This is the kind of movie which will sharply divide audiences. And that’s as it should be. Once I began seeing it as the murmurings of a different mind, I bought it as a caper, as burlesque, where nothing is as it is. I had problems with some of it, but I really liked the rest of it.

Article 15 may have an unsatisfactory element or two, but as a film, it rushes in to tread forgotten grounds. It is what is needed, call it what you will– a clarion call, a bugle, a shout-out.

Akshay Kumar is the film. And he pulls it off, keeping that ‘Kesari’ pagdi aloft right till the end, delivering thundering speeches, and keeping his men’s morale up. His Ishar Singh is inhabited and convincing, and it helps that his Punjabi accent is completely on point.

Badla, an official remake of a Spanish murder mystery, pulls off a mostly gripping whodunit, something Bollywood rarely manages.

…this is a film to enjoy, both in the seeing, and in the hearing: the soundtrack and the ‘songs’ leap off the screen. In today’s India, to bring a Murad and Safeena, their Muslim-ness a matter-of-fact statement, into centre-stage, to give traction to those who live on the wrong side of the tracks, is an act of bravery. I’ll take them any day over an overused Raj-and-Raveena. ‘Inka time aa gaya’. Rap along.

Debutant director Rahi Anil Barve has a distinct voice. Tumbbad is a gorgeous looking, intriguing morality tale which both entrances and repulses: it’s not something I will forget.

Tabu is marvelous, Sriram Raghavan finally having created a fitting role for this uber-talented actress, whom we really should be seeing much more of. Ayushmann Khurrana is wonderful, too, sinking into his part.

The girls in Pataakha take some getting used to: you have to suspend disbelief to take these dusty, filthy-mouthed sisters seriously. But once they start settling into their roles, you cross a hump

Any film that does not demonize, that talks of peace and brotherhood, in these dark, cynical times, is to be lauded. Mulk is Anubhav Sinha’s best film, and it concerns us all.

The four ‘veeres’, Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor), Avni (Sonam Kapoor Ahuja), Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar) and Meera (Shikha Talsania)—are a solid bunch despite their riches and girlish squeals and their entitled troubles.