Top critic
Deccan Chronicle, Hindustan Times, Asian Age, Bollywood Journalist+1 more
Reviewing since 2013 · Last review Nov 2015
Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the Hindustan Times and was the lead editor for Filmfare magazine. He is the son of Hindi film actress Zubeida Begum, on whose life he wrote the screenplay of Shyam Benegal's 2001 film, Zubeidaa.
Films
Scoring fingerprint
47 scored reviews · 0–10
Most given: 4 (14 reviews)
In step with the room
Within a point of the Monk Score on 57% of 46 films
Closest peer
Agrees with Khalid on 92% of 23 shared films
Divergence
From the archive
Post-intermission, the pace drags till you start reciting your prayers. Please lord, do prompt Luthria to avoid that predictable ending, please, please. Alas, your prayers go unanswered. Similarly, you keep praying that writer Rajat Arora would quit making ACP Wilson from talking like a modern-day Mirza Ghalib. But no, he uses Urdu words (pukhta, mashbara) and showers metaphors constantly. Honestly, he could rival Gulzarji.
Full review ↗TRM 5.6−1.6
It's fun without ever being preachy or pretentious. In fact, it's just delirious, wagging its tale away like one of those stolen poms. Ha ha OK Please.
Full review ↗TRM 6.1+0.9
Welcome to Bhansalipur. Here you can find the Arc de Triomphe of Paris, the gondolas of Venice, the haveli-like homes of Lucknow or Badlucknow, the carpet-dust alleys of Morocco, a bridge from Lucino Visconti's Safed Raatein, a bordello from Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge, and last but not the least, R K studio of Chembur. Saawariya, sad to say, is worthy of being sent off to the snowy scapes of Siberia...
Full review ↗TRM 4.5−0.5
Want to celebrate the crunch-popcorn-Manmohan Desai movies of yore? Then you've come to the right place. Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om is dedicated to the imperishable magic of the movies. Flog them or fume over them, but nothing compares to those tickets which make fantasies real. Mmm, that's entertainment.
Full review ↗TRM 6.5+1.5
Debutante Anushka Sharma is assured and upright but you wouldn't kill to eat paani puris with her, the way Suri-cum-Raj does. Incontestably, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is an SRK show. The end credits with snapshots is a delight, don't miss them. The actor sends you home with a smile and a tear. So, here's a must-grab-ticket to SRK.
Full review ↗TRM 5.8+1.2
Of the cast, none of the supporting performances is worth a wow. Shahid Kapur is boyish charm personified and tackles difficult scenes with maturity. Kareena Kapoor is outstanding. She handles mood swings – from the narcissistic to the self-effacing – with spontaneity. Yup, there is a chemistry. Jab We Saw, We Liked. Worth a trip.
Full review ↗TRM 7.0−1.0
The kind of feel-nice summer movie I haven't chanced upon in many suns. Occasionally cheesy, yes. Foreseeable, a gigantic YES. Yet it had me engrossed, smiling and guffawing.
Full review ↗TRM 5.9+2.1
Ponderous enough to encourage a snooze but also with its rewarding side-effects. Needless to emphasise, Veera lingers on in the memory. And Alia Bhatt's performance is nothing short of extraordinary, especially her solo stanzas of dialogue, executed in long takes.
Full review ↗TRM 6.3−0.3
The cinematography, the minimalist music score, costumes and set décor are in sync with the dramaturgy, consistently, Thedore's shirts and jackets being thoroughly retro-chic. Don't think twice, Her is the ticket of the week.
Full review ↗TRM 7.7+0.3
All said and watched, with all its highs and lows, 'Hasee Toh Phasee' is a mirth-see for its strongest factor: Ms Chopra.
Full review ↗TRM 6.1−0.1
All said and endured, here's the sort of average product which is immune to criticism. Say anything you honestly feel, down the decades it has been huffed – so what? That doesn't make a jot of a difference. Correct. However, that doesn't mean you can't express your take. You may be in a minority of one or two, but you can't help feeling that Salman Khan, like most of his peers, could do with immediate re-invention. Repetition and excess can sell. Unpleasant question: but for how long?
Full review ↗TRM 5.2−1.2
TRM 6.3−2.3
Replete with florid dialogue and competent performances, too, the sequel to Ishqiya (2010) is good to put it plainly, but not quite in the class of the outstanding first edition which was free of, for want of a better word, snafus. Moreover, the earlier femme fatale played by fierce fervour by Vidya Balan, is sorely missed.
