A bloated, hollow spectacle that wastes its cast and scale on a weak script.
Verdict tier Unfavorable, most critics didn't like it, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
Not streaming in India
Critic consensus
Critical consensus on Thugs of Hindostan is largely negative, with the vast majority of reviewers finding it a hollow, overlong disappointment that fails to justify its massive scale and star power. The film's visual presentation and grand canvas drew some acknowledgment, though several critics noted inconsistent or poor CGI. Aamir Khan's performance was the most frequently cited positive, with multiple critics singling it out as the film's sole saving grace. Common criticisms centered on a weak, formulaic screenplay, poor editing, uninspired direction by Vijay Krishna Acharya, and a bloated runtime that left audiences disengaged.
8 not-rated reviews aren't plotted
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 29 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyFrom the papers
Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated
Top critic
Film review ·
Glitzily mounted but caught between solemnity and fluffiness, Thugs of Hindostan might entertain large swathes of the audience, but it is ultimately too tacky and unconvincing to lay legitimate claims to being India's answer to Pirates of the Caribbean. It isn't even a poor copy.
Top critic
Film review ·
Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan's film is Pirates Of The Caribbean without pirates or Caribbean. It is a film so dull and unoriginal that it can only inspire the shrugs of Hindustan. Full of slow-motions sequences, director Vijay Krishna Acharya amps up the frames per second to disguise the lack of storytelling craft. Aamir's character in the film is one of his most unremarkable characters, a rogue free of charisma or cleverness, with barely a line worth remembering.
Top critic
Film review ·
Not only do you end up picking up on past films, scenes and references, you are left struggling with staleness and boredom.
Top critic
Film review ·
Aamir Khan's latest film Thugs of Hindostan had a big budget, a stellar star-cast and a huge promotional drive, but none of it culminated in a good movie. The film, directed by Vikay Krishna Acharya, fails to give the audience an engaging plot and thrilling action scenes. Here's our movie review.
Film review ·
While the first half is racy, the second half especially the climax and denouement drags a bit. Overall, this film is worth a watch for Aamir Khan's performance.
Film review ·
Painfully predictable...Bollywood star Aamir Khan is in top form as scheming rebel, it's not enough to keep
Film review ·
If you like films that are high on style and low on substance watch TOH. After all, you may not get another opportunity to watch Amitabh and Aamir in an adventure of this scale.
Film review ·
Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan's fantasy tale of retribution suffers due to mediocre execution...
Film review ·
Apart from the stray funny moments and consistently good visuals (thanks to decent CGI efforts), 'TOH' doesn't really have the punch or the thrill that is required to pull off a film of this scale. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, the film feels a little too long and that's down to the problematic editing. The grand canvas of the film does hold sway in terms of the visual experience, but at the end, this one is all show and no substance. With the mammoth expectations attached to this movie, the end experience just leaves you all at sea.
Film review ·
The humor is not always slapstick and every once in a while the action makes you sit up and watch, despite awful CGI and editing.
Film review ·
THUGS OF HINDOSTAN has some engrossing moments in the first half, that's about it. The post-interval portions are an absolute downer. The plot is formulaic, while the screenplay is riddled with cinematic liberties. At the box-office, TOH is bound to have a huge weekend thanks to the festive period coupled with tremendous hype and the impressive names involved. But once the initial euphoria settles down, it'll be difficult for the film to sustain. This one is a golden opportunity lost, a KING-SIZED DISAPPOINTMENT! Facebook CommentsUser's Comments
Film review ·
Aamir Khan and his team thugs you of your peace of mind in this senseless spectacle that crumbles under its own weight
Film review ·
hugs was promoted as the first film ever to pit him against the great Bachchan. The legendary superstar is a pale shadow here of the best he has been. Khan, on the other hand, crackles, pops and sparkles as a swashbuckling scoundrel. The writing of his character and his performance are the only reasons why Thugs of Hindostan does not turn out to be a stylishly produced but disastrously dreary repeat of Acharya's first film, Tashan. Despite all its minuses, Thugs is light-hearted fun.
Film review ·
Thugs Of Hindostan is the recreation of what we have already seen in countless number of films that too with much higher budgets.
