I was here to see if Govinda’s daughter, whose debut this is, had the same zany gene in her. And to see how Gippy Grewal, Punjabi star, would fare in his first Bollywood outing. Within the first few scenes, it was clear that Tina Ahuja was a no-hoper. And that Grewal should go right back to doing what he does best.

…the movie is fashioned as a jaunty ride through Jatland, a theme currently all the rage in Bollywood. Kapoor demonstrates a growing assuredness, which is clear in the robust, cracking portions of the film: all he now needs is a solid hole-less plot with lines to match.

‘Killa’ is about a boy. Have you been one? Have you attempted to make sense of a world that makes very little sense, after your father passes away, leaving your mother alone? How do you go? Whose shoes do you fill? Whose footsteps do you follow? Avinash Arun’s National-award winning directorial debut is about that boy in this movie, but it could just as well be any of us, because those are questions we all grapple with when it comes to growing past, growing up.

This could have been a sharp black comedy with a strong sense of place , mining its superb absurdist premise : at one point, you are actually gifted the real meaning of that hoary expression ‘gayi bhains paani mein’. That is laugh-out-loud funny. You wish the rest of it was the same.

It is a life lesson, for eleven year-olds-going –on-twelve. And for the rest of us, at whatever age we may be at.

Much of ‘ABCD2′ is inspired by real life: a Mumbai group made it to the world hip-hop championships a few years ago under tough circumstances. The film sets out to prove that all of us can do with second chances, and that Indians can do hip-hop as well as the rest of the world (which we can easily believe given the astonishing degree of expertise we see on our reality shows) But a dance movie needs to electrify. That’s missing: all the I-love-my-India drippiness overwhelms the choreography. And why is it so long? It just goes on and on.

It purports to be an unusual triangle, and perhaps on paper, it may have come off as one. But this is a shockingly empty film, with the entire cast desperately ‘acting away’, and not one sentiment that feels real.

Given his early track-record of creating engaging drama, Mohit Suri should have made a full meal of the film, but his material defeats him: it is not only half done, it’s also not well begun.

High-society hi-jinks on the high seas. This, in short, is what ‘Dil Dhakakne Do’ comes off as primarily, even if there are multiple straining-for-depth strands in it. Of creeping middle-age and dwindling love. Of gender imbalance caused by dominant males, and the making of submissive women. Of lineage and privilege and position. Of life lessons from the wisest of them all, a dog named Pluto.

When the gags are flowing apace, and there some good ones in here, ‘Welcome 2 Karachi’ keeps ticking. I found myself flagging when the pace dipped, especially in the second half. But overall it is all good-natured and appropriately silly, so ‘Welcome 2 Karachi’ stays watchable. And it manages to end on a hilarious note, sending us out laughing. For a comedy, that’s a win.

The desire to be a traditional Bollywood hero continues to be the bane of all new-comers, even those who are star-sons, and not really new comers. Mahaakshay returns in a badly-written romance, which makes you wonder why anyone would want to repeat the same mistakes: ‘Ishqedarriyan’ features the age-old triangle of rich boy- poor girl- and third party, in a leaden plot that never takes off.