Anna MM Vetticad
Firstpost
Most Divergent Takes
- Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018)1.0 vs TRM 5.2-4.2
- Jabariya Jodi (2019)1.0 vs TRM 4.6-3.6
- PM Narendra Modi (2019)0.0 vs TRM 3.6-3.6
- Simmba (2018)2.0 vs TRM 5.6-3.6
- Kabir Singh (2019)2.0 vs TRM 5.5-3.5
Dabangg 3
2019 · Firstpost · Dec 2019
Somewhere in the middle of Dabangg 3, Rajjo tells Chulbul that she will never again force him to take a '70s-'80s style kasam (oath). Never mind the context. I do wish Bollywood would take a kasam here and now to lay Chulbul Pandey a.k.a. Robinhood Pandey to rest.
Panipat
2019 · Firstpost · Dec 2019
Panipat is shorn of Padmaavat and Kesari's insidious intent, but it is not exactly an innocent, truthful chronicler of Indian history. Add to that its lack of polish and spark, and for all its positives, it ends up as just an average affair.
Pagalpanti
2019 · Firstpost · Nov 2019
Pagalpanti is sporadically entertaining, but for the most part it feels stale and ordinary. Even the appearance of a Méhul Choksi lookalike in the end cannot lift the film out of its plainness. References to current events work if you have a take on them. Pagalpanti has none.
The Sky Is Pink
2019 · Firstpost · Oct 2019
Large passages of The Sky Is Pink are swaddled in sorrow, as you might expect, but the film's stand-out quality is its commitment to its positivity. Without seeming to try too hard, it is funny, believable and heartwrenching all rolled into one. Death in the storyline is as inevitable as it is for all of us in real life, but what this film does is to celebrate lives well lived.
War
2019 · Firstpost · Oct 2019
The overall excitement in the screenplay compensates for these flaws and the inordinately loud background score, especially if you are in an indulgent mood having accepted that in most departments War is conventional Bollywood.
The Zoya Factor
2019 · Firstpost · Sep 2019
Sonam-Dulquer starrer is a fun but faltering swipe at hyper deshbhakti and superstition
Dream Girl
2019 · Firstpost · Sep 2019
Ayushmann Khurrana & some excellent co-stars are funny despite bumpy writing...
Chhichhore
2019 · Firstpost · Sep 2019
The writing of Chhichhore is so lacking in depth, and the direction so passionless, it is hard to believe it has been brought to us by the same person who made Dangal. Despite its sporadic bursts of humour, Chhichhore comes across as a half-hearted enterprise.
Jabariya Jodi
2019 · Firstpost · Aug 2019
Sidharth Malhotra is too hot and happening for such bland fare...
Khandaani Shafakhana
2019 · Firstpost · Aug 2019
Depth though is missing in this film that touches upon all these elements, but sinks its teeth into them only in fits and starts. It has its moments here and there. However, overall, although it is meant to be a comedy drama about sexual health, the comedy is occasionally on point but there is not enough of it, the social commentary is very occasionally insightful but not enough, and the drama is not dramatic enough.
Judgementall Hai Kya
2019 · Firstpost · Jul 2019
If you have not yet seen the film, then know that Judgementall Hai Kya is based on an interesting concept, it is often funny and fascinating, but in the ultimate analysis, it does not make the grade.
Super 30
2019 · Firstpost · Jul 2019
Hrithik's uneven acting, patchy storytelling and a narrow take on caste dilute a gutsy theme
Article 15
2019 · Firstpost · Jun 2019
Watching this film is an overwhelming emotional experience. Article 15 is the best that Indian cinema can be in these troubled times if it chooses to hold a mirror up to our society, compelling us to confront the worst that we are and the best that we can be when we are not busy saving our own skins.
Kabir Singh
2019 · Firstpost · Jun 2019
Kabir Singh and its Telugu forebear Arjun Reddy must rank among the most disturbing examples of the obsessive stalker hero being glamourised by Indian cinema.
Game Over
2019 · Firstpost · Jun 2019
Taapsee Pannu hits the ball out of the park through a terrifying thriller
Bharat
2019 · Firstpost · Jun 2019
The best of Bharat comes right in the beginning and then almost towards the end. The initial portrayal of the Partition and later efforts to reunite families separated at the time may seem emotionally over-wrought to some, but I confess I was reduced to tears in both segments. Unfortunately, what comes between, though largely inoffensive is only sporadically rewarding. Far from being a Forrest Gump with Salman Khan, Bharat is mostly a plodding trek through post-1947 to contemporary India.