Film review ·
Last year, Aamir Khan gave us such a wonderful Diwali gift with Secret Superstar, which was a soul-warming story of a mother-daughter duo. However, we cannot say such about Thugs of Hindostan. It was definitely not the Diwali hamper we were looking forward to.
Film review ·
After Dhoom 3, Vijay Krishna Acharya does something similar - visually brilliant but technically a sinking ship.
Film review ·
Undeniably, majestic movie experiences are created by filmmakers and in Thugs of Hindostan, Vijay Krishna Acharya makes a fatal mistake - he takes his audience for granted. No wonder, Thugs of Hindostan doesn't rise above being an absolute snoozefest
Film review ·
Fans will watch 'Thugs Of Hindostan' this weekend, as it's a festival release but when the makers could burst a sparkling bomb this Diwali they delivered a 'phuski pataka'.
Film review ·
If, post-Diwali, you are in desperate need for a deep nap, check yourself into a show of Duds of Hindostan.
Film review ·
There is hardly anything in the film that justifies the two-year wait that Aamir Khan made his fans go through. That is the problem of being a good actor with a nose for good scripts. Aamir Khan has built his reputation on good scripts. All of that is missing in his latest outing.
Film review ·
Thugs of Hindostan is all fluff and no stuff. Had the filmmakers invested the money where it mattered this movie would've been something spectacular.
Film review ·
Thugs of Hindostan is the Bollywood manifestation of Halloween – an amusing, self-gratifying but altogether pointless fancy-dress ball designed to trick audiences under the guise of treating them
Film review ·
Neither Aamir's hard-at-work whimsicality nor Amitabh Bachchan's stoic presence can salvage a second of this bloated, blundering bore.
Film review ·
Thugs of Hindostan is occasionally marred by lazy writing and uninspired direction. It is as its best in the scenes which succeed in capturing the right feelings and emotions. The film's visceral influence can best be felt in the decisive sequence wherein a major character makes a big sacrifice. Moments like this one can really define a film. Thugs of Hindostan takes giant leaps in action choreography as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. But the film's CGI & VFX is a major let down which severely hampers the viewing experience. That's precisely where the Baahubali saga beats all other Indian films hands down.
Film review ·
Aamir Khan's Film Treats Women Characters Terribly...Katrina Kaif doesn't get a single coherent line to utter in the film while Fatima Sana Shaikh plays a pirate Barbie.
Film review ·
Thugs Of Hindostan is a major disappointment. The word of mouth for the film will be bad (despite the fact that the masses may not hate it) and, therefore, collections will drop down fast and furiously after the initial euphoria dies down and after the festive and holiday period gets over. The producers, of course, may make some profits but that's more because they had sold the satellite and digital rights of the film at phenomenal prices, before the film's theatrical release. Compared to the scale, canvas and budget of the film, its box-office earnings will be a dampener.
Film review ·
Like previous works, which include Tashan and Dhoom 3, Acharya's Thugs of Hindostan is big but hollow.
Film review ·
Khan is the only one having fun in this film, but that is partly because his character is so irreverent. Everyone else is overwrought, and the run time of three hours is an ordeal. "Thugs of Hindostan" is a sinking ship, and not even Aamir Khan and his Midas touch can salvage it.
Film review ·
Aamir Khan is the saving grace in a trite, uninvolving film...Krishna Acharya's period drama, starring Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, pits a gang of rebels against the British empire.
