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Brahman Naman
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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A tonal overdose of empty retro male debauchery.
Posted Oct 19, 2022
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Rough Book
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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A simplistic, textbook interpretation...
Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Shorgul
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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An incoherent bastardization of Uttar Pradesh's darkest moment.
Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Sultan
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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An unusually ambitious Khan-daan marred by genre tropes.
Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Great Grand Masti
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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Three times zero is still zero.
Posted Jul 20, 2022
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Masaan
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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The filmmakers manage to create a space that puts you in their characters' places, leaving you to imagine the loss of your own loved ones.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Director Guy Ritchie crafts a slick, enjoyable retro-funky barrage of musical-action set pieces.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Bajrangi Bhaijaan
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Harshaali Malhotra steals the show...
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Baahubali: The Beginning
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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I cannot begin to imagine what goes on in the expansive mind of S.S. Rajamouli. It's not often one sits through 160 minutes of an Indian period drama, and continues to sit hoping for the sequel to magically materialise on screen.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Manjhi: The Mountain Man
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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This Great Indian Biopic Syndrome strikes again with Manjhi - serial offender Ketan Mehta's third consecutive interpretation of real events...
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Kaun Kitney Paani Mein
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Kaun Kitney Paani Mein is a wry, dry and extremely cultured take on the age-old Indian cinema staple of rival villages, class wars, young star-crossed lovers and politics.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Ahalya
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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A perfect retelling of a myth that would appeal to the impatient netizen - a meaningful story told succinctly.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Welcome Back
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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It's not funny that able-minded humans spend 150 minutes demonstrating to us what a LSD-fueled midlife crisis would look like.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Phantom
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Questionable ideals and Katrina Kaif make Phantom less than memorable.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Algorithms
(2013)
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Rahul Desai
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Algorithms makes me wish I could play the game. More importantly, it demonstrates that, just like chess is about the mind, so is (dis)ability.
Posted Feb 11, 2019
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Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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All in all, this film is torturously dated, and runs far too long even as a glorified television episode.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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The Intern
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Nancy Meyers' movies are nice and feel-good, and so effortless that you wonder if she strives for more.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Calendar Girls
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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I wonder if any industry insiders care anymore that their lives are hung out to dry by one of their own chaps. And it's not even fun to watch.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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All Is Well
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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... just another formulaic comedy.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Rogue Nation is the most interesting of the lot. It's smart - too smart and cocky at times - but how often can you say that about a non-Bond spy franchise?
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Gour Hari Dastaan: The Freedom File
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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I'd like to believe in its authenticity, in its existence. The film, in a way, does its job.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Southpaw
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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The elements are nothing new - tragedy, champ-turned-chump, eccentric coach, and grandstanding finale.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Bangistan
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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It provides food for thought, but perhaps we're just tired of the same old food. Go the whole hog; give me a happy meal instead.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Drishyam
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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If you're comfortable(or unaware) about the ambiguous origins of Drishyam, buy half a ticket to watch the second half. Or perhaps ask your friend's friend to watch it and interpret the plot to you.
Posted Feb 09, 2019
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Puli
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Ambition on paper doesn't translate into thrills on screen.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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The Walk
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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I found myself treating my seat as if it were the balancing rod, peering over to look below; my shoulders and feet tightened with each immaculately filmed step. This is why we go to the movies.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3/5
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Crimson Peak
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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The director commits to a full-bodied re-visualisation of the haunted-house genre. And fittingly, he succeeds, somewhat, in creating a gothic cathedral amidst an overpopulated landscape of modern skyscrapers.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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Pan
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Even magic becomes predictable. And despite the innumerable set pieces, that's where Pan fails to sparkle.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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1.5/5
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Magnificent
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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It's a pity to see such a lazy, derivative, listless effort from a talented bunch of artists who're known to push the envelope.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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Jazbaa
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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By itself, Jazbaa is not a bad film. It's just really badly made. It is treated as more of an occasion than a film, more of a comeback vehicle than a kidnap drama
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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1/5
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Wedding Pullav
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Consistently bad...
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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Sicario
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Far from the gritty hand-held treatment most cartel-themed sagas employ, Deakins' style means that Villeneuve can concentrate on his distinct grammar of storytelling.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2/5
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Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Pyaar ka Punchnama 2 rarely rises above being a wry assortment of self-aware caricatures. Times have changed.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3.5/5
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Titli
(2014)
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Rahul Desai
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Parul Sondh's production design is perhaps the film's most evocative character.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2.5/5
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Main Aur Charles
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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A general sense of overambitious storytelling...
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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1.5/5
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Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Khan's career in the last decade has been an open-for-all, giant cleansing ritual. His formula of infusing philanthropy into performance arts has become insufferable to sit through.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3/5
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Tamasha
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Eventually, what starts out as a simple coming-of-age story, ends up as complex, multifaceted mission to brandish the virtues of storytelling.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2/5
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Kajarya
(2013)
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Rahul Desai
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Madhureeta Anand is probably different from the many storytellers hitching a ride on the women-empowerment bandwagon, but this film's form suggests otherwise.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3/5
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Angry Indian Goddesses
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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At its core is the half-broken heart of an angsty, disruptive, take-no-prisoners crusader.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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0/5
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Hate Story 3
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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To state that Hate Story 3 is a bad movie would be offensive to the very soul of bad movies.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2.5/5
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Chauranga
(2014)
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Rahul Desai
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Certain images, a few characters, their sins, eyes, flaws and hypocrisies - they stay with you, despite being restrained by the kind of idealistic filmmaking only an impassioned debutant can produce.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2.5/5
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Bajirao Mastani
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Bhansali's imagery and craft are perhaps second to none, but his storytelling continues to resist evolution.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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1/5
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Dilwale
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Easily their most forgettable outing; one of the worst of 2015...
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2/5
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Wazir
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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It is disheartening to begin 2016 like this. Fortunately, the only way from here is up.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2/5
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Fan
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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The makers just can't resist the urge of "playing the game" (and then mentioning it, literally) - oversmart disguises, over-shoulder strides, anonymous phone calls, ignorant foreigners...
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3/5
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Nil Battey Sannata
(2015)
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Rahul Desai
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Choppy, predictable but fairly sweet and well-performed...
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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2.5/5
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Laal Rang
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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It swings, and misses a lot (ill-placed songs, Shankar's deformed love track, voice-overs, meandering drunk conversations), but comes around to recognizing its essence.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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1.5/5
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Saala Khadoos
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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These overcooked, manufactured emotions are redundant layers in context of typical underdog stories. Saala Khadoos is everything that is wrong with this genre.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3/5
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Ghayal Once Again
(2016)
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Rahul Desai
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Ghayal Once Again isn't simply Ghayal all over again. Amidst its goofy modernisations of lawlessness, there's an embattled Ajay Mehra - who is now more Batman than Salman.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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1.5/5
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Kaafiron Ki Namaaz
(2013)
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Rahul Desai
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This film comes across as the kind of verbose play or minimalist painting designed to be incomprehensible enough to attract applause from unsuspecting purists. But that doesn't automatically mean it's clever. Not my cup of kahwa, this.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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