PM Narendra Modi
2019 · Firstpost · May 2019
Vivek Oberoi hams his way through an unwittingly farcical, comical hagiography
De De Pyaar De
2019 · Firstpost · May 2019
Tabu, Ajay Devgn champion male infidelity, hatred for women, a weird notion of modern coolth
Student of the Year 2
2019 · Firstpost · May 2019
Tiger's acting or plot clichés — what's the worst part of this film?
Setters
2019 · Firstpost · May 2019
In terms of concept and cast, Setters has a lot going for it. In its execution though, it does not quite add up.
Kalank
2019 · Firstpost · Apr 2019
It is tempting to not think of the troubling, damaging politics of Kalank because it is fronted by such a likeable cast and comes in such pretty packaging. There is nothing pretty though about the lack of nuance in its portrayal of Hindu-Muslim equations and the lasting image from this film of the ferocious Muslim who destroys not just the other but also his own in pursuit of a cause.
Kesari
2019 · Firstpost · Mar 2019
Irrespective of what the 36th Sikhs' actual motivations were, obviously theirs was a historic last stand worthy of a film. When an honest army procedural could have had an impact, the team of Kesari chose instead to be a barely disguised propaganda vehicle and to chronicle this remarkable episode with self-defeating twists. A spot of exaggeration here and there could of course be explained away as cinematic licence, even the loudness and initial tempo could have been excused, but this goes way beyond that. It is as if Team Kesari were dissatisfied with the truth about the 36th Sikh Regiment who, ironically, they seek here to lionise.
Badla
2019 · Firstpost · Mar 2019
Sujoy Ghosh is a leading light among thriller makers in Bollywood. His Kahaani (2012) starring Vidya Balan set new standards for the industry in this area. The pressure to live up to expectations raised by that film did show in the writing of the climax for Kahaani 2 (2016), but he reminded us of his unmistakable talent for mystery with director Ribhu Dasgupta's unfortunately underrated Te3n (2016) starring Balan, Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, which he produced. Maybe some day he will replicate the brilliance of Kahaani, but today what he has given us is Badla: if you are not in too demanding a mood, this is an enjoyable film.
Gully Boy
2019 · Firstpost · Feb 2019
For a film that is about protest music, the music of anger and rebellion, Gully Boy is surprisingly quiet and extremely funny. Its understatedness and sense of humour are among the multiple reasons why it is also one of the best films to emerge from the Hindi cinemascape in recent times.
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
2019 · Firstpost · Feb 2019
The underrated Abhishek Duhan is impeccable as Sweety's brother. But the lasting memory from Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is of Anil taking a scene that could have been maudlin, insufferable and loud, and turning it into a heart-wrenching passage of acceptance, self-realisation and personal growth. Ek Veteran Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga...
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
2019 · Firstpost · Jan 2019
Rani Lakshmibai was a great woman. She deserves better than a film that chooses to use her for its own self-serving ends.
Simmba
2018 · Firstpost · Dec 2018
Ranveer Singh's pizzazz is lost to a clichéd women's rights saga that sidelines women...
Zero
2018 · Firstpost · Dec 2018
If and when you do your next Zero, Mr Rai, do put the screenplay through the same arduous pressure test to which you would subject Tumbbad. Better still, give us more Tumbbads please.
Kedarnath
2018 · Firstpost · Dec 2018
Sara Ali Khan-Sushant Singh Rajput's aching chemistry anchors a heartbreaking love story...
Bhaiaji Superhit
2018 · Firstpost · Nov 2018
Sunny Deol screams, Preity Zinta pouts in a Jurassic-era relic with a sliver of comic potential
Pihu
2018 · Firstpost · Nov 2018
A two-year-old's incredible solo act keeps this survival saga riveting even through its missteps
Thugs of Hindostan
2018 · Firstpost · Nov 2018
hugs was promoted as the first film ever to pit him against the great Bachchan. The legendary superstar is a pale shadow here of the best he has been. Khan, on the other hand, crackles, pops and sparkles as a swashbuckling scoundrel. The writing of his character and his performance are the only reasons why Thugs of Hindostan does not turn out to be a stylishly produced but disastrously dreary repeat of Acharya's first film, Tashan. Despite all its minuses, Thugs is light-hearted fun.
Baazaar
2018 · Firstpost · Oct 2018
Saif Ali Khan's swag never flags in this unflaggingly middling affair...
Badhaai Ho
2018 · Firstpost · Oct 2018
...what Badhaai Ho offers is precious - an insight into the lives of real people rather than glossed-up specimens of humanity that exist only in the imagination of commercial filmmakers...