Film review ·
Ambitious in its visual scale, 'Thugs of Hindostan' reveals a disappointing lack of heft and flair when it comes to the story and its telling
From our readers
9 ratings · user score 4.9
It was a rather sedate Saturday with hardly much to do & I couldn't have chosen a better day to watch "Thugs of Hindostan" which I was eagerly looking forward to. Though I never read reviews prior to watching any movie, a couple of my friends did mention that they werent impressed with TOH. I have to admit that it did dampen my spirits, but I was still optimistic after all Aamir rarely falters in choosing a worthy script. Withe the Super Sunday matches just a couple of hours away, will TOH prove to be a sumptous appetizer for it or will I have the same experience as my buddies??? The story unfolds in the late 18th century when the East India Company were slowly & steadily establishing themselves as rulers of India. Led by the ruthless British officer Clive (Lloyd Owen), their latest target was Raunakpur which was ruled by Mirza Sikander Baig (Ronit Roy). As the brave & proud king refused to bow before the company, his whole family was brutally murdered by Clive's men. However, Princess Safira (Fatima Sana Shaikh) was rescued by their General, Khudabaksh (Big B). As time passed by, Khudabaksh, Safira & his band of soldiers proved to be a constant headache for the British. With all their efforts to imprison Khudabaksh proving to be futile, they hatch a plot to infiltrate the former's group. They entrust the task upon the cunning Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan) in exchange for wealth. So will Firangi nail Khudabaksh or will the latter succeed in making Firangi into a worth human being??? The last time that Vijay Krishna Acharya had called the shots was for "Dhoom 3" which was close to half a decade back. Though it set the box office on fire, it didnt quite match upto the usual standards of an Aamir movie. So I was really surprised when Aamir decided to join hands with Vijay yet again, but when Big B was also roped in; it proved to be a casting coup that had everyone excited. Unfortunately that was the only thing that Vijay managed to do enthrall the audience with as his script & screenplay was mediocre. Apart from the fact that the characters & template of the movie looked heavily inspired from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series such as Firangi/Jack Sparrow, Khudabaksh/Barbossa etc, the story just didnt have anything worthwhile that would have made it unique. On the technical side, the film definitely looked grand & kudos to Manush Nandan for the stunning visuals. Even the action sequences were pretty impressive while John Stewart did a praise worthy job with the BGM especially the one used for Firangi while there was another score which seemed like inspired from "Avengers: Infinity War". The same cant be said for Ritesh Soni whose editing was far from ideal while Ajay-Atul's music was average. Despite the pedestrian script, I felt Aamir did a fine job as the duplicitous Firangi who goes all out with his whacky mannerisms which is endearing for most parts. Big B had a rather stiff character to portray but he did utmost justice to it though it wasnt a challenging role for a person of his caliber. As for the rest, Lloyd Owen was ok, Fatima Sheikh wasnt quite upto the mark, Katrina didnt have much to do apart from groove while Mohammed Ayyub was wasted. Verdict: After a record breaking initial of more than 50 C, it has since then been on a steady slide which was understandable after all the movie was well short of expectations. This was one of those rare movies where Aamir's judgement of the script had faltered & a classic movie from two of the finest actors in Bollywood was denied to the audience. Hopefully we will get to see them paired up again in a much better movie. But until then, it's better not to be bothered by this mundane flick!!! Rating: 1.75/5 Regards...Ben
Bahut kharab movie hai, aamir khan ki aek bhi movie aesi nhi hai,kya aamir ne movie dekhi
wonderful cinematography. very good script but predictable. i loved it. cast is very good n done their job.
More than anger it is the emotion of sadness that Vijay Krishna Acharya's hat-trick disaster epic period drama Thugs of Hindostan drives in me, watching thespians like Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan resort to tomfoolery and idiocy in the middle of a self-proclaimed freedom fight in the late 1700s whose shaky plot is, as a whole, as restricted as the number of expressions on the faces of the leading ladies, Fatima Shaikh and Katrina Kaif. TN.
Watched thrice in cinema, different and pesa wasool movie, everyone was good but...Amir Khan is Amir Khan Fantastic job, greatttt efforts Background music, cinematography, fight scenes, everything is superb If i got chance, i will watch again in cinema :-)
Does Vijay Krishna Acharya still suffer from high-on-action syndrome with bend-the-clichés in a bad way after Dhoom 3? Ofcourse. But why make a genuinely insufferable, depressingly disappointing film with Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Zeeshan Ayyub and Fatima Sana Sheikh? Why not employ a writer to pull off a real script for a right story? Well, the only achievement of the film is its promotional drive.
Credits
Amitabh BachchanKhudabaksh Azaad
Aamir KhanFirangi Mallah
Katrina KaifSuraiyya
Fatima Sana ShaikhZafira
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
Lloyd OwenJohn Clive
Abdul Quadir AminAzhar Ali
Ronit Roy
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