Full review ↗TRM 7.4−1.4
...isn't likely to catch any sane viewer's fancy. It's best deleted as two hours misspent.
Full review ↗TRM 2.5−0.5
Frankly, it's irresistible. Whether you love or loathe Hollywood's downpour of science fiction extravaganzas, this take on the shape of things to come possesses that George Orwellian kind of undertow.
Full review ↗TRM 7.0+1.0
Whatever the entertainment value of writer-director Neeraj Pandey's 'Special 26' may be, it glorifies crime to an intolerable extent. Although based loosely on the daring, unsolved heist at Mumbai's Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri jewellery shop in 1987, the screenplay has far too many loose ends, besides encouraging the thought that crime pays.
Full review ↗TRM 6.7−1.7
Abhishek Kapoor had dealt with a friends-turned-foes quartet in the excellent 'Rock On!' Now he's back to the traditional square three with 'Kai Po Che,' which does have its passages of superior cinema – particularly in the shot takings, ethnic chic costumes, sets and locations – but in its entirety, strikes you as shallow and schematic. Thanks to the three fast-rising actors, technical finesse and some engagingly directed vignettes, 'Kai Po Che' is a cut above the commonplace. It's good but with a touch of depth, it could have been wow.
Full review ↗TRM 7.4−1.4
Tigmanshu Dhulia is best when he opts for content drawn for reality instead of flying off into an absurd land where everyone detests one another with a vengeance. Thodasa control kijiye, brother! Make cinema, not bullets.
Full review ↗TRM 5.1−1.1
Snag is that both in the writing and the direction, the topic doesn't move beyond mouthing the age-old cliches. Which is why 'Singh Saab the Great' leaves you stone cold, despite all that oil, fire and brimstone. Worth a skip.
Full review ↗TRM 4.7−0.7
Bhaag, people, bhaag, far away from this kotha woman. She and every geek, goblin and goblin surrounding her in this travesty may compel you to gnash your teeth, cry out loud and curse yourself for having ventured into this absurd geegaw, that could well qualify for the award of the Worst Film of the Year.
Full review ↗TRM 2.7−0.7
However, it's Deepika Padukone whom the film belongs to. Looking drop dead gorgeous and going at her part with a wallop, she's the prime asset of 'Ram-Leela'. Eminently worth a dekko.
Full review ↗TRM 6.4+0.6
...you're subjected to one quick scene after quicker scene, jumping around like a mob of kangaroos. Result: you come out blank.
Full review ↗TRM 5.2−1.2
TRM 7.4+0.6
Throughout, direction-wise Kashyap appears to be hell-bent on making a statement – that masala is all that matters. A measure of control could have been exercised, though, especially during the finale which stretches on till kingdom come. Redeemingly, the end-credit titles are a zinger.
Full review ↗TRM 4.0+2.0
The tortoise-paced temp, the absolutely bizarre finale, and the unconvincing performances (save for the impressive Manjari Phadnis as Lady Romantic) compel you to rush out from the auditorium and drown --your sorrows in drink.
Full review ↗TRM 3.8−1.8
What stays in the mind at the end of 'The Lunchbox' is pretty much what stays in mind at the end of a memorable set by jazzmen – not their lapses but the heights they scale. Bottomline: Bon appetit! Miss this sumptuous movie, at your own peril.
Full review ↗TRM 8.4−0.4
Bullets fly every few seconds. By the end, it's impossible to count how many people have died; it's much easier to count who's still alive.
Full review ↗TRM 5.5
'John Day' can't be described as an admirable work. It is certainly not meant for the squeamish or the 'Chennai Express' constituency. Yet, neither is it dismissable as an average, formula thriller. It has it engaging moments. And of course, Mr Shah to remind you that acting can save the day, 'John Day'.
Full review ↗TRM 4.2+1.8
Unsolicited suggestion: Don't miss it for Ms Chopra and for the feisty first half. Post-break, you can catch 40, even 400 winks in your seat.
Full review ↗TRM 6.2−0.2
Without a doubt, Prakash Jha -- a perennial political complaint box -- offers nothing new either by way of content or style. How you'd like insights and information, from him, which you don't know already. That would amount to excellent cinema, and not just one more star-fuelled trip into a political void. Suggestion: avoid.
