-
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
-
Kesari
All that has stayed on with me is the landscape—the brown, arid earth pitted against the majesty of the snow-laden, silver mountains. If only panoramic settings could make a good film.
Mar 2019
-
Photograph
...I was also left feeling a sense of void and dissatisfaction, in that it barely scratches the surface of what could have been a far deeper engagement.
Mar 2019
-
Hamid
..given the recent turn of events it’s the very simplicity, humaneness and a sense of poise that resonates, connects and is profoundly moving.
Mar 2019
-
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
-
Hum Chaar
Despite the millennial setting and characters, Hum Chaar feels oddly anachronistic.
Feb 2019
-
Gully Boy
...it’s a classic, empathetic underdog story with a crowd pleasing, feel good finale about turning your imperfect reality into a long-cherished and impossible fantasy.
Feb 2019
-
The Fakir Of Venice
Released a decade after it was made The Fakir of Venice, disappoints with the lack of alchemy between the lead actors.
Feb 2019
-
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
...might be bringing a “new story” to Bollywood but plays out too flat, lightweight and facile to be of any consequence. Tell us another love story, please.
Feb 2019
-
Thackeray
The film is not just a justification but a no holds barred celebration of the ruthlessness.
Jan 2019
-
Manikarnika
A flat retelling of the legend of Jhansi Ki Rani that aims at stoking nationalism but reduces the story to mere platitudes.
Jan 2019
-
Bombairiya
This kind of multiple stories device has been used time and again in cinema to great effect. Bombairiya, however, is a call to give it a long, if not permanent, rest in Bollywood. Its use in the film feels entirely needless...
Jan 2019
-
Why Cheat India
Complex problems need complex cinema. Why Cheat India prefers to stay on the surface than dig deeper.
Jan 2019
-
Evening Shadows
The intentions may be well-placed but the outcome is a series of loud and tired cliches, which permeate the film so deeply that the subject of homosexuality appears to be the only “original” aspect of it.
Jan 2019
-
Uri
At times I found myself standing clear of my own political biases to acknowledge his engaging craft. At other moments, I broke away from the film’s emotional sway to question its politics.
Jan 2019
-
Simmba
Be it as brutal violators or patronising saviours of women, Simmba shows that it all boils down to the same toxic masculinity which the men behind Simmba have been perpetuating film after film. There is a saying in Hindi: “Sau choohe khake billi haj ko chali (After eating a hundred rats the cat goes on a pilgrimage)”. Need I say more?
Dec 2018
-
Zero
The characteristic outstretched arms of SRK get smaller, as does his height, the creative ambition gets bigger but the film stays resolutely middling when it could have been much more.
Dec 2018
-
Kedarnath
A protracted climax and worn-out clichés come in the way of what could have been an interesting cinematic exploration of a social fabric in turmoil.
Dec 2018
-
Bhaiaji Superhittt
Bhaiaji Superhit also tells the audience to be wary of incorrectly spelt titles that are a camouflage for utterly exasperating, excruciatingly boring films.
Nov 2018
-
Pihu
Deliberately designed, repetitive, predictable and emotionally manipulative, Pihu is cinema at its most duplicitous.
Nov 2018
-
Mohalla Assi
Despite being based on a strong piece of writing, it feels utterly weak and washed out.
Nov 2018
-
Thugs Of Hindostan
Tame, dull and listless, the film lacks any distinct personality and attitude of its own.
Nov 2018
-
Helicopter Eela
...is a loud, tone-deaf mother-son coming-of-age saga that lacks insights and observational humour.
Oct 2018
-
Tumbbad
As the film progresses the explanatory begins to replace the enigmatic while you long for the shadowy, invisible demons of the mind lurking in the moody frames at the start of the film.
Oct 2018
-
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
-
Sui Dhaaga
Sharat Katariya’s brushstrokes in 'Sui Dhaaga' may have got much more broad than in his previous outing but you still end up caring for his characters
Sep 2018
-
Pataakha
...has everything that makes it a perfect fit in Vishal Bhardwaj’s oeuvre: literary adaptation, feisty women, rustic hinterland, unapologetic use of dialect and free-flowing gaalis. Yet, the film doesn’t feel contrived or formulaic.
Sep 2018
-
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
The well-intentioned, cause-driven ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’ is more boring than engaging.
Sep 2018