Tumbbad
2018 · Firstpost · Oct 2018
Ship of Theseus team redefines horror with this genre-defying folksy fantasy flick...
Andhadhun
2018 · Firstpost · Oct 2018
If you plan to watch Andhadhun, make sure you arrive early so that you do not miss the prologue or the old-fashioned credits, along with the bizarre statement accompanying them on screen, plus the tribute to Vividh Bharti's Chhaya Geet and Doordarshan's Chitrahaar. It all counts, as does every minute, second and millisecond of the unpredictable, crazy ride that follows.
Sui Dhaaga
2018 · Firstpost · Sep 2018
Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan are sweet in this rallying cry for self-sufficiency and self-respect...
Manmarziyaan
2018 · Firstpost · Sep 2018
Anurag Kashyap's film flounders except when humour rears its head...
Halkaa
2018 · Firstpost · Sep 2018
Potty training gets sanitised and superficial, this is Toilet: Ek Flimsy Katha...
Stree
2018 · Firstpost · Aug 2018
Stree is like a blind date that turns out well - a tryst with the unexpected filled with exciting surprises. It is a thought-provoking laughathon-cum-spookathon, and one of the most unusual Bollywood films of the year so far.
Omerta
2018 · Firstpost · Aug 2018
Omerta's pace is so unrelenting and Rao's acting so immersive that it is impossible to turn away from the screen for a single moment of the film's compact 97 minutes and 37 seconds. To call it gripping might be an understatement.
Gold
2018 · Firstpost · Aug 2018
Gold has its occasional redeeming moments, but for the most part it just skims the surface of a landscape once examined with such depth by Chak De! India.
Vishwaroopam 2
2018 · Firstpost · Aug 2018
Apart from the shock value of the extreme violence it features and a vital statement about fundamentalism-versus-education, Vishwaroop II has nothing new to offer. It is a scar on Haasan's filmography and a dead bore.
Karwaan
2018 · Firstpost · Aug 2018
At one point, a character in this film explains that he is not sure whether Person X was a good guy but it is clear that he was not bad, which in itself is quite something in this day and age. There can be no more appropriate a description of Karwaan: it is not earth shattering, but it is not bad at all. Which is another way of saying it is an intelligent, funny, thoughtful film and a pleasant experience.
Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3
2018 · Firstpost · Jul 2018
The first two Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster films were gratifying action-and-vengeance-packed rides. This one is just okay.
Soorma
2018 · Firstpost · Jul 2018
Diljit Dosanjh is lovable in a biopic that's not as inspiring as the true story it draws on...
Veere Di Wedding
2018 · Firstpost · Jun 2018
Kareena, Sonam, Swara, Shikha play relatable non-conformists in a fun buddy flick...
Blackmail
2018 · Firstpost · Apr 2018
Blackmail then is an engaging but flawed tragi-comedy of errors...
Raid
2018 · Firstpost · Mar 2018
This is not the kind of fare you might expect to set your pulses racing, but that is precisely what Raid achieves in its closing scenes. Raid is not regular Bollywood. What it is though is thoroughly entertaining.
Hate Story 4
2018 · Firstpost · Mar 2018
The only thing more fake than this concern for women is the simulated sex in Hate Story 4. Spare us your bogus conscience, please.
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
2018 · Firstpost · Feb 2018
The unfortunate part of Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety is that in small patches – especially in a scene in which Ishita Raj's character Pihu is re-acquainted with Titu's family – it shows a penchant for humour and good timing. Mostly though, this is a tacky, trite recycling of a recipe that has brought box-office success twice to this director. Why bother writing an original script when a photocopy machine is at hand?
Aiyaary
2018 · Firstpost · Feb 2018
Aiyaary's first hour is engaging because it gives us reason to assume that great twists and turns will unfold at any moment. That promise is unfulfilled in the remaining 100 minutes of the film. Pace and bluster cannot compensate for lack of substance. This wannabe James Bond flick is nothing but a blast of hot air.
Kaalakaandi
2018 · Firstpost · Jan 2018
It is hard to believe that a film directed by the writer of Delhi Belly is, for the most part, a drag. Despite Saif Ali Khan being in cracking form, Kaalakaandi lacks fizz and purpose.
Fukrey Returns
2017 · Firstpost · Dec 2017
Make a film around Sharma/Chuchcha, if you wish, Mr Lamba. If you do intend to bring back the rest of Team Fukrey in a third venture though, please remember not to neglect them as you have done in this one. The consequence of that neglect is that Fukrey Returns is funny but its gnawing hollowness is impossible to ignore. It may as well have been a stand-up comedy show headlined by Varun Sharma instead of a film.
