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Member Reviews

No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough. Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.

You can also browse reviews using our alphabetical index of films reviewed

Films reviewed on this Page

Maa Nanna Superhero (1)
IC 814 the Kandahar Hijack (2)
Zindaginama (1)
Raat Jawaan Hai (1)
Call Me Bae (1)
Taaza Khabar S02 (1)
Jigra (2)
Angry Young Men (1)

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Maa Nanna Superhero
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo
The Hindu
Sudheer Babu shoulders a patchy relationship drama

Sudheer Babu and Saichand’s performances anchor ‘Maa Nanna Superhero’, an uneven relationship drama that scores in a few segments

A scene in director Abhilash Reddy Kankara’s Telugu film Maa Nanna Superhero (my dad is a superhero) shows the protagonist Johnny (Sudheer Babu) taking his house owner to task and abruptly pausing when the latter’s daughter comes into the picture. He does not want to make the man seem a lesser mortal to his child. The narrative attempts to ride on the universal emotion of children seeing their father as a superhero. Abhilash wonders how far a son would go to save his father, with whom he shares a tumultuous relationship. The plot becomes more complex as it involves a father Srinivas (Sayaji Shinde) and his adopted son Johnny, and later, the biological father also returns. This idea might seem intriguing at the script level, but the film seems uneven and is held together by a few endearing moments.

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IC 814 the Kandahar Hijack
Upma Singh
Navbharat Times

भारतीय इतिहास में 1999 के कंधार प्लेन हाईजैक की घटना आज भी एक काले अध्याय की तरह याद की जाती है। सारी दुनिया जब नई सदी Y2K के आने के उत्साह में मगन थी, क्रिसमस से एक दिन पहले 24 दिसंबर 1999 को करीब 175 लोगों को लेकर काठमांडू से दिल्ली के लिए रवाना हुए इंडियन एयरलाइंस के हवाई जहाज IC 814 को आतंकियों ने हाईजैक कर लिया। हाईजैकर्स के कब्जे वाला यह प्लेन पहले अमृतसर और फिर लाहौर और दुबई होते हुए कंधार में लैंड हुआ। सात दिन बाद भारतीय जेलों में बंद तीन आतंकियों मौलाना मसूद अजहर, मुश्ताक अहमद जरगर और अहमद उमर सईद शेख को छोड़ने के बदले इन यात्रियों की सुरक्षित घर वापसी करवाई गई। अब इसी घटनाक्रम पर आधारित वेब सीरीज ‘IC 814: द कंधार हाईजैक’ से चर्चित निर्देशक अनुभव सिन्‍हा ने ओटीटी पर दस्तक दी है।

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All 2 reviews of IC 814 the Kandahar Hijack here

Zindaginama
Upma Singh
Navbharat Times

मेंटल हेल्थ हमारे समाज में लंबे समय तक एक टैबू रहा है। हालांकि, अब कुछ साल से इसके बारे में खुलकर बातें होने लगी हैं। विश्व मानसिक स्वास्थ्य दिवस (10 अक्टूबर) पर आई एंथॉलजी सीरीज ‘ज़िंदगीनामा’ इसी मेंटल हेल्थ के प्रति जागरूकता की ओर एक मजबूत कदम है। यह सीरीज 35-40 मिनट की छह कहानियों का गुलदस्ता है, जो ईटिंग डिसऑर्डर, गेमिंग एडिक्शन, सिजोफ्रेनिया, ओसीडी, पीटीएसडी, जेंडर डिस्फोरिया जैसी अलग-अलग मानसिक समस्याओं के प्रति लोगों का ध्यान आकर्षित करती है।

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All 2 reviews of Zindaginama here

Raat Jawaan Hai
Upma Singh
Navbharat Times

आम सी कहावत है कि मां-बाप बनने के बाद आपकी अपनी जिंदगी, अपनी खुशी बेमाने हो जाती है। तब बच्चा, उसकी जरूरतें, उसकी खुशियां ही सबसे ऊपर होती हैं। काफी हद तक होता भी ऐसा ही है, पर पैरंटिंग के नए मायने समझाने वाली वेब सीरीज रात जवान है आपसे कहती है कि नहीं बॉस, एक अच्छा पैरंट बनने के लिए अपनी खुशियों की कुर्बानी देना जरूरी नहीं है। थोड़ी मशक्कत जरूर करनी पड़ेगी, मगर आप अपने करियर, खुशियों, बच्चों सबको साथ लेकर भी चल सकते हैं। खास बात यह है कि ख्याति आनंद पुथरन की लिखी और सुमित व्यास (परमानेंट रूममेट्स, ट्रिपलिंग) निर्देशित यह प्यारी सी फील गुड कहानी ये बड़ी-बड़ी बातें बिना किसी लेक्चरबाजी के मजे-मजे में कह जाती है।

