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Recent Reviews by Sanyukta Thakare
Mashable India

Sanyukta Thakare is a film journalist & critic turned content creator who discusses the cultural and social impacts of cinema. Currently, she works at Mashable India, and also covers anime, Korean drama and other Western content. Previously, she has worked for The Free Press Journal and DNA.

Films reviewed on this Page

Do Patti
The Shameless
Santosh
Girls Will Be Girls
The Apprentice
The Wild Robot
Citadel Diana
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video

Do Patti
Kriti Sanon, Kanika Dhillon Film Sounds Good Only On Paper

Not much to offer

Co produced by Kriti Sanon and Kanika Dhillon the film suffers from lack of consistency possibly from the writing stage. The film aims to spread awareness about women and domestic abuse, it attempts to express the turmoils of abuse trauma, its generational history but fails to do it through out the run time. The film tries hard to be It Suspect X (Jaane Jaan), It Ends With Us, Gone Girl and The Girl In The Train all at once with a crime thriller genre — it ends up being none of them.

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Read all 17 reviews of Do Patti here

The Shameless
Cannes Winner Comes With Radical Performances And Bleak Status Of Indian Women

Performances are worth it

The Shameless became highly recognizable after its Cannes 2024 victory. The film’s leading star Anasuya Sengupta made history and became the first Indian actor to win the Best Actress Award at Cannes. The film explores the story of two polar women stuck in the world of prostitution finding hope in each other, but the bleakness and grim reality of the world is always just around the corner to take it away. The film though dramatic and dark has much appreciative theatrical performances with wit of Sengupta’s abrasive character. Devi and Renuka keep the story balanced but the outcome is left for the audience to endure.

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Santosh
Shahana Goswami’s Film Is One Of The Finest Police Dramas

It comes with a grim reality check

Santosh which has been making rounds in the top film festivals including Cannes is by the British-Indian director Sandhya Suri. Focusing on the state of rural India through the eyes of a young femal cop, the film is is Suri’s first fiction feature, which can be seen in its rawness and sincerity. The film is led by Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar as cops on the other side of the law, and their performances are unforgettable.

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Girls Will Be Girls
Richa Chadha Backed Film Is Where Independent Cinema Meets Commerical

Complex but rewarding Mother-Daughter story

Girls Will Be Girls is helmed by first time feature film director Suchi Talati. It follows the story of a high school top student in a coming of age story. But the story isn’t just about Mira played by Preeti Panigrahi but also about her mom Anila played by Kani Kusruti. Their complex relationship amid Mira’s rebellious romance with NRI boy Sri (Kesav Binoy Kiron), the tense environment in strict school. The film offers a change for millennials to live through some of their most embarrassing and traumatizing memories but also gives a chance to many more in building a better and more nutriting relationship with their mothers.

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Read all 3 reviews of Girls Will Be Girls here

The Apprentice
Sebastian Stan As Donald Trump Is Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

Jeremy Strong steals the show

The Apprentice is one of the film that no one asked for but now that its here you can’t look away from it. The direction, cinematography, lighting, sets and most of all the performances all are worth praising but the film majorly avoids taking sides. For first half it makes you like Trump and for the other the pre-existing hate returns, so it doesn’t really add to his public narrative, the reason for its existence left questioning. But the film is worth the watch for its art.

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Read all 2 reviews of The Apprentice here

The Wild Robot
Best Animated Film Of The Year

Unmissable big screen experience

The Wild Robot was one of the most anticipated films since its first teaser dropped with the song ‘What a Wonderful World’ and the film has lived up to its hype. Not only does it offer an adorable story for kids to watch but it also comes with heavy context and geological subtext that is enough to keep the adults engaged. The film unexpectedly also offers much humour and some emotional moments but best yet has been the artwork throughout the run time. From birds taking flight and colouring the sky, to the moving leaves that breathe life into the art, the film comes with a great re-watch value ready to turn it into a classic.

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Read all 4 reviews of The Wild Robot here

Citadel Diana
Is It Better Than Priyanka Chopra's OG Show?

Intense drama with suspense that doesn't bring the usual thrills

Citadel Diana is one of the many spin-offs set around the American Citadel led by Priyanka Chopra. The series explores the world of a covet organisation across the globe trying to take down the world’s most evil organisation Manticore. While Citadel carried the story more straightforward, Citadel vs Manticore, we get to see a different side in Diana. The Italian show led by Matilda De Angelis, Lorenzo Cervasio and Maurizio Lombardi explores more on the side of how things are done at Manticore. Released in Italian, with few dialogues in English, the show is expected to have a stronger opening than Citadel.

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Read all 2 reviews of Citadel Diana here

Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video
Rajkummar Rao, Triptii Dimri’s Parody Can’t Be Saved From Itself

Burn it so we can have a better chance as covering this concept

Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri’s latest release Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video is a social comedy that focuses on the length of the story more than logic. With a shorter, more crisp story the film would have managed to give the very serious and important message it wishes to. The film is a cautionary tale in the 1990s but the fear is very relevant and still prevalent given the growing use of AI, instead of finding a way to incorporate the fear throughout, the story focuses a bit too much on the comedy punch lines and hopes a long monologue will make up for the rest. But it doesn’t.

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Read all 9 reviews of Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video here