Ajji
2017 · Firstpost · Nov 2017
Devashish Makhija, who earlier made the feature film Oonga, earned the spotlight just last year when Taandav, his interesting short featuring Manoj Bajpayee, went viral on Youtube. Ajji and Manda's relationship, Sushama Deshpande's striking face and screen presence, and young Sharvani Suryavanshi's natural acting are no doubt worthy of a full-fledged film. Ajji, as it stands now though, is well begun but just half done.
Tumhari Sulu
2017 · Firstpost · Nov 2017
Vidya Balan and Manav Kaul are wonderful in Tumhari Sulu. And despite its exasperating folly as it draws to a close, Tumhari Sulu is a throat-achingly, side-splittingly hysterical entertainer.
Qarib Qarib Singlle
2017 · Firstpost · Nov 2017
Qarib Qarib Singlle (QQS) is fun in bits and pieces mostly in the first half, but conflicted about what it wants to say and, therefore, tedious beyond a point. Parvathy — one of Mollywood's most respected artistes, who has just notched up a triumph in Take Off this year — makes her Bollywood debut with this film. Individually, she and Irrfan are sweet in QQS. Sadly, that is not enough.
Ittefaq
2017 · Firstpost · Nov 2017
Ittefaq may not be perfect, but it is clever enough. Bollywood rarely does thrillers well. This one is not brilliant, but it is fun while it lasts.
Jia Aur Jia
2017 · Firstpost · Oct 2017
ia Aur Jia's saving grace is that it resurrects Jiya o jiya, the title song of the Asha Parekh-Dev Anand classic Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai, for its background score. The music makes the opening scenes memorable, but when the entire remix of the song is sung along with the closing credits, the effect is completely ruined: Nisschal Zaveri's Jiya o jiya reprise – performed by Jyotica Tangri and Rashid Ali – is flat in comparison with the original. Jia Aur Jia is flat, full stop.
Secret Superstar
2017 · Firstpost · Oct 2017
Advait Chandan's film is a thoroughly rewarding cinematic experience, sweet and thought-provoking in equal measure. It is simple, but not simplistic (barring the ease with which a non-entity like Insia becomes high-profile almost overnight on the worldwide web and the fact that she appears to escape Internet trolls who in reality would viciously attack such a kid because of her gender and her Muslim identity). Aamir's presence has given it pre-release visibility, but what gives it staying power through its running time is the strength of its storytelling and conviction.
Chef
2017 · Firstpost · Oct 2017
It is pleasant in parts, pretty almost throughout, and the cast is charming. In the absence of heft and a commitment to its genre though, it remains an ineffectual film. Saif Ali Khan, who I believe is one of Hindi cinema's most underrated actors, needs to choose better.
Judwaa 2
2017 · Firstpost · Sep 2017
Footnote: The Censor Board asked Dhawan to remove a shot of Lord Krishna dancing and playing the saxophone in the song Suno Ganpati BappaMorya. It is clear from their directive that they have not understood the ABC of the playful down-to-earthness that is the hallmark of Hindu mythology.
Newton
2017 · Firstpost · Sep 2017
The cleverness of Masurkar's film is that it is designed to appeal to audiences beyond the already converted and beyond the artistically inclined fest circuit.
Simran
2017 · Firstpost · Sep 2017
Simran has come to theatres following an ugly controversy over its writing credits. The final rolls read: story, screenplay and dialogues — Apurva Asrani, additional story and dialogues — Kangana Ranaut. The truth about what went on behind the scenes may never be fully revealed, but what has emerged now that the curtains have been drawn aside is a compact, sweet, unconventional entertainer.
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
2017 · Firstpost · Sep 2017
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan then is a super-fun till it gets superficial. It is, to borrow the tagline of another film now in theatres, sundar, susheel and risky in its first half, flails about in the second, but remains entertaining overall. Handle it with care and alertness.
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
2017 · Firstpost · Aug 2017
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, flawed though it is, comes as manna to a starving film buff in what must certainly be the worst year for Bollywood in the decade so far. It could have been better, of course, but it is fun enough to be forgiven its follies and indulgences.
Jab Harry Met Sejal
2017 · Firstpost · Aug 2017
Jab Harry Met Sejal is occasionally funny, but not half as funny or cute or ruminative as it clearly thinks it is. Hats off to Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma for managing to raise the Centigrades in this otherwise pakau disaster.
Indu Sarkar
2017 · Firstpost · Jul 2017
To say that Indu Sarkar is better than Heroine and Calendar Girls is hardly a compliment to the man who made Chandni Bar and Page 3.
