It’s clear the film has its heart in the right place but the blatant pandering gets tiresome. Akshay Kumar brings just the right amount of levity and Bhumi Pednekar shines. It’s the sloppy writing that is the culprit here. Toilet Ek Prem Katha had potential but it’s only sporadically entertaining.

Shah Rukh Khan breathes life into a character that could so easily have been a turn-off. His performance is one of the film’s few strengths. Despite the baffling, contradictory nature of Sejal, Anushka Sharma works hard to imbue her with genuine feeling. The two actors deserved a better film, and so did we.

Shah Rukh Khan breathes life into a character that could so easily have been a turn-off. His performance is one of the film’s few strengths. Despite the baffling, contradictory nature of Sejal, Anushka Sharma works hard to imbue her with genuine feeling. The two actors deserved a better film, and so did we.

Indu Sarkar is at best an average movie. It’s the cinematic equivalent to one of those training manuals…think The Emergency for Dummies.

In the end the film is the same old comedy of errors that we’ve seen so many times before. Anil Kapoor is the secret sauce of Mubarakan whose incredible timing uplifts many a dull patch. But the film is unmistakably indulgent and over-long and could’ve done with some serious pruning. Right now it works only in fits and starts. You’ll laugh, but not throughout. Let’s just say it falls somewhere in the middle on a scale of Ready to No Entry.

It’s a disappointment, no question about it, from a team capable of so much more.

Mom is a far from perfect film, but it’s never boring. Sridevi’s terrific turn makes up for many of the script problems. I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five.

It’s a crushing disappointment on all counts…

This is the kind of movie that film critics must endure so you don’t have to.

Despite its shortcomings, the film is never unwatchable and benefits enormously from a winning performance by Irrfan Khan who makes his every moment on screen count. From his hilarious wooing of a mother-daughter pair of potential customers at his shop in the film’s first half to his earnest amends on discovering his conscience late into the final act, he has you eating out of his palm. For Irrfan alone, Hindi Medium may be worth a watch.