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Bhooth Bangla - Review

meeta — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:32:37 +0000

wogma rating: Don't bother ^(?)

quick review:

In which Akshay Kumar competes with himself to yell his lines louder than he did in the previous scene. Yes, that's the only takeaway.

Review

"Do I really want to spend more time writing about this one? Isn't it enough that I've already spent 4+ hours and hundreds of rupees on the trip to the theatre?" These are questions I find asking myself often. And it's hardly a surprise that they came to me for Bhooth Bangla. But I have managed to resist giving into the "No." so far. And I will try again today. Meanwhile, you can skip spending time on reading this one because "Yes, it's that insufferable."

Akshay Kumar is excruciatingly over-the-top—in volume, in expression, in body language. So much so that the other overbearingly shrill actors are drowned in his presence. And it's not as if anything meaningful or entertaining is being said or seen.

Slapstick is of course staple nutrition for any Priyadarshan film that claims to be a comedy. You name it and you will see it—people tripping and falling, people slapping each other such that the slapped goes around in circles, toilet humour, innuendoes—all under the guise of being a laugh riot. I fail to understand, though. Why does characters scoffing and disapproving objectification of women need you to objectify women? With the objective of making you chuckle and giggle, that too!

But then, that would require the writing team to be imaginative. And the creativity began and ended with naming a film centred around a haunted palace, "Bhooth Bangla". And just in case you were wondering, no, the larger story is no more than people disbelieving the haunted-ness of the house and coming around to drop that notion. What with all the jump scares, you see.

The nested story of why spirits have taken to this specific house is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo that needn't have been so. There was so much meat in that story and such lovely complexity. But half of it is just narrated by one character to the other instead of being shown. And the half that is shown feels like a comic strip with caricatures.

With that then, I am left with little interest to ask questions like, "Why did the "reverse" option exist?" It is one thing to accept the fantasticness of a fantasy world. But quite another to give into the axiom that intelligent black magicians don't follow simple logic.

Speaking of logic, I am grappling with the truth that the Priyadarshan-Akshay-Kumar-"comedy" genre exists and continues to do so. Hmmm…

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Angry ghosts lashing out, a severed head, people slapping each other in the name of comedy.
Language: Clean
Nudity & Sexual content: Some sexualisation and innuendoes.
Concept: A haunted house. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
General Look and Feel: Tacky attempt at comic horror

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: .5
Story: 1
Lead Actors: .5
Character Artists: .5

Dialogues: .5
Screenplay: .5
Music Director: 1.5
Lyrics: 1.5

Bhooth Bangla - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Cape of Good Films, Balaji Motion Pictures
Producer: Akshay Kumar , Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor
Director: Priyadarshan
Lead Cast: Akshay Kumar
Supporting Cast: Paresh Rawal , Zakir Hussain, Tabu , Rajpal Yadav, Asrani, Manoj Joshi, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajesh Sharma, Wamiqa Gabbi, Mithila Palkar , Perin Malde, Bhavna Pani
Story: Aakash Kaushik
Screenplay: Priyadarshan, Rohan Shankar, Abilash Nair
Dialogues: Rohan Shankar
Cinematography: Divakar Manikyam, Divakar Mani
Editor: M.S. Aiyyappan Nair
Background Score: Ronnie Raphael
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Pony Varma
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Lyrics: Kumaar, Jitendra Mishra
Costume Designer: V. Sai, Veera Kapur, Harpreet Narula, Rimple Narula, Dhanya Balakrishnan
Running time: 165 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Horror, Slapstick

Dhurandhar The Revenge - Review

meeta — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:57:57 +0000

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do ^(?)

quick review:

What I disliked in Dhurandhar, I disliked even more in this one. None of what I liked was carried forward here. And the propaganda that was subtle and annoying, is now blatant and amusing.

Streaming Partner: JioHotstar

Review

The success of an action film is to wow you with its choreographed moves. That of a violent film is to get you to gasp with every act of brutality. That of a film attempting to make a political statement is to engage you with its argument. Dhurandhar The Revenge has a handful sequences that feel creative. It has so much barbaric chopping and smashing of body parts that you grow immune to the savagery—I was able to stay completely relaxed and take deep breaths in the last sequence, which is quite gory in absolute terms. Last but hardly the least, Dhurandhar's idea of being political is to plaster one politician's face across the screen often enough for it to stay one of the lasting memories of the film. Not the Indian government, not a political party, one person.

This last bit is done to glamourise some of the most known political actions such as the impact of demonetisation. It is repeated often enough that it is outright funny—the impact has to be shown through a fictional movie rather than news channels which are supposed to report facts. It has to be shoved down through fantasy, 10 years later.

