(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) We’ve had this genre for a while now. It’s called Aamir Khan is Too Perfect or He’s Imperfect But Will Have A Redemptive Arc Anyway. In Advait Chandan’s Secret Superstar, he plays a music director caricature of reality TV version of Anu Malik. The one… Continue reading Advait Chandan’s Secret Superstar
(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) Raja (Varun Dhawan) – he started when he was 8 or so – loves to spank unsuspecting women, in public places. Prem (Varun Dhawan again, of course) loves to plant a wet one on unsuspecting women and their mothers, quite literally, which is, still, apparently… Continue reading David Dhawan’s Judwaa 2
(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) Amit Masurkar gets people. Not in some lofty ways that have to do with sociological or psychological aspects but in basic, humanizing ways. It is in the throwaway shot he inserts in the end, of the army officer with his family buying groceries for the… Continue reading Amit Masurkar’s Newton
(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) Not often do we see a film unintentionally making a meta joke, an unfortunate circumstance considering the film wears this conceit proudly on its sleeve. Director Apoorva Lakhia (screenplay by Suresh Nair) uses the courtroom and the court proceedings as a storytelling session for his biopic… Continue reading Apoorva Lakhia’s Haseena Parkar
(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) In Ranjit Tiwari’s Lucknow Central, Farhan Akhtar puts up a valiant effort to convince you that he is not just the guy who made the greatest multiplex film and more at home in films with urban backdrop, but can also be Kishan Mohan Girhotra from… Continue reading Ranjit Tiwari’s Lucknow Central
(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) Late in the second half of Hansal Mehta’s Simran (written by Apruva Asrani with additional story and dialogues credit to Kangana Ranaut), Praful Patel (Kangana Ranaut) takes Sameer (Sohum Shah) to her favorite spot in Atlanta. Their warm, undefined but beautiful relationship has begun to… Continue reading Hansal Mehta’s Simran
(An edited version was published in The New Indian Express) At an important juncture, when Arun Gulab Gawli (Arjun Rampal) loses his friend Rama Naik (Rajesh Shringarpure) to a police encounter, he gathers all his trusted acolytes and it’s almost set up as an end of one chapter and beginning of another in his life.… Continue reading Ashim Ahluwalia’s Daddy
