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Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
...has an easy, comforting charm. It is more a buddy film than a romance, which works in its favour.
Feb 2012
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Aiyyaa
...is triumphant because its originality matches the director’s assured film-making. Kundalkar is a director with a confident, uninhibited stamp.
Oct 2012
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Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Dhar’s mild-mannered film does something similar, setting off a bomb under a hetero cinema tradition, but turning it into something soft and pretty so as not to alarm the viewer.
Feb 2019
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D-Day
It’s preposterous at the best of times but nevertheless very watchable despite a stretched denouement, song interludes and redundant scenes of intimacy and family bonding.
Jul 2013
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Hasee Toh Phasee
It is an extremely likable balance between light and shade, the sadness in his beautiful lead woman sitting happily alongside her smiles. The sugar is pleasingly granular.
Feb 2014
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Katiyabaaz
It is heartening to see documentaries release on the big screen, and Katiyabaaz is the clever new avatar of this genre that turns the mundane and the extraordinary in reality into marketable and watchable cinema.
Aug 2014
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Jul 2016
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Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
An accomplished ensemble cast and glib dialogues keep a film about death, expectations and duty afloat.
Jan 2021
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Dekh Tamasha Dekh
...political satire is a scarce commodity in Hindi cinema. Khan makes one without alienating any kind of audience. Far from being preachy; its politics is utterly engaging.
Apr 2014
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Aligarh
...an even bigger victory for the film might lie in getting vaguely homophobic viewers to empathize with Siras, to understand his distaste for easy labels, to admit that even they sit in the dark with a drink and listen to old Hindi film songs.
Feb 2016
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Mukkabaaz
...is a bracing start to the movie year—overstuffed, enjoyable and urgent. It doesn’t have big stars, but feels like a commercial movie in a way that Bombay Velvet didn’t.
Jan 2018
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Oct 2013
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May 2012
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Gunday
It’s formula food for the present day, spiced with flamboyance, a fair sense of rhythm that occasionally slackens during the 153-minute running time, and a clear understanding of the meaning of popular entertainment, Hindi movie style.
Feb 2014
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Mardaani
It’s efficient and watchable, but also cold and mechanical despite the sensationalism inherent in the material.
Aug 2014
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Karwaan
Irrfan precisely spits out the acerbic dialogue written by Hussain Dalal. He’s a delight, whether in the foreground or background – wooing a veiled woman in a hospital ward or cajoling an ageing musician. Thanks to these two talents, Karwaan manages to navigate the pot-holed script.
Aug 2018
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Pagglait
Writer-director Umesh Bist takes this setting and the idea of second chances, rebirth and subverts the notion of the mourning woman incapable of taking charge of her future.
Mar 2021
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The Sky Is Pink
...errs on the side of caution, keeping the impending tragedy in view at all times, but wrapping everything in good vibes and the kind of courage you have no option but to admire.
Oct 2019
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Kahaani
...is one of those rare films which makes you want to wince once in a while, but keeps you hooked throughout.
Mar 2012
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Jun 2014
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Kaun Kitney Paani Mein
...cleverly touches on issues of caste, scarcity and environmental conservation. And Panda succeeds in doing this without resorting to tiresome sermonizing...
Aug 2015
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Panga
...the film is an empathetic look at the social cost of continuing with one’s life after marriage and children.
Jan 2020
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Jugni
...its virtues are the sort that are often missing from films more highly rated: a keen sense of place; a commitment to its characters’ best and worst impulses; and an ability to suggest an emotional journey...
Jan 2016
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Mar 2017
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Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana
The combination of a good story and its nimble execution work along with some terrific performances.
Nov 2012
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Raanjhanaa
...the lead performance shines, the writing complementing it. Rahman’s music set to the tragicomic beats of this man’s life makes Raanjhanaa a film to watch.
Jun 2013
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Badlapur
Raghavan dramatically bookends the film in such a way that you are willing to overlook some of the script’s transitional follies.
Feb 2015
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Waiting
...walks the line between emotional resonance and emotional manipulation skilfully.
May 2016