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Highway
...makes for the kind of cinema we need, perhaps not something we entirely deserve.
Feb 2014
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Tere Bin Laden
...a delightful little gem of a film, based on an unbelievable premise, but treated with just the right mix of straight-faced gravity and furiously oddball humour.
Jul 2010
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Dangal
Whether it will be a bestseller or not, the Dangal book deserves to be watched with your children and later, kept on your shelf.
Dec 2016
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Dil Dhadakne Do
There are films that win for their dialogue and there are those that say it all without literally saying much. Dil Dhadakne Do falls in the second category.
Jun 2015
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Dec 2009
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Chillar Party
...deserves high rating because it is a simple story that children will enjoy.
Jul 2011
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Miss Lovely
...isn't for everyone, but if you're truly a cinephile, you should have no difficulty in finding merit in this layered, moody piece.
Jan 2014
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Panga
...is refreshing. It’s a story that could be just as effective and inspiring if it were set just about anywhere. And it works for drafting relatable moments that offer a subtle yet distinct shift in sensibilities.
Jan 2020
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Shaitan
For its visual style, sheer energy, and the trip that it is, Shaitan is recommended viewing.
Jun 2011
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Qissa
Anup Singh goes where few Indian filmmakers have gone before, forcing us to dive face-first into an uncomfortable 20-year tale of social, moral and ethnic disintegration.
Feb 2015
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Lipstick Under My Burkha
The film explores India's twisted relationship with intercourse. Patriarchy defines it as a male need delivered by a female who can barely voice whether the act evokes pain or pleasure. And it is this voice that the film deliberates while referring to 'sapne' and how Indian women can't dare to see them.
Jul 2017
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Sulemani Keeda
We've lately seen so many shiny self-referential movies about movies, but none as self-aware and poker-faced as this charming little effort.
Dec 2014
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Airlift
...director Raja Krishna Menon takes on this challenge of turning a story known to all into a compelling watch and pens a nail-biting plot that will keep you fearful, hopeful and yet, unsure and uncomfortable.
Jan 2016
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns
Keeping much of the original’s spirit intact, even surpassing it in many ways.
Mar 2013
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Queen
Director Vikas Bahl has crafted one of the better coming-of-age tales in recent times.
Mar 2014
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Kaamyaab
...is a well-deserved tribute to those countless performers relegated to the fringes of every movie poster.
Mar 2020
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Sanju
Unsurprisingly, this one effectively carves him as a victim of circumstance, an addict of compulsion and as someone who was wronged by media reports and the public at large. But it also evens it out by presenting the actor as an unreliable boyfriend, a failure-of-a-son and a washed up actor who was notoriously unprofessional.
Jun 2018
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Citylights
Mehta and writer-editor Asrani pull off a rare feat here. They not only choose the right film to adapt-based solely on its theme and universal topicality-but build upon the original, without being overambitious.
May 2014
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Jawaani Jaaneman
What really works about this film is that it ditches all predictable tropes.
Jan 2020
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Shahid
It goes well beyond being a fierce biopic, a purposeful indie, or just a riveting drama that's impossible to dislike.
Oct 2013
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Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Director Sharad Katariya takes more than a leaf out of this slice-of-life book, and gently constructs—with a remarkable eye for detail—one of the sweetest little fairytales in recent times.
Feb 2015
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Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
The film perseveres to ensure it doesn't make light of the dysfunction in question, and chooses instead to parody the mayhem triggered by it. This is because aside from all the gags about performance pressure, ED happens to be a serious, rarely spoken of, debilitating condition that has altered marriages. But then, as they say, no hard feelings.
Sep 2017
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Soorma
Ali intensifies the falls and amplifies the sufferings to an extent that the inevitable win has a bittersweet tinge. If he could’ve cut down some of the bhangra and a bit of melodrama, this could’ve been a much crisper watch.
Jul 2018
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May 2011
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Jolly LLB 2
Director Subhash Kapoor does well in keeping the audience glued to the screen and keeps the melodrama in check.
Feb 2017
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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
...not necessarily a film for everyone. Neither will it blow you away in any way. Still, it is one more inclusion in the list of audience-specific new-age genre films and deserves your attention.
Oct 2011