Full review ↗TRM 5.2−1.2
TRM 6.8−1.8
Designed as a take on a love story between a real-life don, a real-life starlet and a real-life kabab mein haddi, the outcome is as remote from reality as Earth is from Venus and Mars.
Full review ↗TRM 4.6−0.6
He's on a high, jumping-jackflashin', jibing and jousting, picking up a sickle as if it was bottled pickle, all in a desperate bid to tickle your funny bone. Sorry, except for a few stray laugh-out-loudish moments, here's a bad trip. Shah Rukh Khan springs no surprises, re-rendering every old trick in the acting book. Indeed, it's disheartening to see him overact. Gratifyingly, Deepika Padukone sparkles: consistently radiant and restrained in the mayhem.
Full review ↗TRM 5.3−0.3
In sum, here's a work which is permissive, graphic – even shocking (for the squeamish) - and rule-breaking. In fact, it recalls the manner is which B R Ishara had sniped away at hypocritical sexual mores back in the 1970s. This is adult cinema, neither cheap nor sniggering, but revelatory of reality behind closed doors. Try it.
Full review ↗TRM 6.3+1.7
TRM 3.4+0.6
TRM 3.7+0.3
Forget all the artsy-tartsy prejudices about Ship of Theseus. Here are three stories well told, signifying independent cinema's coming of age.
Full review ↗TRM 8.00.0
'Lootera' looks splendid, and despite the languorous tempo, you're steadily drawn into a world where it was still feasible to fall in love at first sight. All the pros and cons considered, here's a commendable labour of love, enhanced by Amit Trivedi's music score. And once again, the director extracts impressive performances. Barun Chanda as the zamindar is believable. Ranveer Singh, using a subdued manner of dialogue pitch, is kept on a tight leash, leading to a correctly restrained performance. Sonakshi Sinha exudes sincerity and is convincing, especially when she dispenses with make-up and any traces of glamour.
Full review ↗TRM 7.1−1.1
Put on your patience caps for three hours, and try it. There's enough bang for the bucks here.
Full review ↗TRM 6.6+0.4
Dhanush, overeager and hyperactive, is appealing when called upon to do scenes of some seriousness and sobriety. But it's Heer whom the film belongs to. Projecting vulnerability as well as steely resolve, Sonam Kapoor carries out her age graph sensitively and belts out her most mature performance yet. Just for her, go for it.
Full review ↗TRM 6.5−0.5
With all its pluses and minuses, 'Man of Steel', is a fairly satisfying entertainer, complete with 3-D gimmickry. And it has sufficient star clout: Russell Crowe as Papa Superman is reliably impressive, delivering the most mundane lines of dialogue with a Shakespearean flourish. Kevin Costner is excellent. Michael Shannon oozes menace as all impactful superfoes should. And the British actor, Henry Cavill, fits the bill with his body-beautiful screen presence.
Full review ↗TRM 5.8+0.2
Just a small recommendation for speed flick buffs: beg, borrow or steal DVDS of Howard Hawks's Red Line 7000 (1965)and John Frankheimer's Grand Prix (1965) . The Fast and Furious series pale by comparison to them, despite the new millennium's technical haberdashery.
Full review ↗TRM 5.7−0.7
The heroine of Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, is in fact, two movies for the price of one. And just in case that isn't sufficient, Ms Madhuri Dixit shows up to perform an item number
Full review ↗TRM 5.9+0.1
'Bombay Talkies' is made by four directors who don't seem to be on speaking terms with each other. Their films don't hand the baton to the next one. Each one dwells in its own universe, gyrating mostly on the director's pet peeve.
Full review ↗TRM 6.7−0.7
Indeed, here's so much plotting and planning going yawn, that you lose track of what's going on in the cauldron of political ambitions and quickie sex.
Full review ↗TRM 6.5−1.5
Conceptually alas, this globe-trotting enterprise is a non-non, bereft of a substantial storyline, and so excessively dedicated to its producer-cum-heroine showing off a range of casual chic costumes, that it ends up looking like an extended photo-session.
Full review ↗TRM 4.5−0.5
Apart from the all-too-contrived screenplay – really, how much dramatic licence can you grant irrelevant flashbacks? – Nair's tiresomely tangled film articulates too little and too late.
Full review ↗TRM 6.2−2.2