Lipstick Under My Burkha
2017 · Firstpost · Jul 2017
It's clear why Censors were unnerved by this brave, fun film...Lipstick Under My Burkha could potentially upset many, many people. It has the ability to grab a person by the collar, shake them up and make them feel unsettled even if they refuse to introspect. I am willing to bet that Pahlaj Nihalani's Censor Board will not be the last conservatives unnerved by this feisty, disturbing yet celebratory film.
Jagga Jasoos
2017 · Firstpost · Jul 2017
Jagga Jasoos brings together a range of quality ingredients, but something has gone wrong in the cooking of it. It is highly engaging up to a point, but needed tighter writing and direction to stay on course. The very idea of a musical action adventure blending whimsy with eastern and western sensibilities is fascinating. The plus point for me then is that a hard-core mainstream director and two out-and-out mainstream stars have invested themselves in such an experimental project. While that is not enough, it is still something worth celebrating.
Mom
2017 · Firstpost · Jul 2017
The emotional pull of the first half and Sridevi's acting excellence notwithstanding, Mom in many ways is as dangerous as the loud, raucous, not-even-pretending-to-be-progressive-about-women commercial Bollywood of the 1970s and 80s.
Bank Chor
2017 · Firstpost · Jun 2017
Despite its many misses, Bank Chor has more verve. Whatever little progress Bumpy has made as a filmmaker, however, is far outweighed by the insidious messaging of this film which cashes in on the prejudices that wrack Indian society today below a mask of good intentions, comedy and thrills. Sorry young man, you do not get to claim maasoomiyat here.
Raabta
2017 · Firstpost · Jun 2017
It is possible that Raabta's writers Siddharth-Garima got the initial inspiration for their story from Rajamouli's film. Or maybe they did not. The truth is this project has no new ideas.
Hindi Medium
2017 · Firstpost · May 2017
Hindi Medium makes a point – several points, in fact – by being simple and straightforward yet not simplistic. The film's achievement is that it tells us things we already know yet forces us to think about them, and has lots of fun while doing so.
Sarkar 3
2017 · Firstpost · May 2017
Sarkar 3 too is lacklustre and ordinary. Coming from the House of Ram Gopal Varma, in some ways that counts as worse than being bad.
Noor
2017 · Firstpost · Apr 2017
4 years have flown between the remarkable Lootera and this film which, despite its follies, serves as a good showcase for her talent. Here is hoping we do not have to wait another 4 years for a film that does treat her like a prop.
Naam Shabana
2017 · Firstpost · Mar 2017
Naam Shabana is a better film than Baby. It has a more polished appearance, and the idiotic bad guy here is at least less idiotic than the amateurs in the earlier film.
Phillauri
2017 · Firstpost · Mar 2017
In terms of writing, directorial execution and acting, yesterdayhas zest and today does not in this inconsistent albeit sweet spook story.
Trapped
2017 · Firstpost · Mar 2017
It is one thing to avoid high-pitched melodrama, but quite another to allow your film to lapse into complete lack of energy. Trapped has a promising premise and is interesting to begin with, but is unable to maintain those interest levels through its 102 minutes and 56 seconds running time.
Commando 2: The Black Money Trail
2017 · Firstpost · Mar 2017
The film's impressive action scenes and pretty hero cannot compensate for its limited substance, which matters particularly because the action is not unrelenting. While Karan is bashing up baddies, it is hard to look away from the screen. When he is not, it becomes easy. Sadly, there is more to Jammwal than that face, body and his fighting skills. Someone give this man a more substantial film, please.
Running Shaadi
2017 · Firstpost · Feb 2017
Running Shaadi would be a great short story, or a short film. As a full length feature, it is entertaining only in parts.
Jolly LLB 2
2017 · Firstpost · Feb 2017
Jolly LLB 2, as it turns out, is a mixed bag. The references to the Kashmir conflict and Hindu-Muslim tensions are impressive because the film raises these crucial issues without being in your face about them. It also bravely takes a swipe at self-righteous deshbhakts in the ongoing nationalist-versus-anti-national debate. The basic elements in the story are teeming with potential. When it's good, Jolly LLB 2 is alternately amusing and moving. Sadly, the patchy treatment leaves it sagging too often.
Alif
2017 · Firstpost · Feb 2017
Alif is proof, if any were needed, that good intentions need good writing, good direction and good production quality to be translated into a good film. This is an important story. It just needs to be told in a better film.
