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Manikarnika
...is a slow-building, sustained surge of patriotic fervour, as messy and inflammable as a geyser on an oil rig.
Jan 2019
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Table No. 21
If there was ever a movie in need of an enhanced computer-generated imagery budget, it is this one.
Jan 2013
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Singh Is Bliing
...had a few classic comic scenes. With its lame script and tiresome gags, you’ll forget Singh Is Bliing within seconds of leaving the cinema.
Oct 2015
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Jun 2016
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3
The weakest of the trilogy, this story takes exceedingly long to set up the key players and their motivations.
Jul 2018
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Kalank
In a Bollywood that’s trying to look more self-aware, emotion can be a lead weight. I'd be curious to see what audiences make of the film over the next week or two; the one I saw it with seemed to tire by the end of all the eloquence.
Apr 2019
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Angrezi Medium
A film about a free and loving father-daughter relationship becomes a closed circuit. It’s that old cliché about setting someone free if you love them and seeing if they come back.
Mar 2020
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Dil Dhadakne Do
Pretty but never dazzling, busy but never riveting, glib but never wise, Dil Dhadakne Do never does find its sea legs.
Jun 2015
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Dream Girl
...a film that’s slight to begin with, and which looks even slighter in comparison to Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Badhaai Ho.
Sep 2019
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Apr 2012
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Ishkq In Paris
If the movie works at all, it is because Prem Raj restricts the lopsided affair to 96 minutes, and Zinta’s joy at being the cynosure of attention is undeniably contagious.
May 2013
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May 2014
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Fitoor
As it stands, Fitoor is about Noor, Noor is all about Firdaus, and Firdaus is a beautiful blank.
Feb 2016
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Shivaay
Devgn has clearly put time and effort into his direction,but appears to have put less into his performance. Neither makes the grade. And let’s face it, there can only be one Liam Neeson.
Oct 2016
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Beyond The Clouds
...had it not been Majidi making this, it’s debatable whether Beyond the Clouds, which feels like an artily rendered patchwork of stock Mumbai film moments, would have been on anyone’s radar.
Apr 2018
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Thackeray
A critical biopic was never on the cards; the only question, really, is how vitriolic it was going to be. Thackeray is 2 hours and 19 minutes, so the hate is spread out. The problem is, the scenes which exist only to praise Thackeray’s altruism and courage are bland. The nasty moments kept me engaged and enraged.
Jan 2019
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The Forest
This movie with a message is not for the faint-hearted but for those with a stomach for thrills.
May 2012
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Singham Returns
The delusion of an incorruptible police force dedicated to upholding law and order at all costs and impervious to any manner of inducement pushes Singham Returns onto the same shelf as science fiction.
Aug 2014
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AK vs AK
The one-line is irresistible—“Anurag Kashyap kidnaps Anil Kapoor’s daughter”—but it’s still sketch material. Blown up to feature-length, it plays like a grungy, scrappy vanity project.
Dec 2020
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Chauranga
Had the performances been stronger, the accents more convincing, and the ideas more novel, Chauranga might have achieved something...
Jan 2016
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The Zoya Factor
...offers little cheer to those invested in the return of the Hindi romantic comedy or the halfway-decent post-Lagaan cricket film.
Sep 2019
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Dhoom 3
...sallies forth boldly into Hollywood genre territory but resorts ever so often to longstanding Hindi movie contrivances to keep the plot ticking.
Dec 2013
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Rock On 2
...the best thing one can say about Rock On 2 is that it’s a professional job.
Nov 2016
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Jab Harry Met Sejal
Imtiaz seems to have settled into a comfort zone of his own. The cult of Ali the Incurable Romantic will only grow with films like these. But Ali the Director might need to branch out soon.
Aug 2017
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Haseena Parkar
Kapoor launches into the role with complete commitment, though one can question both the plausibility of her playing the part of an intimidating middle-aged godmother and her ability to bring in nuance.
Sep 2017
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Jun 2015
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Wazir
Nambiar’s previous films have suffered from screenplays that are less than clever. This one reaches for cleverness, which is just beyond its grasp, and that mars what could have been an unusually dour, taut thriller.
Jan 2016
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Akira
Sinha gets to show off her karate chops and martial arts, but the handful of action sequences are less than inventive. Sinha is far more effective in the emotional scenes.
Sep 2016
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Hindi Medium
...is obviously playing to the gallery. It makes you laugh, it makes you think, but its one-note characters and black-and-white divisions mean that while it makes the grade, the film is no topper.
May 2017