Movie Reviews

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  Salman back as lover-boy in 'Ready' (Movie Review)

  She's a runaway bride. He's a runaway rogue, a little rough around the edges but a good hearted lovable soul. Salman Khan can play this character over and over again with his eyes closed. In "Ready" he is back to playing the lover-boy clown.

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Kuch Luv Jaisa

  It must be weird to be born on February 29, a birthday you can celebrate only once in four years. To be fair, there are only two people I know who share that birth-date: Morarji Desai and Superman; quite unlikely, we’ll know what either felt about it. The third one, as it turns out, is the heroine in this film. Her rare birthday is also when this daylong movie is set. Read On..

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Pyar Ka Punchnama

  He leaves office early, so he can drop her to the beauty parlour. While she's in, he shops at the mall for her - she needs stuff, because she's traveling. He drops her off then to the airport, comes back home to finish off all her pending stuff from work. Just so the girl can be with her boyfriend, while she's away! Read On..

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  '404' breaks cliches of horror genre, a must watch! (Movie Review)

  In one word, stunning! That's the impact of Prawaal Raman's supernatural thriller. No creaking doors, no dolby-driven demoniacal sound effects, no half-naked girls running around with banshee shrieks and provocative protests, none of the trappings of the horror genre. And yet "404" is one of the most terrifying movie experiences in recent times.

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  'Love You…Mr Kalakaar' lovable old-fashioned romance (Movie Review)

  Tch tch. Boy is an artiste. He is humble, generous, kind and compassionate. But what the heck! He can't keep his sweetheart in the lap of luxury. Girl's dad makes the kalaakar (artist), a cartoonist with a penchant for looking for warmth and humour in every cliche in life, an offer he can't refuse. Read On..

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  Ragini MMS gets thumbs up from critics

  Ekta Kapoor's sex-horror film Ragini MMS has opened to a huge critical reception. The film that look terrifyingly real would be able to connect with the viewers as it amalgamates components of horror, paranormal and sex seamlessly, say critics.

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  Mayank Shekhar's Review: Ragini MMS

  Those in the know may recall, 2004 was a particular poor year at Hindi movies. A skin flick called Murder was supposedly the year’s biggest hit. One picture that I suspect more people watched on their computers or phones than at the cinemas was an MMS clip starring two high school kids. Read On..

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  Nana infuses excitement in jaded 'Shagird' (Movie Review)

  There is this utterly delightful action sequence where Nana Patekar, playing a belligerent corrupt but effectual cop in a crime-infested small town of Uttar Pradesh run by the political mafia, barges on to a nefarious hideout.

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Luv Ka The End

  Love in the times of BBM is a three-letter word. It comes with an ironic 'u'. Anniversary celebrations mark the end of a month's relationship. Girls wish to become models. Guys want to host parties that get covered on TV and newspaper supplements. BFFs (best friends forever) chat over video screens on their cellphone. Read On..

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  'Haunted', takes horror genre the x-tra mile (Movie Review)

  The best thing one can say about this rivetting romp into the kingdom of the eerie is that it really didn't need the 3D format to make an impact. "Haunted" works just as effectively without the 3D.

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  'Shor In The City', outstanding ode to city of dreams Mumbai: Subhash K. Jha (Movie Review)

  I saw the future of Hindi cinema. And it's got a name. "Shor In The City". They say Mumbai never goes to sleep. Catching the restless on-the-edge mood of a city and its people who refuse to fall off that edge of the hurtling local train that takes thousands of destinies every day to their work and then back home; Read On..

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Shor In The City

  For a nation of a gazillion English readers, where 3,000 copies of a book sold is deemed a bestseller, pirates who publish the same books to hawk around the city’s traffic junctions couldn’t be doing too well either. Read On..

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: I Am

  I Am, strictly speaking, is not a feature film. It’s a bunch of four entirely unrelated short films. Given lowered attention spans among audiences in general, this may well be how movies could be watched in the future. I’m of course making this sweeping prediction in the same vein VS Naipaul had once famously prophesied the demise of the novel.

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  'Chalo Dilli' a refreshing film with a lot of heart (Movie Review)

  "Challo Dilli" is a film with a lot of heart, and some soul. There are practically just two characters in the skillfully-conceived plot about two mismatched travelers on the road from Mumbai to Delhi via Jaipur and places in Rajasthan you had never known about until now.

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  'I AM': unique rhythm, different mood textures (Movie Review)

  How and where does one begin to describe the infinite satisfaction of watching a film that emerges from the closet with some arresting and disturbing home-truths on what goes on when the lights are off? Tiptoeing through the darkest corridors of the human heart, director Onir in "I AM" comes up with four stories on the question of individual, sexual and geo-political identity.

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  Subhash K. Jha on Zokkomon: Poor special effects, lax plot mar kids film 'Zokkomon'

  Heart-warming performances and noble intentions do not make great cinema. This one falls short of expectations, mainly because of the poor special-effects and the failure of the plot to take off.

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Zokkomon

  Opinions are like Anupam Kher. Every film has one. This one has two, Anupam Khers that is. One’s a shrewd education Mafiosi in a village, who diverts government funds for labs, library, benches into his personal account. He’s also dumped his li’l nephew to rot in the city. Read On..

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Dum Maaro Dum

  'Susegaad', a Konkani word of Portuguese origin that this film uses a lot, aptly describes the Goan state of mind. The word's often misinterpreted to mean a bummer. It refers to a person who's laidback, relaxed (has probably discovered a brighter meaning of life). Read On..

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  Critics say 'No Thank You' to Anees Bazmee!

  Anees Bazmee's comic caper Thank You failed to impress critics who found the flick "agonizing and intolerable". The jokes hardly elicit any laughs, and the flick just a time pass, opine reviewers. But there are few performances to watch out for.

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Thank You

  “Mard kutte hote hain.” The film repeats this line every now and then. So we must. Men are dogs. Dogs. Born to stray. Hoof. Hoof. They love only two things: their own kids, and other people’s wives – I guess, we get the point. A certain amount of male bashing may be essential to pass along the kind of grotesque male chauvinism that marks all sex comedies.

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  'Thank You' a funny take on extra-marital affairs (Movie Preview)

  After doing a cricket-based drama "Patiala House", Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is back on thebig screend with multi-starrer comedy "Thank You", a funny take on extra-marital affairs. The film releases Friday.

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  Subhash K. Jha on F.A.L.T.U

  F.A.L.T.U? Not quite. A film that takes stinging swipes at our education system cannot live up to a title as uninspiring as that. Read On..

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  Mayank Shekhar's review: Faltu

  Few titles express public sentiment better than this film’s. It’s called Faltu only, to use popular Indian expression. And that’s what most will assume the film to be – wasteful -- for two socially significant reasons. Read On..

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  'Memories In March' - cathartic saga on love between men (Movie Review)

  Strangely, it is women who render themselves effectively to the cinema of loss and bereavement. Don't men suffer when they lose someone precious? In a subtle sly way, debutant director Sanjay Nag's "Memories In March" poses this question on gender attitude towards loss and tragedy.

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  Mayank Shekhar's Review: Monica

  One MJ is a newspaper editor in this film. The reference, I suppose, is to Akbar. And not the king of pop with the same initials. Monica (Divya Dutta), a hot, hungry reporter, works under MJ. She also sleeps under a telecom minister to rise to the top of her profession. What that dizzy top means, we'll get to in a bit.