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Shubhra Gupta is film critic and senior columnist with the Indian Express. She watches world cinema for delectation, Hollywood for fun, and Bollywood for work. She has a huge capacity to sit through terrible Bollywood movies, but no patience at all with bad Hollywood. And world cinema has to be really cutting edge to grab her attention, and keep it. When she began reviewing, over 20 years ago, people would commiserate and say, “oh, you poor thing, you have to watch Hindi cinema”. But soon, Bollywood became cool, cool, cool. So now she hears this more often “oh my god, you watch Bollyood films, can you introduce me to Shah Rukh Khan”? No, she can’t, sorry, though she can vouch for the fact that he is really sharp and good fun in conversation. But what she can do, and has done week after week, month after month, year after year, without a break, is to lead you into the magical world of movies, and share her experiences of watching all those hundreds of films over the years. In her reviews and columns, she lets you into what she likes, and doesn’t, and invites you to be bewitched. And to know how to choose between the good ones and the turkeys, and how you can take away something from even the really ghastly ones. Because life is a movie, isn’t it? Bahut picture baaki hain, mere dost.
July 19,2024 16:03:49 PM
Barzakh review: Starring Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed, you have to fully appreciate Barzakh's wares, and you may fall out of it in bits, but this is a series which will stay with you.
Fri, Jul 19, 2024July 19,2024 09:58:16 AM
Bad Newz movie review: If Bad Newz had stuck to its comedic guns, without resorting to the weepy saccharine bits which take over in the second half, it would have been gold.
Fri, Jul 19, 2024July 18,2024 13:19:32 PM
Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper review: This is an honest-to-goodness attempt at creating a piece of fiction which privileges female sexual desire and is elevated by its terrific ensemble cast, and an inversion of shame.
Thu, Jul 18, 2024July 12,2024 21:12:41 PM
36 Days review: The overall writing never really keeps the urgency and the tension in place, which is what a series like this should ideally coast on.
Fri, Jul 12, 2024July 12,2024 17:31:26 PM
Showtime review: Despite the backstabbings, betrayals, backdoor deals, this Emraan Hashmi show fails to grab our attention or interest. The actor, who is capable of stealing many a show, is defeated by the writing.
Sat, Jul 13, 2024July 12,2024 15:09:12 PM
Indian 2 movie review: Kamal Haasan’s prosthetics are still as annoying, and Indian 2 takes itself and its hero so seriously that you miss the forced humour of the original.
Fri, Jul 12, 2024July 12,2024 08:33:10 AM
Kakuda movie review: Nothing to report other than just plain disbelief about how films like these not only get made, but also manage to get out, kakuda-like, to plague us.
Fri, Jul 12, 2024July 12,2024 08:19:38 AM
Sarfira movie review: The film is only interested in fronting its hero. Akshay Kumar, who is in practically every frame of the film, isn't actively terrible, but he doesn't do anything here that he hasn't done before.
Fri, Jul 12, 2024July 10,2024 13:33:39 PM
Wild Wild Punjab movie review: Varun Sharma, Sunny Singh, Manjot Singh and Jassie Gill film is a series of stereotypes about Punjabi mundas going through heartbreak, awash with fart jokes and bodily fluids.
Wed, Jul 10, 2024July 05,2024 09:49:47 AM
Mirzapur Season 3 review: The novelty factor has now worn off, and we really need a humdinger season 4 to get us back on track.
Mon, Jul 08, 2024July 02,2024 12:51:42 PM
Kill movie review: This Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s fast-and-furious tale is its own creature, which takes care to surround us with familiar elements, even when ratcheting the kill quotient as high as it can go.
Tue, Jul 02, 2024July 02,2024 08:04:36 AM
On the back of dismal big-ticket star bonanzas such as Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Maidaan and Chandu Champion, the Hindi film industry faced its gloomiest six months. Only one question remains: Is Bollywood making anything that’s worth our while anymore?
Wed, Jul 03, 2024June 28,2024 13:48:41 PM
Paradise movie review: Sri Lankan director Vithanage has come up with a deftly-plotted-and-executed film, knitting together a political-personal story filled with powerfully-calibrated emotions, well-judged performances, and a stunning, shocking climax.
Fri, Jun 28, 2024June 28,2024 11:29:32 AM
Sharmajee Ki Beti movie review: Divya Dutta-Sakshi Tanwar-Saiyami Kher's film is feel-good and rooted in the everyday, and its dailiness makes it very ‘gharelu’ and relatable, even when you want it to break out of its flat framing.
Fri, Jun 28, 2024June 27,2024 15:16:02 PM
Kalki 2898 AD movie review: Kalki may have Prabhas as the headliner, but it is Amitabh Bachchan all the way -- his Ashwatthama is suitably gravelly and towers over the film. Kamal Haasan comes on sparingly but does leave an impact.
Fri, Jun 28, 2024June 21,2024 19:38:17 PM
Maharaj review: The only one who is completely in sync with the film’s tonality is Jaideep Ahlawat, who has given us a ‘dharm ka thekedar’ to beat all ‘dharm ke thekedars’.
Sat, Jun 22, 2024June 21,2024 11:58:45 AM
Ishq Vishk Rebound movie review: Three of the film's four leads, including Rohit Saraf, have proved their mettle before; first-timer Pashmina Roshan (who happens to be Hrithik Roshan’s cousin), is styled in the standard Bollywood starlet way, but does loosen up when given a chance.
Fri, Jun 21, 2024June 20,2024 18:12:16 PM
Bad Cop review: Bad Cop gallops along, spending time between the bad guys and the good, and some nicely done patches.
Thu, Jun 20, 2024June 17,2024 21:06:19 PM
Karan Kandhari, in a chat with Shubhra Gupta, opens about his film Sister Midnight and the characters that inhabit his films.
Mon, Jun 17, 2024June 14,2024 10:32:41 AM
Chandu Champion movie review: Kartik Aaryan makes you root for his character even though Kabir Khan's film falls into declarative, underlined patches.
Fri, Jun 14, 2024June 13,2024 08:01:32 AM
AR Rahman recounts his iconic journey on the Indian cinema scene, starting with Roja and revolutionising the way music was composed for films.
Sat, Jun 15, 2024June 11,2024 12:33:22 PM
Gaanth Chapter 1 Jamuna Paar review: As this new crime thriller stretch across eight episodes of nearly 45 minutes each, things start getting repetitive, and interest begins ebbing.
Thu, Jun 13, 2024June 11,2024 07:58:01 AM
Actors Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar talk about how they prepared for Santosh, and the premiere of the film in India.
Wed, Jun 12, 2024June 07,2024 14:01:43 PM
Blackout, starring Vikrant Massey, Anant Vijay Joshi, Sunil Grover, Mouni Roy, Chhaya Kadam, Jisshu Sengupta and Ruhani Singh, makes you wonder if anyone involved in this enterprise knows anything from anything: a premise also needs execution.
Fri, Jun 07, 2024June 07,2024 12:35:39 PM
Munjya movie review: Munjya, the latest in Dinesh Vijan's horror universe, loses an opportunity to have created a truly original bad boy whose rancid desire for an older girl keeps it alive all these decades.
Sat, Jun 08, 2024