia, because it really is always Sunny.
Nov 2018
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Pihu
The idea — of anything in a house being a potential threat — could have been made into a watchable short film, but this is feature-length torture, where the viewer is made aware that they must sit through more than ninety minutes of a helpless and endangered child, despite knowing that nothing can really happen to her before the end.
Nov 2018
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Nov 2018
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Tumbbad
Barve is a director with vision and a voice, and his film will undoubtedly spawn a cult of admirers. And, ideally, imitators. If there’s one thing Tumbbad has to say, it is that all gods need believers.
Oct 2018