Kung Fu Yoga
2017 · Firstpost · Feb 2017
It is not easy to write and direct rubbish, and get an intelligent audience to laugh. As someone who refuses to brush aside David Dhawan and Rohit Shetty's work, I can vouch for the fact Kung Fu Yoga is a pile of nothing.
Coffee with D
2017 · Firstpost · Jan 2017
D for Damn you cosmos, for allowing this injustice. This is not a film. It is a waste of time.
Ok Jaanu
2017 · Firstpost · Jan 2017
Just as you need to acquaint yourself better with young people, enter their minds and understand their way of thinking, to portray them on screen with any degree of depth. Ok Jaanu is a surface skimmer.
Dangal
2016 · Firstpost · Dec 2016
Dangal may be confusingly cautious around popular notions on the parental front, but in the matter of sporting achievement it does not mince words: silver is second best, it tells us unequivocally, and there is nothing wrong in aiming for gold. In an India that remains doubtful about the virtues of ambition, in a world that continues to consider ambition a dirty word for women in particular, such clarity is remarkable and inspiring.
Befikre
2016 · Firstpost · Dec 2016
Ranveer Singh, Vaani Kapoor's verve can't mask this old wine in a glossy bottle...
Kahaani 2
2016 · Firstpost · Dec 2016
Vidya Balan is fantastic in Kahaani 2, but storywise, the film is like a pleasant meal spoilt by a mediocre dessert. If only…
Dear Zindagi
2016 · Firstpost · Nov 2016
Dear Zindagi then is a mixed bag. I loved SRK in the film, Bhatt is always a pleasure to watch, the story visits many themes that are uncommon in Bollywood, and several of the discussions are either witty or insightful or both. Overall though, the film comes across as being not enough because the writing needed more substance.
Force 2
2016 · Firstpost · Nov 2016
Force 2 is not earth-shatteringly memorable, but it is fun. Abhinay Deo must share a large part of the credit for that with action director Franz Spilhaus, cinematographers Mohana Krishna and Imre Juhasz who make us participants in the proceedings, Amitabh Shukla & Sanjay Sharma's sharp editing and the doggedness of John Abraham's bath towel that does not get dislodged from his waist until the very end of an extended, physically challenging fight.
Rock On 2
2016 · Firstpost · Nov 2016
Rock On 2 is not insufferable, it is just hugely disappointing. They should have given it an alternative title: How To Fritter Away Goodwill For A Fondly Remembered Brand in 139 Minutes and Seven Seconds.
Shivaay
2016 · Firstpost · Oct 2016
Ajay Devgn's visually rich film lacks Lord Shiva's famed light-footedness...
31st October
2016 · Firstpost · Oct 2016
Apart from the fact that actors styled to resemble Congress politicians H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar are shown engineering the riots, there is little worth noting in this film.
Saat Uchakkey
2016 · Firstpost · Oct 2016
Saat Uchakkey stands out for its excellent casting, excellent acting and – when it is not self-conscious – excellent humour. Now if only that had been enough...
Mirzya
2016 · Firstpost · Oct 2016
Early on in Mirzya, a character quotes a moonstruck Romeo's monologue on Juliet: "She speaks yet says nothing." It is an unwittingly apt description of this film. It speaks, yet says nothing.
M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story
2016 · Firstpost · Sep 2016
Overall though, the screenplay lacks insights and depth. MS Dhoni: The Untold Story starts off well but does not seem to know where to go from there. If Neeraj Pandey needed to be this careful, perhaps he should have manufactured an antiseptic bottle instead of making a film.
Parched
2016 · Firstpost · Sep 2016
Parched is a curiously unsatisfying experience. The issues it highlights – domestic violence, marital rape, child marriage, male entitlement – are the sort that would naturally draw empathy from a considerate viewer. Why then is it not as gripping as might be expected?
Baar Baar Dekho
2016 · Firstpost · Sep 2016
If I had the power to go back in time and any power over Team Baar Baar Dekho, I would cajole or bully them into rewriting the second half of their script. In the present though, in the here and now, this is a film that starts off well but fails to sustain itself.
Akira
2016 · Firstpost · Sep 2016
Does Murugadoss think this is female empowerment? Does he hope to inspire female viewers to indulge in such dangerous stupidity? Or does he just think he is being cool?
A Flying Jatt
2016 · Firstpost · Aug 2016
Large parts of A Flying Jatt are unoriginal and tacky, right down to that well-intentioned yet poorly composed sentence flashing on screen right in the end and credited to Remo: "Everything has an alternative except Mother Earth."
