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
Ullozhukku (1)
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video (2)
Jigra (4)
Agatha All Along (1)
Love Sitara (1)
Zindaginama (1)
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Ullozhukku
Aswathy Gopalakrishnan
Indpendent Film Critic
An Astounding Urvashi Headlines a Tender Film On Love That Defies Conventions
Urvashi is a quiet rage throughout the film, stirring the frame even when she is sitting still and staring at the abyss that has opened up in her being
he first few events in Ullozhukku (Under Current), directed by Christo Tomy, happen in quick succession. Life falls through Anju’s (Parvathy) fingers before she can chart a plan. From a wide-eyed sales girl at a textile shop furtively smiling at her lover, she transforms into a bride posing for awkward post-wedding pictures on a backwater boat, her eyes heavy from what was likely a teary night. The film then moves to the old, spacious house of her husband, Thomas Kutty (Prasanth Murali), and his doting mother, Leelamma (Urvashi), in Kuttanad, where time, like a boat engine whirring to a halt at the dock, comes to a pressing stillness.
All 2 reviews of Ullozhukku here
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video
Anmol Jamwal
Tried & Refused Productions (YouTube)
All 9 reviews of Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video here
Agatha All Along
Akhil Arora
akhilarora.com
Novelty max, Success not quite
The new Marvel miniseries follow-up to WandaVision is unlike the studio’s standard fare but it lacks the spirited edge of its anthological predecessor.
With WandaVision, creator Jac Schaeffer made it clear that she wasn’t interested in the standard approach to superhero fare. For most of its running, the Marvel TV show’s exploration of Wanda Maximoff’s grief over the loss of her partner Vision took the form of a sitcom spoof, one that barrelled through decades of the format—from black-and-white 4:3 aspect ratio to the meta recasting and costume choices—in an episodic fashion. Sure, Schaeffer struggled to usher her non-standard superhero show away from the climactic final-third tropes of the genre. But there was still a lot of fun to be had in WandaVision. It was the perfect possible start for Marvel’s new television-heavy era on Disney+ (though what has come after has been more miss than hit).
Love Sitara
Shilajit Mitra
The Hindu
Pre-wedding blues with Sobhita Dhulipala
Sobhita Dhulipala and Rajeev Siddhartha are a couple gearing up for their wedding in this uneven relationship drama
Love, Sitara begins with a nod to Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” says Sitara (Sobhita Dhulipala). Unlike Leo Tolstoy’s great novel — whose opening line these words are — the writing in Vandana Kataria’s film isn’t as quotable, though it tries hard. You can assemble a slim volume of pithy self-help slogans from Abbas and Hussain Dalal’s dialogue: “Happiness lies in honesty.” “Dysfunction means they are making an effort.” “I’ll fix myself, before I can fix my relationships.”
All 2 reviews of Love Sitara here
Jigra
Shilajit Mitra
The Hindu
A spirited Alia Bhatt cannot redeem Vasan Bala’s shaky jailbreak film
Despite its competence and moments of poetry, Vasan Bala’s film fails to engage or excite at a visceral level
Movies can shape us in silly but significant ways. Growing up in the 1990s, for instance, I developed an irrational and premature fear of foreign travel. This had little to do with any growing awareness of geopolitical realities and everything to do with a schlocky Bollywood film starring Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, Gumrah (1993) — a jailbreak drama set between Mumbai and Hong Kong — was shivery B-movie fun, and it left me with an enduring anxiety. If I clutched my cabin luggage a little too cautiously on my first international flight, nervously looking over my shoulders, I had Bhatt and the duplicitous face of Rahul Roy to thank.
All 18 reviews of Jigra here
Zindaginama
Shubhra Gupta
The Indian Express
A timely limited series
Not all six are equal in depth and complexity, but it doesn’t stop us from acknowledging the importance of these kinds of stories, which go a long way in keeping informed conversations around mental health in play.
Zindaginama tackles a set of mental health issues through six episodes, targeting a different one each time. What happens when a human begins believing in an alt reality? Purple Duniya’s protagonist, a terrific Tanmay Dhanania, sets out ostensibly to go to work, like regular folks do. But that’s all a sham. His total focus lies in the game he plays obsessively, constantly, forgetting to eat or drink. Or communicate with his sister. Therapy can help, but to what extent? And who wins finally, man or machine? Sahaan Hattangadi writes, and co-directs with Danny Mamik.
All 2 reviews of Zindaginama here
Jigra
Deepak Dua
Independent Film Journalist & Critic
सिर्फ ‘जिगरा’ है, दिमाग नहीं
भारत से अमीर परिवार के दो लड़के एक बिज़नेस ट्रिप पर एक छोटे-से देश में गए हैं। वहां एक लड़के की जेब से ड्रग्स मिलती है और इल्ज़ाम दूसरे लड़के पर आ जाता है। उस देश में इस अपराध की एक ही सज़ा है-मौत। लेकिन उस लड़के की बहन आ पहुंची है उसे बचाने। कानून का सहारा उसके काम नहीं आता तो वह जेल तोड़ने का इरादा कर लेती है। तोड़ पाती है वह जेल? बचा पाती है अपने भाई को? कैसे करेगी वह इतना बड़ा काम?
All 18 reviews of Jigra here
Jigra
Sachin Chatte
The Navhind Times Goa
Soul Sister
Drawing inspiration from Dharma Productions’ own film Gumraah (1993), which was itself influenced by the miniseries Bangkok Hilton (1989), Jigra features Alia Bhatt in the lead role of a prison-break drama. The original source material was not particularly strong; in the earlier film, Sanjay Dutt portrayed a hero rescuing his beloved Sri Devi from a Hong Kong prison, whereas in this adaptation, the narrative shifts to a brother-sister dynamic where the sister must save her brother.
All 18 reviews of Jigra here
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video
Udita Jhunjhunwala
Mint, Scroll.in
A tacky lowbrow comedy
Raaj Shaandilyaa’s comedy, starring Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri, soon becomes tiresome
The year is 1997. The setting is Rishikesh. It’s a time just before mobile phones, when DVDs were still predominant. Writer-director Raaj Shaandilyaa’s film opens with a shoddily executed computer graphic of a train hurtling towards a forlorn man on the tracks. This is the eponymous Vicky, played by Rajkummar Rao. It’s much like Rao’s year which has been speeding along strongly, but will eventually have to come to a halt. Unfortunately, the Rao train has been derailed by this most unintelligible 152-minute-long romantic comedy that is built around a slim plot line.