Dhaakad movie review: Kangana Ranaut tries a Lara Croft in a dull, embarrassingly derivative, grossly violent saga
Dhaakad is marred by extremely violent scenes, vacuous writing, dull direction and is boring-as-hell
Kabir Khan Director’s Cut: On Ranveer Singh, patriotism without chest-thumping in 83, the ‘Madrasi’ stereotype, and Bajrangi 2
"You don’t need to always have a counterpoint or a villain to express your patriotism," says Kabir Khan.
Puzhu movie review: Mammootty’s electrifying portrait of a bigot’s persecution complex eclipses a mishandled climax
Puzhu’s flaws cannot be taken lightly, yet the film is stunning for so many reasons, making Ratheena one of the most significant voices to emerge from Indian cinema in recent years.
Makal movie review: Meera Jasmine and Jayaram’s warmth keeps this simplistic family saga afloat
Makal struggles despite its endearing cast and the enduring charm of Anthikad’s observational, slice-of-life approach to filmmaking.
Thar movie review: Anil Kapoor and the atmospherics make it work
Anil Kapoor's quiet charisma and innate appeal keep the film going even when its writing enters shallow waters.
Kaun Pravin Tambe? movie review: Engaging cricket drama based on an inspiring true story
Few Indian actors are as qualified to take on Pravin Tambe’s biopic as the Hindi-Marathi star Shreyas Talpade who first attracted the national spotlight playing a deaf-mute cricketer in Nagesh Kukunoor’s 2005 film Iqbal.
Sharmaji Namkeen movie review: Rishi Kapoor’s endearing swan song is thankfully not a Baghban Redux
The single-role-divided-between-two-actors experiment is perfectly sewed by the naturalism in Hitesh Bhatia’s storytelling, and the decision not to overtly manipulate our emotions either
Lalitham Sundaram movie review: Manju Warrier, Biju Menon’s charisma cannot cloak this film’s descent into conservatism
Lalitham Sundaram is beset by confusion over what it wants to say, further exacerbated by its unimaginative story and storytelling
Jalsa movie review: Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah light up a story of class, happenstance and the human conscience
Half the battle for Jalsa was won when Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah were roped in to share screen space.
Naradan movie review: Tovino Thomas, Anna Ben land a slap on the face of India’s fake-news-peddling media
Naradan is an enormously significant, thought-provoking film, and Tovino Thomas' performance as a high-profile news anchor is a tour de force.
Gangubai Kathiawadi movie review: Alia Bhatt is luminous as Bhansali’s narrative rises, shines, dips, sinks and rises again
Alia Bhatt’s screen presence and performance hold up Gangubai Kathiawadi even when Sanjay Leela Bhansali succumbs to his life-long temptation to pat, primp and pretty up the grubbiest settings in his films.
Bro Daddy movie review: Mohanlal and Prithviraj’s comic timing makes it work even when it does not
The film’s first half is funny and throws up some interesting turns, the effort to hide which is proving to be a strain while writing this review. The humour is not of the laugh-a-minute variety, and owes more to these situational twists than to wisecracks.
Keshu Ee Veedinte Nadhan movie review: Flat!
The thing about Keshu Ee Veedinte Nathan is that it is neither consistently loud nor consistently soft.
Best Indian Films 2021: Of fairytales and mythology, unfairy tales and bitter realities
I’ve confined this collection to those that were either released in theatres in the past 12 months or on OTT platforms or both, not just at festivals, to keep it accessible to the public.
Best Malayalam Films 2021: Ode to a woman rebel, a male superhero and unrelenting experimentation
Between The Great Indian Kitchen and Minnal Murali flowed a stream of quality Malayalam releases so unrelenting, that I have struggled to restrict my Best Malayalam Films 2021 compilation to just 10.
Madhuram movie review: Unique fusion of love, food and healthcare gives way to sugary treatment and stereotyping
Madhuram has some moving moments here and there, but the idea of the film is far more attractive than the film itself.
Atrangi Re movie review: Dear Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan, Why?
There is a difference between complexity and contrivances. Atrangi Re confuses the two and piles twist upon twist to sustain its bizarre plotline.
83 movie review: Team Kabir Khan and Ranveer Singh bring the Cup home … again
83 is a stirring reminder of a time when pride in a national team’s achievement united India and national pride had not yet been weaponised by the mob.
Bob Biswas movie review: Abhishek Bachchan is Kahaani’s eerie hitman in a spin-off that struggles to lift off
Unlike Saswata Chatterjee who played the original Bob Biswas in Kahaani, Abhishek Bachchan never quite gets under Bob’s skin. Nor does this script.
Churuli movie review: Lijo Jose Pellissery’s frustratingly abstract, sometimes intriguing trip to a land of reversed power equations
The elements that work for Churuli make it all the more maddening that director Lijo Jose Pellissery chose to say what he wants to say with such intentional vagueness