Now, once we accept that this is a fairytale, even if a gory one, we can take in stride a lot of what is going on. Like tens of terrorists being shot within 15-20 minutes of run time and maybe a week or two in the story? This is even more ridiculous considering the movie is well over 3.5 hours! Less than 10% of run-time on such an important part of the story?

The pacing of the film generally to isn't anywhere close to that of the first installment of Dhurandhar. That one was a thoroughly engaging watch even if you weren't enjoying what you saw. The writing here doesn't have the agenda of telling you a good story, let alone telling it well.
That Ranveer Singh still manages to put his heart, soul and more to this performance feels like more credit to him than the director. The rest of the cast exists to make the violence and propaganda possible.

Sometimes it is arduous to write about movies that I haven't enjoyed watching. This one doubly so, because I have already spent 3.5 hours plus about 40 minutes of advertisements on it. Especially, when the end product in mind isn't a good film, but a political rally, one that I hadn't signed up to attend.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: In more scenes than not. Most of it gory.
Language: Lots of abuses.
Nudity & Sexual content: Gang rapes that happened in the story are talked about. Bare chested men.
Concept: "The Revenge"? For family, for country.
General Look and Feel: Dark, gory.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 1
Story: 0.5
Lead Actors: 4.5
Character Artists: 4

Dialogues: 2
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 2
Lyrics: 1

Dhurandhar The Revenge - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Jio Studios, B62 Studios
Producer: Aditya Dhar , Jyoti Deshpande, Lokesh Dhar
Director: Aditya Dhar
Lead Cast: Ranveer Singh
Supporting Cast: Arjun Rampal , R Madhavan , Raj Zutshi, Gaurav Gera, Yami Gautam , Rakesh Bedi, Madhurjeet Sarghi, Manav Gohil, Udaybir Sandhu, Danish Pandor, Bhasha Sumbli, Saumya Tandon, Bimal Oberoi, Asif Ali Haider Khan, Mashhoor Amrohi
Story: Aditya Dhar
Screenplay: Shivkumar V. Panicker, Ojas Gautam
Cinematography: Vikash Nowlakha
Editor: Shivkumar V. Panicker
Background Score: Shashwat Sachdev
Choreography: Vijay Ganguly
Music Director: Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil, Bombay Rockers, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Jasmine Sandlas, Satinder Sartaaj, Token, Reble
Costume Designer: Smriti Chauhan
Running time: 225 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Action

Assi - Review

meeta — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:24:09 +0000

wogma rating: Beg or borrow, but do watch ^(?)

quick review:

The tone is one of frustration, not preachiness. It is not, "We know better than you." It is, "How have we collectively reached here?" This philosophical take alone makes Assi a meaningful experience. And there's a lot more.

Streaming Partner: Zee5

Review

Disclaimer: My family is acquainted with a member of the crew.

The gut doesn't wrench. You are watching a rape on screen. Even if not explicit, it is in quite some detail and relatively long. And yet, it doesn't chill the spine. No, it's not because the film isn't well-made. To the contrary. It's because how normal it has become to read/watch news items about the film's topic, rape. That is exactly the point of the film…rape is being normalised and being called a culture. And this point, the movie makes repeatedly and yet, effectively.

Rape is common. Our blood boils at the thought. But when it comes down to us and our systems, are we doing enough? Are we even asking the right questions? Assi wants to make this point. That too, without lecturing us too much. It engages well and prods us to introspect as a society with philosophical questions. It also goes ahead and craftily breaks the concepts into chewable bite size thoughts without necessarily over-simplifying it.
Some of its understated statements are remarkable. The one that treats a rape like a funeral will stick with me for a long while. And then there were the very enjoyable death stares between Raavi (Taapsee Pannu) and Judge Vasudha (Revathy), some even in the background.

Another power move was to not offer solutions. It points out what it thinks is the wrong direction to go. The arguments to and for some solutions have a living-room-debate quality about them. But, they work because they are short. They make the point and get out of the way.

Surprisingly then, the one thing that bothered me in its final take is that it was too subtle about the core problem. It never directly points out the real problem. It doesn't clearly state why it thinks we are where we are. It surprised me that I wanted it to tell a little more after all it showed. I recognise that that is me requiring that of the makers as a part of society. To be a well-made, well-written film though, they have done their bit to bring out what they want to say. The rest they want us to answer for ourselves. And this maybe where me being a woman comes into play. I don't want the message to be left to the audience "getting" it. Maybe that's why I liked the movie as much as I did—I am okay with it being my voice and speaking louder.

