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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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Monsoon Shootout
...the movie works perfectly as a neo-noir thriller set in a city where nothing goes according to plan. One moment has several scenarios in Monsoon Shootout, but the outcome – smart writing and direction – remains the same throughout.
Dec 2017
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No Fathers In Kashmir
Editors Thomas Goldser, Abhro Banerjee and Kumar keep the film moving at a clip that accentuates the writer-director sometimes stunning, sometimes stressful and all together sobering view of a situation that he seasons with hope.
Apr 2019
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Game Over
Saravanan and co-writer Kaavya Ramkumar deliver a taut and highly watchable thriller that, despite falling short of its ambitions, has a clever take on the way in which violence against women gets imprinted on bodies and souls.
Jun 2019
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Nov 2019
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Rahasya
...it's a taut and stylish affair, which gives no quarter to extraneous elements such as songs and sub-plots over its 125 minutes. Most of the elements click into place like they would in a near-perfect crime...
Jan 2015
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Drishyam
...works just fine so long as it reproduces its original twisty quality, but it nevertheless suffers from miscasting and unnecessary scripting tweaks.
Jul 2015
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Why Cheat India
Despite being disjointed and overstretched, the 120-minute movie manages to double up both as an expose of the problems that plague the examination system and a commentary on the failure of a generation to secure the future of the next one.
Jan 2019
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Budhia Singh
...fits the bill of the average sports biopic, but it rises a few notches above the Indian version of the genre.
Aug 2016
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Ribbon
The movie falls short as a study of modern marriage because of Karan’s absence, but it is far more effective as an examination of contemporary parenting.
Nov 2017
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Parched
The widow-wife-whore matrix is well performed by the actresses, whose mutual chemistry and feeling for their universal woes lift scenes that might have otherwise been trite and unconvincing.
Sep 2016
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Pataakha
A crisper running length would have ensured a more explosive impact for Bhardwaj’s latest, and welcome, foray into black humour with a political subtext.
Sep 2018
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Singh Is Bliing
...is as overstretched as most Bollywood extravaganzas, but it coasts along on its often wacky humour, its minor characters (Lara Dutta is a hoot) and the chemistry between Jackon and Kumar.
Oct 2015
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Mohenjo Daro
...is far from perfect, but it’s also far more than the sum of its memes.
Aug 2016
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Qarib Qarib Singlle
Tanuja Chandra has had an extremely patchy directing career, but she redeems herself substantially...
Nov 2017
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Sui Dhaaga
What eventually endures isn’t the inevitable heart-warming finale but the honesty of the writing and the performances and the subversions, minor and major.
Sep 2018
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Anaarkali Of Aarah
Avinash Das’s debut feature overcomes its indulgences and flaws by focusing on the big picture on sexual assault and consent.
Mar 2017
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Lucknow Central
...manages to make well-trodden material seem far more interesting than it actually is. Despite its unwieldy length and unconvincing climax, the movie is far superior to the similarly themed August 25 release Qaidi Band, with better developed characters, a better narrative and score and welcome humour.
Sep 2017
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Aug 2018
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Super 30
...suggests that with talent and commitment, it is possible to cross over from the other side of the tracks. Leap high towards your goals, Anand tells his students. The formula is as pat as the solution, but many parts of the journey makes this classroom victory worth the while.
Jul 2019
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Kapoor & Sons
Shakun Batra’s beautifully performed drama, about a family lurching from one crisis to the next, is part of a recent development towards ‘Happy endings with reservations’ in popular Hindi cinema.
Mar 2016
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
...there is nothing unfeeling about Vasan Bala’s retro tribute to the small, silly and lasting ways in which the movies leave an imprint on the soul.
Mar 2019
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Phobia
The set-up is convincing, and Radhika Apta’s central performance as Mahek makes it doubly so.
May 2016
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Good Newwz
It’s a clever premise for a comedy of errors, and it also helps that Good Newwz is grown-up and matter-of-fact about adult bodily functions and needs.
Dec 2019
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Malang
...benefits vastly from clever casting, Vikas Sivaraman’s slick and attractive cinematography, and a distanced approach to wrenching matters of the heart.
Feb 2020
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Mar 2017
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Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
...bustling with colourful characters, acerbic humour and rancour.
Jan 2021