This film’s inoffensive unoriginality is a reminder that Hollywood willfully abets the tired landscape by churning out a dozen identical sequels

You can sense the makers’ hearts breaking, as they dig deeper and harder into a world none of us wish we knew about. They’re enjoying expressing themselves, but this isn’t the kind of achievement they can shout out from rooftops about – much like a bittersweet, guilt-tinged victory over your best friend in a tournament final. It feels a bit unfair that its artistic merit may forever be transcended by the sheer heft and consequences of its subject.

Eventually, ‘Waiting’ serves a calm and dignified reminder of how the act itself is anything but. It is a fine little film about love, and a kind of anguish that has its own little quirks and half-smiles.

An immersive rural tragicomedy built on loops of oppression…

The makers show considerable restraint with their film. It may be a story about hypocrisy, sexuality, intolerance, “coming out” and various relevant causes. But they will do well to remember that, first and foremost, Aligarh is a dignified account of two men who became necessary to each other – before the world (and the jowls of politics and Bollywood) consumed both, the movie, and its inhabitants.

Neerja isn’t a movie I want to look back on and think about. I suspect it’s meant to be felt – and reacted to – in real time. It doesn’t matter if I discover tiny mistakes later. I feel shaken, and moved, and inspired right now. And occasionally, the first feeling while walking out the hall is the only analysis required, and the only instinct that matters.

Make no mistake – this film could only have been about Indian women. It lays bare their inherent battles without being too gimmicky, pretentious or offering immediate solutions.

Certain classics, novel and inventive, because of the eras they occupy, don’t need to be remade or franchised with similar strokes. Unless one redefines the grammar of its genre (‘Mad Max: Fury Road’), it makes no sense; like building the Titanic again and promising passengers a whiter iceberg. Even Indominus, a fair-complexioned creature who takes forward recent female-centric themes, would much rather stay in test tubes. While the nostalgic child in me is curious, the adult in me is disappointed.

Many Indians leave in search of a better life, convinced that a dollarwielding pauper is more respectable than a rupee-wielding pauper.

Surkhaab exposes their naivety, albeit with dignity, despite an awry third act that threatens to dilute the strength of its hero. As a frustrated Kuldeep wryly notes, Jeet eventually lives up to her name. In a way, this film does too.

Unlike its cagey titular character, Piku is a film that’s hard to dislike. It is structured as a journey that relies, at times forcibly, on the relatable nature of its protagonists. The music feels like a warm breeze, worldviews and personalities seem familiar, and the quiet final minutes reiterate the circular motion of life.