Gautaman Bhaskaran
Hindustan Times
Most Divergent Takes
- Bāhubali: The Beginning (2015)4.0 vs TRM 7.0-3.0
- Masss (2015)2.0 vs TRM 5.0-3.0
- Kaaki Sattai (2015)2.0 vs TRM 5.0-3.0
- Kanithan (2016)2.0 vs TRM 4.9-2.9
- Puli (2015)2.0 vs TRM 4.3-2.3
The Ghazi Attack
2017 · Hindustan Times · Feb 2017
Really, an engaging piece of cinema. But what was Taapsee Pannu – as an East Pakistani refugee rescued by Varma from the high seas -- doing in the movie? Totally wasted after her performance in Pink. The rather poor dubbing is another minus point. But on the whole Ghazi is gripping.
24
2016 · Hindustan Times · May 2016
However, the Sathya-Mani romance is silly to the core, and drags the narrative down by several notches, though uniformly fine performances by Menen, Samantha and Suriya come as magic relief.
Manithan
2016 · Hindustan Times · Apr 2016
While Prakash Raj outshines Irani in the Hindi version with his extraordinarily power-packed dialogue delivery, which greatly enlivens the dramatic events in court, Stalin is no match for Warsi, whose bumbling, dream-driven guy in a black jacket was such a pleasure to watch. And, Radharavi too pales in comparison to Shukla, whose characterisation of a bored judge was so nuanced with hitherto unseen mannerisms that I was floored.
The Man Who Knew Infinity
2016 · Hindustan Times · Apr 2016
In the ultimate analysis, Brown's work may seem more like a piece of exotica -- and this was exactly how Ramanujan was treated by students and professors at Cambridge.
Nil Battey Sannata
2016 · Hindustan Times · Apr 2016
Bhaskar affirms this with a rare power and simplicity -- a yawning difference from the parts she played as a modern woman in the Tanu Weds Manu series. As is often believed in Bollywood, an actor must be able to let go his/her own self and sink into a character and she does.
Pugazh
2016 · Hindustan Times · Mar 2016
Sadly, the movie ceases to tread a focussed path -- often wandering without purpose. It begins with Pugazh and his team winning a cricket match on the playground, and they travel to Puducherry (Pondicherry) to celebrate with a song and dance on the beach -- which kind of transforms into a Baywatch locale with bikini-clad foreign women parading up and down.
Kanithan
2016 · Hindustan Times · Feb 2016
Like so many Tamil films, Kanithan begins with a fantastic idea and story, but Santosh lets these spin out of control -- till the script sinks beyond salvation.
Bangalore Naatkal
2016 · Hindustan Times · Feb 2016
Despite these little pools of teardrops, Bhaskar manages to keep his movie floating on a cloud of joy de vivre. The cousins have a rollicking time in Bangalore -- often forgetting their other relationships. A few twists (predictable though) later, the ends are neatly tied up, though Kanan's life appears a trifle stretched and hurried, much like in the case of Menon's version.
Thoongaavanam
2015 · Hindustan Times · Nov 2015
Thoongaavanam is eminently watchable, even if that means keeping awake for a late night show.
Vedalam
2015 · Hindustan Times · Nov 2015
At 157 minutes, Vedalam is but an Ajith Kumar show (all the way where Menon and Haasan are wasted). The man arrives with a big bang and never tires of bashing up baddies -- but now and then taking a break to cleanse society of minor evils like fooling law courts or cheating on wives. Certainly not for children, who might wonder how Phantom sprung out of their favourite comic books in such a horrifically mutated form.
Puli
2015 · Hindustan Times · Oct 2015
Certainly director-writer Chimbu Deven could have thought of something better than this juvenile romp into fantasy land.
Thani Oruvan
2015 · Hindustan Times · Aug 2015
A big flaw of Indian cinema is its tendency to stretch the script to a point where even suspension of disbelief becomes difficult. There are several such situations in Thani Oruvan which, however, gets glossed over by the life-and-death games which Mithran and Siddharth play, and till about the very end, the bad guy -- hiding behind a veneer of sophistication -- seems to get all his moves right. But then, India cinema has to follow the age-old mythological tradition of the good winning over the evil.
