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Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
The suggestion that emotional tangles can be unravelled by putting on a diving suit is daffy, but Zoya Akhtar's talent lies in creating rich characters that you're likely to remember afterwards even if you don't recall what they actually ended up doing.
Jul 2011
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Zila Ghaziabad
This is Gangs of Wasseypur-lite, retrofitted onto a Dabangg template, and without either’s strong points.
Feb 2013
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Sep 2013
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Yeh Saali Zindagi
Mishra wants to be cool and quirky, like Guy Ritchie, but to paraphrase New Yorker critic Anthony Lane, he forgets the first rule of cool: don’t try to be.
Feb 2011
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Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
...fairly entertaining film never quite rises above its need to stick to the tried-and-tested.
May 2013
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Yamla Pagla Deewana 2
Forget funny, the sequel isn't even mildly amusing. It's just boring.
Jun 2013
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We Are Family
...a pedestrian local rehash of a movie that was already silly to begin with.
Sep 2010
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May 2012
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Udaan
...flies on many counts. The movie tackles its themes with sobriety and honesty.
Jul 2010
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Mar 2014
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Feb 2010
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The Xpose
...the film fails spectacularly is in its inability to come together as either an unapologetic camp-fest or serious murder mystery, trying to walk the fine line unsuccessfully. As a movie set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry, it’s neither outrageous, nor sardonic, and definitely not cheesy enough.
May 2014
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The Lunchbox
...an exceptional film, a rare gem that arrives only once in a few years.
Sep 2013
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The Attacks Of 26/11
...an exploitative, voyeuristic endeavour undertaken by a filmmaker because he has the money and resources to do so.
Mar 2013
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Tere Bin Laden
...a flair for irreverence, sharp political humour and deliberate tackiness.
Jul 2010
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Tanu Weds Manu
The baraatis are more interesting than the bride and the groom in Tanu Weds Manu...
Mar 2011
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Table No. 21
Bhatt initially keeps the audience engaged with a quick pace and amusing vignettes such as a machine which measures the decibel levels of a slap. But he loses his grip in the second half, especially as the audience is able to put together the clues and predict the game’s end.
Jan 2013
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Student Of The Year
...is a debutantes’ ball which prolongs the inevitable and where there is little fun to be had.
Oct 2012
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Speedy Singhs
...evokes nearly every Hollywood sport-movie cliche there is in tracing the transformation of the Speedy Singhs team from underdog to top dog.
Sep 2011
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Special 26
...the few hiccups aside, the movie works primarily due to Pandey’s ability to draw in the viewer with witty writing and interesting character interactions.
Feb 2013
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Singham Returns
...with its kitsch, hyperbole and melodrama, is a smartly-made film, where the manipulation is apparent, but not always a put-off.
Aug 2014
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Shor In The City
The movie is low on major plot developments but it's packed with nicely observed details and memorable characters.
Apr 2011
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Shootout At Wadala
...would have been fun if it made no bones about being an unabashed crowd-pleaser, rather than the “authentic” docu-drama it annoyingly pretends to be and using the premise as a license to indulge in three Bs – bullets, breasts and (what you also end up telling yourself after watching it), “bhenchod.”
May 2013
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Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi
The movie could have risen to become a nuanced drama about a couple in their forties, struggling to balance between their familial responsibilities and matters of heart. Instead we get a hokey love story that never quite beguiles or tickles.
Sep 2012
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Nov 2011
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Oct 2013
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Shabri
There's the same catatonic acting, the staccato dialogue delivery, the bursts of violence, the over-loud background score, the strange camera angles, the crooked cops and larger-than-life thugs. Perhaps it's time to give the Mumbai gangster genre a rest.
Sep 2011
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Shaadi Ke Side Effects
...displays massive potential, but never quite manages to live up to it. It tries to be too many things at once – a slice-of-life comedy, a tearjerker, commentary on marriage – without really managing to nail any one of them.
Feb 2014