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All 5 reviews of Raat Jawaan Hai here

Call Me Bae
Kriti Tulsiani
WION
Ananya Panday shines but style trumps substance in story

Created by Ishita Moitra and co-written by Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair, Call Me Bae is a visually stunning series, where apt attention has been paid to sets and Bae’s costumes. The intent and ambition are right, but the execution not so much.

In Bella Chowdhary’s world, there’s no such thing as too many bags and in a world of fakes, she is on a path to become a Birkin. But it’s a path that she hasn’t chosen for herself, rather, a tragedy has led her there.

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Taaza Khabar S02
Kriti Tulsiani
WION
There's little that's 'taaza' in Bhuvan Bam's show

Taaza Khabar Season 2 has Bhuvan Bam reprising his role as Vasant who remains true to his character. But what falters is having a stale approach to the story that leaves little for actors, including Jaaferi, to chew on. It’s the same old cycle of a flashing new update, a new plan, and no consequence.

In Taaza Khabar Season 2, there’s little that’s taaza (fresh). There’s ambition, but not enough drive. There are those next big things, but not the smoothest ways forward. A show, often oscillating between past, present and future, lacks the ‘vardaan’ (blessing) of staying afloat - something that, both the series and Bhuvan Bam’s character Vasant Gawde desperately need.

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All 2 reviews of Taaza Khabar S02 here

Jigra
Kriti Tulsiani
WION
Alia Bhatt is the real 'jigra' of Vasan Bala's film

In Vasant Bala's film, Vedang Raina might be portraying the titular character, but it's Alia Bhatt, who is the heart and soul of the film.

Will the real ‘Jigra’ please stand up? In Vasant Bala’s film, Vedang Raina might be portraying the titular character, but it’s Alia Bhatt, who is the heart and soul of the film. Turns out she is a shield not just for her brother, but also for the movie, even as the revenge thriller rests too heavily on Bhatt.

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All 18 reviews of Jigra here

Jigra
Priyanka Roy
The Telegraph
Jigra is a rich cinematic experience powered by Alia Bhatt

Agneepath plays on the aircraft entertainment system, that telling scene of a young Vijay Dinanath Chauhan burning down a petrol pump being a visual allegory of a similar incident perpetrated by the protagonist in Jigra a few moments ago. This is just one instance. Throughout the runtime of Jigra, Amitabh Bachchan pops up as idea and inspiration, set-up and syntax. When Satya (Alia Bhatt), caught in a situation which may end in violence, is gently warned: “Abhi Bachchan nahin bann na hain… sirf bachke nikalna hain”, she rolls up her sleeves and says matter-of-factly: “Ab toh Bachchan hi bann na hain”.

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All 18 reviews of Jigra here

Angry Young Men
Suparna Sharma
Independent Film Critic
An entertaining home video that mollycoddles Salim-Javed duo

Salim Khan, 88, and Javed Akhtar, 79, are the stars of this multi-starrer

Angry Young Men, a three-part series directed by Namrata Rao, is crafted like the many Bollywood blockbusters that its protagonists — Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar — wrote together. Starring their wives, children, colleagues, friends and fans, the series is devoted to not just telling the story of a very successful and almost epochal collaboration, but also to cast them as the best writers Indian cinema has ever had.

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IC 814 the Kandahar Hijack
Suparna Sharma
Independent Film Critic
This Anubhav Sinha directorial is one of the best ‘based on real life’ series to date

'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack', streaming on Netflix, honours the captain, his crew, and the passengers

Since the arrival of OTT platforms and binge-watching, Indian series have shown a marked improvement in craft and skill at telling fictional stories. But when it comes to mounting real-life stories for OTT, most have floundered, sometimes because they follow Netflix’s formulaic template, and sometimes because of who is telling the story. Delhi Crime, for example, the riveting show on the Nirbhaya rape case, was made with the help of Delhi’s former commissioner of police, Neeraj Kumar, and it naturally made heroes out of cops when it should have interrogated them.

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All 2 reviews of IC 814 the Kandahar Hijack here