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.

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.

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, 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.