Otherwise, the movie is strewn with mature lines. And it is "just right." Anything more, quantitatively or qualitatively, and it would have felt overwritten. Many of the characters are perfect shades of grey too. That is true of the ones always trying to do the right thing having a believable violent and/or corrupt streak. Sames goes for some villainous characters who have a human vein, even if slight.

Of course, this is thanks to A-Z great performances. To name even the leads without naming the entire acting crew seems unfair.

In fact, but for the first half hour or so of the film, the film's writing delivers on all counts. Sequences are well-paced and flow smoothly. It is only the context setting in the beginning that felt a tad rushed as if they wanted to get to the main point of the film with the least amount of detail. For instance, it bothered me till the end that these seemingly one-time offenders and their support system knew way too well about how a cover-up can be managed. Assi doesn't even spend too much time on the chase. And these seem like deliberate calls. Some might not have worked for me, but others did. And how.

Very rarely does a film make you want to pick a favourite directorial moment. Here, I am oscillating between the regular reminder—a genius way to break the fourth wall; and the delivery of the expected monologue—the decision to lay bare the hapless frustration instead of taking the usual "holier than thou" approach.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Murders, rapes.
Language: A couple of curse words.
Nudity & Sexual content: No nudity, but rape is shown and discussed at length.
Concept: Elusive justice in society.
General Look and Feel: Intense.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 4
Story: 4
Lead Actors: 5
Character Artists: 5

Dialogues: 4
Screenplay: 3.5
Music Director: 3
Lyrics: 3

Assi - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: T-Series Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., A Benaras Mediaworks Production
Producer: Anubhav Sinha , Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Lead Cast: Taapsee Pannu , Kani Kusruti
Supporting Cast: Naseeruddin Shah , Revathy, Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Seema Pahwa, Devendra Chauhan, Advik Jaiswal, Sahil Sethi, Abhishek Kaushal, Tejender Singh, Sudhana Sankar, Pahal Samyani, Tripti Thakur, Akshara Padwal, Neelam Gehlot, Gauri Dhawal, Anaya Goyal, Divyansh Mohan, Akanksha Choudhary, Yogesh Parihar
Story: Anubhav Sinha , Gaurav Solanki
Editor: Ewan Mulligan, Amarjit Singh
Background Score: Ranjit Barot
Music Director: Ranjit Barot , Rochak Kohli
Lyrics: Kumaar
Costume Designer: Vishakha Kullarwar, Joe Mansoori
Running time: 135 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Social

O’ Romeo - Review

meeta — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:29:02 +0000

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do ^(?)

quick review:

Constantly tries too hard to be cool, clever, and pulpy making the 3-hour run tiresome.

Review

Bombay of the 90s, more specifically, Bollywood of the 90s.

Western.

Spanish influence.

Pulpy.

Quirky.
This seems like the checklist the makers wanted to include in O' Romeo.

And, of course, violence. Lots of it and the gorier, the better.

We get it. They are ruthless—antagonist, protagonist and everyone in between. But the onslaught knows no end. That too, when they are taking the shortcut. Most of the fights don't show the mechanics, the process of the kill. You see only the end result.

No, I am not asking for more goriness, I am just saying, "So much gore, so little effect." You see one throat slit after an eye is poked into after a knee is shot on. Or many. But you don't see too much of the run-up. I am grateful for the reduction in dread, but it also reduces the impact.
Despite that, individually, the fight sequences are cool to watch, even if there is rarely anything unique. As a whole though, it doesn't work. There are way too many styles sewn together. And that goes beyond the fights and violence. The background music is thoroughly enjoyable all through the film. But does one piece blend with the other, other than overlapping riffs? Jarringly not.

This isn't surprising. After all, the aim isn't to explore characters or build them. It is to show off. Show all the brutality that was imagined. Show all the cool kind of music that was thought of. That we come to know the two dimensions that the characters have is a by-product. This becomes even more stark when the animosity amongst various characters is told to you and not shown. It is unconvincing given how powerful and intense the individual characters are meant to be. Similarly, the love-hate relationship between Shahid Kapoor and Nana Patekar is feels shallow too.

In fact, almost all characters seem to be cut out of the same wood, just given different motives. They are all quirky with supposedly powerful emotions. Shahid Kapoor carries it forward from Kabir Singh. Nana Patekar and Avinash Tiwary's passion is perfunctory too. Too much shoo-shaa, very little depth.

Same goes for the other parts of the writing too. The dialogue for instance shuttles between over-written and lame. The focus is so hard on being quirky and pulpy and cool that it ends up becoming the opposite—whether it is the twins who speak together or the scores of minions having the same body-type. The latter so much so that it looks almost AI generated like one of the fight sequences in the beginning.

