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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

Truly, with just some more fluency in the dramaturgy and less self-indulgent pacing, ‘Lootera’ would have been unforgettable, deserving of an unconditional two, instead of a one thumbs up.