…rolls out like a play or a social commentary with staged events (often over-stretched) that result in an abrupt narrative. The stark portrayal of bare-faced reality (devoid of background music) with a cast of commoners – gives it a docu-drama flavour. ‘DTD’ is ‘grave’ alright, but offers hilarity in decent doses.

Tiwari’s sequel sets off with a lot of promise, entertainment, laughs and endearing camaraderie between a bhooth and a boy. The first-half has wittily written scenes – strung with satire and emotion, but the story slowly turns into a tedious vocational course on voting. The preaching distracts from some superb performances and inadvertently loses humour, but the story does have its heart in the right place. ‘BN’ makes a comeback at a perfect time – bang on with our Indian elections, and packs a powerful message, albeit with potholes in the plot.

‘Jal’ captures the bare beauty of the golden cracked earth and its tortuous tapestry in artfully mounted frames (cinematography: Sunita Radia). It’s a picture-perfect album with stark sights and parched souls. The story is stirring, handling several complex issues in the same breath, and yes, that does leave us a bit thirsty. It also needs a better edit. There are over-dramatized scenes (Bakka dragged across the desert) to enhance visual impact, but the solid performances and soundtrack make up for it.

Afzal’s ‘Youngistaan’ at the core is an interesting idea, far-fetched, but refreshing. The love-story develops tenderly, but the political backdrop and ensuing drama is not crafted with clarity. The story suffers from uninspiring dialogues, with a stretched climax. It’s a well-intentioned drama which vibes with the current political scenario and upcoming elections.

Lakshmi’s story makes your heart bleed. If you have the courage, watch it.

We wish Kukunoor had focused more on her spirit and triumph – our experience would’ve been more fulfilling, less overbearing. Shefali is brilliant, debutant Monali expresses with her beautiful eyes. Kapoor and Kaushik are average and Nagesh doesn’t push his performance too far.

For horror-buffs this might not be ‘spookilicious’ enough, but those looking for a ‘sun-sunny’ weekend, go lap it up!

…has its khoobiyaan but mostly it has majbooriyaan where the story is concerned. It tells you not to overspend. Yet the script is not as ‘penny wise’, gettit?

Like a cold, cloudy morning in London, this one leaves you with more gloom than glee.

Single or married, this film will have more of a ‘special effect’ than ‘side effect’ on you.

Vidya is brilliant and hits a high note in the emotional scenes. The film belongs to Farhan who stuns you with his straight-faced witticisms and plethora of expressions that amuse and move dramatically.

Debutante Devika’s concept might look good on paper, but onscreen it dissipates like diarrhoea. Strung with a few laughable scenes, it scrambles around with too many plots crafted like episodic sitcoms. It intends to reflect the psyche of the ‘wuzdat’ generation but quickly crumbles like an out-of-love, casual sex relationship. Abhay is good in his part, but after his super performance in ‘Raanjhanaa’ he’s not at his peak here.