Dangal's biggest draw is also its biggest flaw. Yet for once, a star's power and a man's ego is put to good use. Aamir Khan plays Mahavir Singh Phogat, an Indian amateur wrestler and coach who trained six girls from his family to wrestle against all odds. Oldest daughter Geeta won India’s first ever gold medal in women’s wrestling… Continue reading Dangal
Category: First Watch
Reviews of select new releases
Befikre
Is love lust? Or friendship? Is it platonic? Or just an ineffable feeling? A leap taken in good faith? Writer, producer and director Aditya Chopra turns an age-old dilemma on its head and gives it new life in Befikre. The movie feels like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in spirit and yet it's not. Set in modern world, it… Continue reading Befikre
La La Land
City of stars... Are you shining just for me? City of stars... There’s so much that I can’t see. Who knew. Is this the start of something wonderful? Or... one more dream that I cannot make true. Fade away reality. Welcome to the dream world of La La Land. A movie with stark and elegant slices of bittersweet… Continue reading La La Land
Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh
Vidya Balan (Durga Rani Singh) fervently chews into Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh and perfectly delivers her most neurotic, intuitive performance to date. She appears shabby and scattered through most of the movie. Yet exudes inner grace and warmth as her protective instincts kick in to play an abuse survivor who must save a child abuse… Continue reading Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Karan Johar's affair with one-sided love continues. Only this time he ups the ante of lovers in self-destruction mode. That been said, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is perhaps the most real film he has attempted till date. I did enter expecting the usual KJo drama but the director has steered away from all of that. Instead we have… Continue reading Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Pink
Pink crawls under your skin. And stays there. It drives home the "She said No" message many times over. The first half is nail-biting. In comparision, the second half pales but only just. Kudos to director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and writer Ritesh Shah for crafting and delivering a superb argument on the nuances of consent. The three lead… Continue reading Pink
Sultan
Forget the Anushka Sharma and Salman Khan you have ever seen before. You will always remember Aarfa and Sultan created by Ali Abbas Zafar in Sultan. They make this Haryanavi wrestling drama a satisfying, inspirational and emotional ride. Sport, romance and suspended reality join forces to punch you in the face like never before. You… Continue reading Sultan
Udta Punjab
Director Abhishek Chaubey injects Udta Punjab with a concoction so potent it's impossible to come out of it without feeling trippy. The caveat is: it's not an easy film to digest or absorb fully in first viewing. Edgy, dark and risqué, laced with black humour and colourful lingo, it takes you to places unseen in… Continue reading Udta Punjab
Fan
When a fan Gaurav Chandna outshines the star Aryan Khanna in a film, you know that an actor called Shah Rukh Khan is killing it. Maneesh Sharma's Fan scores big on three fronts. One: It's a songless, thrilling, tense ride. Totally not what you would expect of a typical SRK film. The director sticks to… Continue reading Fan
Kapoor & Sons
You are hot. Tia (Alia Bhatt) tosses this fact out of the way as soon as she meets hotshot, successful writer and elder Kapoor son Rahul (Fawad Khan). Right then. But the one who tugs at her heartstrings is younger brother Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra), unsure and yet-to-find-fame writer. Watch the pair rock away the night… Continue reading Kapoor & Sons
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