Delightful, with a peppy, folksy punch… Vishal Bhardwaj’s direction and writing are superlative.

At least on face value, mining history for past glories seems to be a pathetic exercise in assuaging low-self esteem. But the manthan, churning that India is currently in the throes of is beginning to yield some very interesting, very political stories.

That two of these, in 2018 alone, have been helmed so well by women — Raazi by Meghna Gulzar and Kagti’s Gold — gives me hope.

And as I walked away from Mulk, marvelling at its crackling drama, high emotional quotient, its gritty appeal, whistle-worthy dialogues and politics, after a long time I doffed my hat to Bollywood.

Because when mainstream Bollywood begins to get it right, when it finds the strength to articulate what’s right and wrong in a way that sits with audiences for a long time, there is hope.

What doesn’t really work here is a somewhat sloppy second half where the plot digresses unnecessarily, with a predictable ending. Also, the character arc of the main antagonist is neither well explained nor deep enough. These shortcomings prevent the movie from being a masterpiece. However, Fallout is a slick action fun with lots to enjoy. And as expected, Tom Cruise really raises the bar of action with this. So if you like thrillers, Fallout is your wet dream.

Watch Beyond the Clouds for Ishaan, watch it for Sharada, and watch it for those flamingos and Chhotu’s little rat.

October is about love, of course. But more than that, it’s about the inevitable grief that love leads to.

Hichki mainstreams and normalises a condition — a mechanical locha, so to speak — in a way I haven’t seen done often.

It adds a nice layer to the plot of Mukkabaaz, a film that scores very high on politics, but one that can barely contain the incredible performance of its lead actor, Vineet Kumar Singh.

A standout film with a medieval, moral soul…

Ittefaq entrusts all its cracking scenes and lines to an efficient ensemble of actors.