Was this meant to be a political awakening for two city-bred well-off ignorant-about-real-India young people? It would have been terrific if the plot had known what to make of it. But this is a story which ricochets from one awful point to another, involving the `ladka’ and `ladki’’s parents and extended families, and the `ladka’ and `ladki’ hurling themselves at each other’s throats, before getting back to more tender body parts.

‘Bobby Jasoos’ works till the time Vidya Balan gets to lead from the front: the courtship with her reluctant suitor is one of the high points of the film. But I wish this amiable, light-hearted yarn had more ‘zaika’ and ‘tadka’. And the songs are strictly unnecessary and uninteresting. Post-interval, the surprises leachout. So does the fun.

So it’s no surprise that the plot is besides the point. Like the previous ones, this latest is all about the noise that Bay can generate, and he is Hollywood’s biggest detonator, no contest. The endless car chases, explosions, crumbling buildings, are all tricked out at ear-shattering decibels. As is the main act of the robots transforming from cars to trucks to bots and back again, while getting down and dirty. Good for you if you like that sort of thing, and I am reliably told that there are enough fans of the franchise to line up for fresh installments, even if it is basically more of the same.

Sidharth Malhotra is watchable, he just seems so nice and wholesome all the time. It is Riteish Deshmukh who sweeps the stakes.

Suri is an innate story-teller, and can keep things moving. All he needs is a strong, all-the-way credible, original plot.

I am all for political incorrectness. Silliness can be great fun. But brainless doesn’t have to translate to brain-dead, when it is done with smarts. ‘Humshakals’ has zero. Even in his really terrible moments, Sajid has managed to come up with one laugh out loud moment. Or two. Here there are none.

‘F*UGLY* begins with a hint of promise, and it could have gone down some paths less travelled. But it meanders, and loses its way.

The tight focus on these two worlds leaves out the other Indias that may not be confined to the single-minded rigour of either camp, beauty or Durga Vahini. There are not just two Indias, as a doyenne in the beauty business and at one time such a popular TV face, declares. There are many more. What choices do the girls who live in those other Indias have? Do they have any at all?

There are a few enjoyable moments in ‘Filmistaan’, but the potential is never fully realized.

‘Holiday’, the official remake of the monster Tamil hit ‘Thuppaki’, gives Akshay Kumar a chance to return to full combat mode. He plays a patriotic soldier willing to stretch a few rules in the line of duty, whether it is wielding sharp shears on a suspect’s finger, or shooting bad guys point blank. Till he’s going bang bang, he’s all right; the moment he gets romancing and joshing, he slides. So does the film.

Mehta does well with generating dread and creating a couple of surprising curves, which almost overcomes some of the plot’s uneven arcs. The songs nearly ruined the film for me, but ‘Citylights’ gives us pause. And an actor who makes us believe, all the way.