Bose made his directorial debut with a reasonably fine, ‘Everybody Says I’m Fine’ (2001), a seriously upper-class South Bombay English movie with a touch of magic realism. This one could have well been in Telugu. It may be diametrically opposite to his debut. But delivered with much subtly, empathy, and remarkable restraint. Or as they say, on the Internet, delivered #LikeABose!

Pandey has written this prequel, split into two totally separate films. And to be fair when the movie does cut to the chase eventually, to chase down the villain, some of the thrills do kick in. Sadly you’ve polished off your popcorn tub already, taking in the corniness until that point, while your head spins in circles in this pointless spin-off, listening to the zany ‘Zubi zubi zubi’ number from Mithun’s ‘Dance Dance’ (1987), and so much else.

That ‘Trapped’ manages to grippingly hold your attention with such an underwhelming setting is an achievement in itself. That it could invade your senses makes it worth every minute, without any break, in the theatre.

Both the Shashank Khaitan movie and Varun Dhawan’s character have very few redeeming features. This seems like a film from the ’90s. In the ’90s, of course, one could get away with all kinds of stuff. Maybe, even now you can after all the lead actors look so effortless and easygoing on screen

This thoroughly absorbing film delves deeper to give this child a story, a name, and a face. This India portion, at least in the version I watched, has been shot in Hindi. Which is a huge relief, if you were expecting basic modicum of respect for authenticity in a film based on a true-life account — Saroo Brierley’s non-fiction novel A Long Way Home — about a 5-year-old who accidentally gets separated from his mother, a quarry worker (Priyanka Bose; outstanding!), and his brother, to find himself eventually adopted by white parents in Australia.

So yeah, this is also very much a musical. As you can sense, too many things have been mixed into one film. But attempted with eye-popping chutzpah. Over years, it’s another matter if you’ve liked all his movies or not, what you have to credit Bhardwaj for is sheer audacity, and flight of imagination. He takes a chance. Even when granted full indulgence, he’s been respectful of the mainstream audience’s intelligence, if not always their time. ‘Rangoon’ is not an exception.

Yup, you don’t take your eyes off the screen. The production design appears exceptional, because it’s unexpected. We don’t make such movies in India, even while we’ve been watching such from the West since forever.

Akshay Kumar’s performance as Jolly can be termed his finest yet. This one captures UP in all its notorious glory, with goons, and guns and is far more of a court-room drama, packaged as social satire, with comedy that’s subtly situational, rather than classic LOL stand-up stuff

This is the sort of desi exotica—starring snake charmers, and the great Indian rope trick—that you would imagine featuring in a film with the Brit James Bond, or the American Indiana Jones, back in the ’80s/’90s. Except, this is a joint Indo-Chinese production.

There is a lot of realism missing in what’s supposed to be a gritty thriller. Locations seem semi-fake. In portions, the film itself appears slightly cold, and thoda sa plastic.
But if you were to keep your eyes glued to the screen and follow the blind man’s graphite walking stick right down to the picture’s climax, I’m fairly certain you won’t be disappointed. Yeah, it is, for the most part, kaabil-e-tareef!