Orange Mittai
2015 · Hindustan Times · Aug 2015
Orange Mittai is a refreshing relief from the distressingly long and annoyingly loud and exaggerated Tamil works that one has been bombarded with in recent times. Biju Viswanath keeps his narrative -- at least most of the times -- tastefully understated.
Maari
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jul 2015
Yes, Dhanush has to guts to play a man with many shades of grey, his looks blending with the character. Perhaps, he knows that it may not be easy for him to be the conventional hero. But this is the hero the masses appear to adore, and the film cherishes and celebrates the anti-social in society -- a disturbing trend though in Tamil cinema.
Bāhubali: The Beginning
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jul 2015
Baahubali, despite its epic dimensions -- with a tendency to copy larger-than-life Hollywood heroic tales like Ben-Hur and Troy -- fails at some level to draw us into the narrative. Even one of the first scenes of a huge statue being erected with the help of slaves works in a very limited way to capture audience attention or set the mood for images of flying swords and falling boulders.
Papanasam
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jul 2015
A must watch for those fans of Kamal who have been waiting to see him as an actor -- not just a star driven to stunts -- and, of course, Gauthami, who would certainly rekindle memories of her great performances.
Inimey Ippadithan
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jun 2015
Ridden with far too many cliches and done-to-death scenes, the movie slips into a hotchpotch of theatrics, songs, dances and juvenile antics. A weak script does not help either a story which has little meat.
Kaaka Muttai
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jun 2015
The only disappointment I had with the film was its rather cliched way of reaching the finale. We have seen an innumerable times the cocky interference by television channels, the corrupt politicians and the unethical practices of businessmen. Manikandan could have devised another climax in a movie which uses subtle ways to condemn ruthless consumerism and the brazenness of celebrities in promoting products.
Masss
2015 · Hindustan Times · May 2015
Tamil cinema has been talked about because of its ability to present novel themes, but Massu Engira Masilamani turns out to be a mishmash of movies that have been seen earlier. Suriya does appear plausible in some sequences, so does Nayanthara -- but given such a storyline and script, they struggle to keep the film afloat.
Kaaki Sattai
2015 · Hindustan Times · Mar 2015
Our Bond's exploits are liberally punctuated (they have to, for this is India) by songs and dances that take place not on Chennai roads but in some of the most scenic spots on earth, making one wonder how much of the budget went into this dopey extravaganza. This is not all; there is so much of silliness and tomfoolery that Kakki Sattai begins to hang heavy on time.
I
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jan 2015
The only high point of Shankar's I (in Tamil) is Vikram's enthralling performance, first as a rustic body builder and later as a disfigured hunchback.
The Imitation Game
2015 · Hindustan Times · Jan 2015
Cumberbatch is a marvel to watch. The contrasts in him - comical when he is confronted with ordinary tasks like ordering food, and obsessive when it comes to work - are portrayed with powerful sensitivity. His inability to face the real world, the world outside his workplace, is almost heartrending. And Knightley is superb, a perfect match for Cumberbatch, demolishing the era's demeaning view of a woman's ability.
Lingaa
2014 · Hindustan Times · Dec 2014
Although, Lingaa arguably is one the better films of Rajinikanth in a long time, the actor remains a slave to his trademark mannerisms - which do not allow him to sink into the character.
Jigarthanda
2014 · Hindustan Times · Aug 2014
Jigarthanda is a failed attempt at showing stylised brutality...
Grace of Monaco
2014 · Hindustan Times · Jun 2014
Finally, if one were to see the film as a piece of fiction rather than a document of history, Grace of Monaco is a story well told, and engagingly so. It has breathtaking visuals and lovely people, and Dahan has an eye for detailing that makes his movie all the more arresting.