Naam Shabana works because of some wonderful acting by Taapsee Pannu, Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher, and some breathtaking aerial shots of Vienna, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai. If you’re a fan of any of the leads, by all means head for the nearest cinema screening this one. And if you leave dejected by the entirety of it, well, you were warned.

Phillauri is an entertaining watch – though it would probably help if you’re along for Kanan’s “trip” of choice.

Pace aside, I often found myself slowing down to look at the details. Like how a black night frame is lit in amber fire and I just want to see those faces in that glow. Or like how Bhardwaj’s version of Jana Gana Mana plays out – stirring, yet disarming. All too often, the frames and the score knit into each other like they were conceived together in the same beautiful mind. And that beautiful mind, even with its scars, shines bright at anyone who cares to look into the window to its world.

…the good news is that we left the hall with one single happy thought – the film works.

Although Jolly LLB 2 doesn’t feature the most inventive court trial in Indian cinema history, it is certainly high on tragedy, raw emotions, morals and starkness of justice, and will appeal to both the thinking and the commercial audiences.

Kaabil has most of the right ingredients for a thriller – a cerebral protagonist, clever fight sequences, some scattered wit, brilliant casting and immersive screenplay among others. The fight choreography and methodologies, and Rohan’s whole blind-fighter role have the bearing of Daredevil or Batman. A little meandering in the direction in the second half, the pointless item number and some holes in logic at the end spoil what might otherwise been a remarkable film, but Kaabil is still worth a one-time watch.

The filmmaker’s flourishes along with the actors’ rich performances could prove to be worth your ticket money. However, the film still walks a tight rope on morality. Add to that the political atmosphere where religion and economics are often mixed up, and you’ll begin to observe that the tight-rope walk is held on top of burning embers. Whether the rope-walker walks the rope or falls to be burnt really depends on the viewer. All we can tell you is it’s a, well, perplexing trick.

The film which flaunts its sense of irony in the title plays mostly non-judgmental, but only so much rationalization can be thrown to justify a corporate scandal. Like in Wolf Of Wall Street and There Will Be Blood, we see an entrepreneur making no stops for emotional evaluation, but there is no fall, no payback and no repentance. Did we forget that this is a true story? Now it’s all the more horrifying, isn’t it?

When a film is outright abominable, the reviewer wants to draw out his daggers. He spends time on finding innovative ways to poke at the disgrace. Both cases make for interesting writing experiences.

Whether Smith has a thing for emotionally manipulative stories, or this is his version of playing to the awards gallery, he should realize this is not working. It looks like he didn’t learn the right lessons from his Seven Pounds. Hope he does from this one.