Happy Bhag Jayegi
2016 · Firstpost · Aug 2016
Aziz obviously has a flair for comedy but he needs to work on it. What he desperately needed here was either more time and thought, or a co-writer to help him build on the starting blocks he set up. Happy Bhag Jayegi is fun and funny in large parts, but the second half is also bogged down by how insubstantial and consequently forgettable it is.
Rustom
2016 · Firstpost · Aug 2016
This is genuinely sad because if you sift out the frills, the faff and the chaff in Rustom, the pivotal plot is actually interesting and could have made for a solid thriller.
Dishoom
2016 · Firstpost · Jul 2016
Dishoom is a sporadically engaging, intermittently funny, yet always insubstantial film.
Madaari
2016 · Firstpost · Jul 2016
Irrfan Khan's gentle presence elevates a middling film...
Sultan
2016 · Firstpost · Jul 2016
Despite these flaws and several clichés, Sultan has an emotional core that is hard to resist. Writer-director Zafar is clever in the way he uses his actors, the innate poignancy of his story and Vishal-Shekhar's songs to create a moving whole. Even when Jag ghoomeya is abruptly and awkwardly inserted into the narrative, the tune and words do not lose their appeal. And the very well choreographed MMA (mixed martial arts) scenes in the second half are spot on.
Shorgul
2016 · Firstpost · Jul 2016
The Muzaffarnagar riots are a blot on contemporary history and the wounds from that blaze are yet to heal. It is almost criminal to use references to this human tragedy to draw audiences into a deafening, unimaginative, ordinary film.
Raman Raghav 2.0
2016 · Firstpost · Jun 2016
Raman Raghav 2.0 is layered, gripping from the word go, unnerving and, in a twisted way, hugely entertaining. It is also a stinging commentary on the times we live in. He is back, people. Anurag Kashyap is back.
Udta Punjab
2016 · Firstpost · Jun 2016
The first half of Udta Punjab is consistently grim, deeply disturbing and, appropriately, almost docu-feature-like. The second half though is intermittently farcical and ultimately makes a mockery of the concerns it set out to raise.
Te3n
2016 · Firstpost · Jun 2016
It is a measure of Te3n's strengths that, in the overall analysis, these complaints recede into the background. It is so wonderful to see director Sujoy Ghosh who gave us Kahaani, backing this film as a producer. Ribhu Dasgupta's Te3n is a strong, entertaining whodunit, so lovely in its sadness and so thoroughly engaging in its observations on old age, escapism, persistence, love and revenge.
Housefull 3
2016 · Firstpost · Jun 2016
The indolence in the writing of Housefull 3 is best illustrated by the profusion of self-referential jokes in the film. I mean, c'mooooooonnnnn, how many times are we expected to be amused by Deshmukh breaking into Marathi in the heat of a moment? Is it really laugh-worthy that he addresses his girlfriend Jenny a.k.a. Jamuna in the film as Genelia? Yawn. And how many mentions of the Bachchan familywill we hear around Abhishek? C'mooooonnnnn, think of something new!
Veerappan
2016 · Firstpost · May 2016
The film's deficiencies are most unfortunate because in its pluses we get a glimpse of the old Ramu that we all once knew and loved, the man who gave us pathbreaking gangster and crime flicks such as Shiva, Satya and Company.
Sarbjit
2016 · Firstpost · May 2016
When you watch Sarbjit, you must accept it as a given that the makers believe Sarabjit Singh Atwal and his family's version of events, not the Pakistani authorities. The reason why that is okay is because the film is not pretending to be a journalistic exercise telling all sides of the story; it is open about its stance that it is a feature recounting one side of the story. Besides, unlike the Akshay Kumar-starrer Airlift released earlier this year, the fictionalisation here does not amount to outright, blatant lies revolving around a protagonist who never existed in reality.
Azhar
2016 · Firstpost · May 2016
Azhar is a superficial look at the life of one of the most enigmatic and intriguing sporting stars this country has ever seen. It is an opportunity lost.
Traffic
2016 · Firstpost · May 2016
The road to cinematic achievement is lined with films that made it to the interval mark and then were ruined by their own contrivances. Traffic is a case study in what not to do with your story after the half-way post.
Baaghi
2016 · Firstpost · May 2016
Baaghi is a slickly packaged empty vessel. The action choreography is striking, the locations are exquisite, the camerawork polished, the art design impressive, the cast well dressed. Scratch the attractive surface though, and you get a dated, cliched storyline that compartmentalises hero, heroine, villains and comedians in the way Hindi films of the 1970s and 1980s did.
