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Bombay Velvet
The plot is needlessly complicated at the expense of emotion, and assembles a set of well-dressed people who seem to want to go someplace but are not quite sure where.
May 2015
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Bombairiya
...the humour not sharp or bizarre enough, and the narrative too disjointed to hang together.
Jan 2019
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Blank
...has the plotting heft and production values of an episode on the popular television series CID.
May 2019
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Bioscopewala
Walnuts and almonds have been swapped for a cranked-up bioscope in this latest film adaptation, which takes the original story in new, and sometimes interesting, directions.
May 2018
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Bhoot – Part One
The absence of a strongly plotted emotional undertow to convey the idea that personal loss can lead to a never-ending nightmare of literally monstrous proportions results in a half-full vessel that makes some noise.
Feb 2020
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Bhoomi
...is your regular rape-revenge drama, but only much louder, with better camerawork and production design.
Sep 2017
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Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
For all its promises of looking at Mumbai’s seemingly intractable problems with a fresh eye, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero offers solutions that are far removed from reality. The film moves away from common sense as it descends into genre territory. It doesn’t help that its leading man fails to take audiences along.
Jun 2018
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Bharat
...is an unfeeling and overstretched affair that botches its source material and squanders the opportunity to say anything meaningful about Bharat’s journey from the 1940s till the 2010s.
Jun 2019
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Beyond The Clouds
By ignoring the cynicism that marks the average urban poverty saga, Beyond the Clouds ends up being a fairy tale woven around people living on the periphery. There is none of the painful honesty of Salaam Bombay! nor the wish fulfillment fantasies of Slumdog Millionaire in Amir’s adventures.
Apr 2018
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Behen Hogi Teri
The lack of development of Binny’s character, which is aided by Shruti Haasan’s limited acting range, is the one black hole in an otherwise well-rounded romantic comedy humming with wit and astute observations of its cheerfully stereotyped characters.
Jun 2017
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Begum Jaan
...is a mostly faithful remake of his 2015 Bengali movie Rajkahini – which means that the sensationalist plot, overwrought storytelling, screechy acting and tabloid account of the Partition have made it across the language divide unchallenged.
Apr 2017
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Befikre
If a breezy, highly styled, armchair travel rom-com is your mood, then Befikre might be the ticket. But if you prefer insightful, warming and witty, skip this.
Dec 2016
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Batti Gul Meter Chalu
...works neither as a social issue film nor a triangular romance.
Sep 2018
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Batla House
...claims to explore the role played by doubt in a police investigation, but it is loaded with biases.
Aug 2019
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Bareilly Ki Barfi
...suffers tremendously from tonal inconsistency. It promises a relentlessly eccentric and zany experience, but doesn’t follow its screwball premise all the way through.
Aug 2017
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Bank Chor
...is low on laughs, squanders its potential, and reflects the ineptitude of the heist in question.
Jun 2017
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Banjo
The movie takes too long to make its point, and says little that is unusual or unique along the way.
Sep 2016
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Bangistan
A comedy that is long on gags and short on satire, with a simplistic sermon straight out of dummies guide to secularism.
Aug 2015
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Bala
...extends its leading man’s predicament in more interesting ways, and is an altogether more humorous and layered examination of a widespread problem than Ujda Chaman. And yet, every time Latika appears on the screen, a shred of legitimacy falls to the floor, just like one of the many strands leaving Bala’s scalp at an alarming rate.
Nov 2019
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Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Salman Khan will regard Bajrangi Bhaijaan as a career redefining moment, but his limited acting skills show up in every scene.
Jul 2015
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Bajirao Mastani
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s sumptuous retelling of the legend is strong on romance but weak on statecraft.
Dec 2015
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Bahubali
Every frame pulsates with the passion of a filmmaker openly staking his claim as the most adventurous soul travelling through mainstream cinema at the moment.
Jul 2015
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Badrinath Ki Dulhania
... it has an excellent lead pair whose mutual sparks can set water on fire, brilliantly written conversational humour, and an unmistakable feel for the throbs and tugs of young love.
Mar 2017
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Feb 2015
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Badla
Taapsee Pannu is unable to summon up the blank canvas onto which all manner of possibilities can be projected, while Amitabh Bachchan hops on the gravitas train for the nth time.
Mar 2019
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Aug 2017
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Baar Baar Dekho
It wants to be seen as a departure from sentimental Hindi film romances, but it doesn’t want to let go of the messy bundle of emotions these films tap into.
Sep 2016
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Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
It’s rare to find a sequel that’s as entertaining as the first and ties up the loose ends neatly while still leaving room for an offshoot. Or is that just wishful thinking?
Apr 2017
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Baaghi 3
Apart from a couple of lavishly mounted action scenes, Baaghi 3 has little going for it, except, perhaps, the compulsion to drag the franchise along for as long as its leading man is able and willing.
Mar 2020