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Apr 2015
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3 Idiots
...delivers an entertaining narrative that shifts gears between comic-book humour and heavy-duty drama with ease.
Dec 2009
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Sonchiriya
It’s an intricately woven script which strings many threads and themes together—crisply, economically with hardly a note out of place. The sure-footedness, self-assurance all adding to a deadly impact.
Mar 2019
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Andhadhun
Missing the beginning, end and anything in the middle would then severely imperil what could be the most fun you’d have at the movies.
Oct 2018
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Bombay Talkies
It’s cinema that’s not afraid to come out of the closet. Filmmaking that is brave enough to wipe off the make-up. Storytelling that’s brutally honest. Treatment that is refreshingly candid.
May 2013
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Pink
...it’s good to have a film stating categorically, even if a trifle simplistically, that a no is a no is a no.
Sep 2016
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Hawaa Hawaai
...may seem predictable but it’s the treatment and storytelling that make it rise above the sports movie template. Sheer poetry.
May 2014
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Shanghai
With not a single dull moment and every department in fine form, this is tour de force filmmaking. Simply one of the best and bravest films you will see this year.
Jun 2012
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Masaan
A lyrical indie that wipes off the miasma of morality and caste system in a city on the cusp of change, Masaan is an engaging testament of the times we live in.
Jul 2015
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Thappad
...writers Anubhav Sinha and Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul do well in turning a solitary slap into larger exploration of male entitlement. They weave a dexterous but concise and economical narrative that, even while focusing on one woman’s life, turns it into the story about every woman. And every man.
Feb 2020
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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
There’s an innocence and transparency, a steadiness of tone and tenor, a perpetual energy and the delectable thread of whimsy that knits the film through and through.
Mar 2019
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Kai Po Che!
...will leave you choked and feeling good. It will leave you bittersweet. And breathless.
Feb 2013
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Pagglait
...has a unique way of tackling social issues that have always been a matter of concern in a social setting increasingly plagued by crippling orthodoxy. Only now, its depiction has become more genuine, and make its viewers contemplate the hard realities of the Indian experience.
Mar 2021
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Queen
Book yourself a ticket. Kangana makes for a great companion. You are guaranteed a good time.
Mar 2014
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Lipstick Under My Burkha
Shrivastava’s women are identifiable, their predicaments and problems are easy to relate to. What adds more conviction to the portrayals are the persuasive performances by all the ladies at the helm.
Jul 2017
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Raanjhanaa
This should do to Dhanush what Saagar did for Kamal Haasan and what Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa did for Shah Rukh Khan. India will fall in love, again.
Jun 2013
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Dedh Ishqiya
...is that rare kind of film that borrows from the Westerns, as much as it does from Indian cinema and even Urdu literature. It’s a curious mix — the best of the West and the East, the old and the new, the classy and the cheap — done seamlessly and effortlessly.
Jan 2014
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Chauranga
...is a lot more muted and quiet in its rage. But the thread of protest runs through it nonetheless...
Jan 2016
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Udta Punjab
...ultimately for me Udta Punjab is not about the story, the four main characters, their acting or the music even. It’s about relentless exposure to a gut-wrenching reality for 148 minutes that I am still trying to process.
Jun 2016
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NH10
...director Navdeep Singh gives Anushka Sharma a chance to drive solo on the Bollywood highway. And she drives her way through obstacles with amazing commitment.
Mar 2015
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Raman Raghav 2.0
...is a taut thriller, full of energy and brimming over with tension.
Jun 2016
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Katiyabaaz
The directors have shown patience with the subjects. They seem to have forgotten the presence of camera around them and the result is electric.
Aug 2014
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Haider
Get your minds blown. Forget your phone, forget your watch. Brush up on your Shakespeare or at least Wiki it. And you will find Haider to be a truly rewarding cinematic experience.
Oct 2014
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Mulk
Instead of talking to the converted, director Anubhav Sinha manages to use the conventions and tools of mainstream cinema to go beyond the liberal echo chambers and try and reach out to the masses. That, in fact, could well prove to be Mulk’s biggest strength.
Aug 2018
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Bombay Velvet
The film is every cinematic cliché and so much more. It is every crime movie you have already seen but so much more.
May 2015
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Qarib Qarib Singlle
...is a happy confluence of many things besides an absolutely entrancing, candid and un-self-conscious Khan who makes acting seem utterly easy and effortless.
Nov 2017
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Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!
A stylish noir adventure soaked in surprise and substance in equal measure.
Apr 2015
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Kapoor & Sons
There is something very finely calibrated and nicely measured about the entire package that is Kapoor & Sons.
Mar 2016