Santa Banta Pvt Ltd
2016 · Firstpost · Apr 2016
It's the sort of light-hearted nonsense that should have filled the film. There's simply not enough of it. Every 20 minutes or so, there is one really good, enjoyably silly joke (which proves the writers' potential for this genre) and then – yawn, yawn, yawn – it is back to the dull grind. Considering that the film runs for about 113 minutes, that adds up to a total of approximately six jokes. Why?
Laal Rang
2016 · Firstpost · Apr 2016
This film has many interesting individual elements but fails to lift off in its entirety. So yes, Randeep Hooda is hot, but Laal Rang is not.
Fan
2016 · Firstpost · Apr 2016
Though Fan is far from being perfect, it urges us to think about issues relating to stardom, fandom, idolatry and public expectations from famous people without overtly appearing to do so. It is suspenseful without beating drums and clanging cymbals around its many twists and turns. Much of its appeal lies in the fact that the central characters are not stereotyped. Besides, when Shah Rukh Khan decides to go real and understated, it always makes for compelling viewing.
Ki and Ka
2016 · Firstpost · Apr 2016
Large swathes of Ki & Ka are fun, considerable sections of it are unexpectedly broad-minded, path-breaking for Bollywood and insightful. The problem is that we can section it off in this fashion. Ultimately, what fails the film is its mixed messaging and choppy texture.
Rocky Handsome
2016 · Firstpost · Mar 2016
If you plan to watch Rocky Handsome then, you have two options: you could feast your eyes on John and his feats, or make the mistake of seeking depth and feelings within that pageantry. Choose Option 1 and you are pretty much assured of paisa vasool. I know, I know, that's a terribly superficial thing to say. This critic is guilty as charged.
Kapoor & Sons
2016 · Firstpost · Mar 2016
Kapoor & Sons is hilarious, heartwarming and heartbreaking rolled in one. It does not wear its social conscience on its sleeve, but make no mistake about this: it has one. This is a disarmingly entertaining, thoughtful film that evokes a fuzzy feeling of warmth. It left me with wet cheeks, a smile on my face and a chuckle welling up in my throat at the memory of Daadu.
Teraa Surroor
2016 · Firstpost · Mar 2016
Allow me to summon up my inner Arundhati Roy for an appropriate simile to describe Teraa Surroor: this film is as flat as Farah Karimi's enviably slim waist, as bland as Maggi Noodles without the Tastemaker and as pointless in its existence as the human appendix. A moment of silence please, to honour the bravery of those who made Teraa Surroor.
Jai Gangaajal
2016 · Firstpost · Mar 2016
Even Priyanka Chopra can't save this film that reeks of token feminism...
Aligarh
2016 · Firstpost · Feb 2016
Despite a sterling performance by Manoj Bajpayee and other positives,Aligarh ends up being an inconsistent biopic – on the one hand providing a beautiful portrait of reclusiveness, yet elsewhere doing a disservice to a man to whom this country owes an apology.
Neerja
2016 · Firstpost · Feb 2016
For a filmmaker to stir up such a high degree of emotion while making no obvious attempt to manipulate us is an amazing achievement. Neerja is outstanding.
Ghayal Once Again
2016 · Firstpost · Feb 2016
Sunny Deol and the sequel are disappointing and dated in equal measure...
Mastizaade
2016 · Firstpost · Jan 2016
Mastizaade's problem is its absolute lack of originality and boring repetitiveness.
Bajirao Mastani
2015 · Firstpost · Dec 2015
Despite its shortcomings then, this is a brave and beautiful film - beautiful to look at, beautiful in its position on religion, brave in its take on history, brave in its unwillingness to paint religious groups or its primary characters as black or white. Bhansalified history, as it turns out, makes for good cinema.
Dilwale
2015 · Firstpost · Dec 2015
There is not much in the writing of Dilwale that could help these two recreate the sparks that flew between them in their earlier films, but they do radiate warmth for each other, a warmth that wafts off the screen and floats about the air in a sigh-inducing fashion. Each time Shah Rukh and Kajol are together in a frame, you can almost forgive Dilwale for everything else that it ought to have been but is not.
Hate Story 3
2015 · Firstpost · Dec 2015
Hate Story 3 adds up to zilch. If there is anything I've said so far that might for a moment suggest that this film has ANY redeeming factors, let me say it loud and clear here: it does not.
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
2015 · Firstpost · Nov 2015
Frankly, spending so much time writing such a long review is in itself giving more credit than is due to this half-baked, lifeless, low-IQ film with its juvenile humour and family politics that resembles circumstances in the cheapest saas-bahu soaps now running on Hindi fiction TV.