I wish Bharadwaj didn't feel the need to become a Tarantino and/or Wachowski. I understand tipping hats to influences, but I wish there were some ingenuity beyond the couple of standout sequences—the Bombay local one and the one of a series of throat-slits.

There are these sparks in the second half. Else, the little spunk from the first half—like reading out headlines to humour the audience and set the timeline—disappears post-interval.

Then, the story takes over. This is usually a good thing. But here it is episodic, jerky, and worst-of-all cheap. So, you enjoyed making Farida Jalal swear on screen? slow clap You throw in an appeasing India-Pakistan angle? even slower clap Is unacceptable to show national integration without a throwaway, "We don't like ISI either!"
It is absolutely mind-boggling then that you still feel scared for Afsha (Triptii Dimri). I think it has a lot to do with her performance. She is equally believable as a timid but strong village girl as she is as a ferocious lady scorned. While we are at things to appreciate, I quite enjoyed the substitute for the end credit item number. Thank you.

Unfortunately, there is very little else that demands compliments or one can be grateful about.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: ummm…loads. And most of it gory.
Language: Lots of curse words, even if a few are muted.
Nudity & Sexual content: Sex for money, talk about sex, innuendoes, a couple of lip-to-lips, a couple of short making out scenes.
Concept: Revenge drama.
General Look and Feel: Dark, gory.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2
Story: 1
Lead Actors: 3
Character Artists: 2.5

Dialogues: 2
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 4
Lyrics: 3

O’ Romeo - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Lead Cast: Shahid Kapoor , Triptii Dimri
Supporting Cast: Farida Jalal, Nana Patekar , Aruna Irani, Tamannaah Bhatia, Hussain Dalal, Vikrant Massey , Disha Patani, Alok Jain, Avinash Tiwary, Resh Lamba, Rahul Deshpande, Shaurya Shah, Karunakar Dubey, Allauddin Khan, Gourav Sharma, Shiv Kanungo, Sarthak Khurana, Goutam Sharma, Satyaranjan Sahoo
Story: S. Hussain Zaidi
Screenplay: Vishal Bharadwaj , Rohan Narula
Dialogues: Vishal Bharadwaj
Cinematography: Ben Bernhard
Editor: Aarif Shaikh
Background Score: Meghdeep Bose
Choreography: Jani Master, Sumeet Nagdev, Kunal Omprakash Tavri
Music Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Lyrics: Gulzar
Costume Designer: Maxima Basu
Running time: 180 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Action

Mardaani 3 - Review

meeta — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:58:18 +0000

wogma rating: Watch but no rush ^(?)

quick review:

An intense issue. A gripping telling. A tad dramatized. A slump in the climax. But a worthy watch, even if on OTT.

Review

Human life is invaluable or human life has no value—depending on where and to whom you are born. This is the nasty truth that Mardaani 3 takes a stab at. Of course, there are other systemic issues it battles through its righteous cop protagonist, Shivani Shivaji Roy. It attacks the rot that is the beggar mafia and the police force's role in fostering it. It even comments on capitalism. Yes, it bites slightly more than it can chew. But only slightly, not enough to cause indigestion. But also, enough to take the edge off its impact.

Mardaani 3 revolves around the kidnapping of two 8–10-year-old girls. We quickly find out that they are sold to a dreaded group. We are kept in the lurch about what is to happen with the girls. The wait is brutal. Always fearing how much worse must reality be. However, the wait for the real deal is so long and unnerving, that it slightly blunts the villain's gross and despicable purpose. Strangely, it is not what we expect. And yet, despite its ruthlessness and unpredictability, the blow lands softer than anticipated.

Interestingly, it is neither the performances nor the scene-by-scene or sub-plot by sub-plot writing to blame. Rani Mukerji has matured as Shivani has grown to own her space. Mallika Prasad instils fear much like her predecessors in the Mardaani series but it becomes overdone and a tad unbelievable as her character's weaknesses are exposed. I will leave the rest of the cast out to avoid giving away spoilers. But, despite the twists, none of them leave a mark. I doubt we will remember them in episode 4.

Also, some of the situations and their flow keep you engaged and at times, even at the edge of your seats. This is despite loopholes such as smart people who are in the business because they cannot be tracked, not realising they are being followed. Otherwise vigilant people, on both sides, suddenly trusting other people. And so on. However, the other things in the movie are gripping enough to make you let go of these quibbles.

The problem is that the overall story loses steam after the biggest reveal. Not to mention that the characters become less and less believable. I sense that the makers knew this, which is why it comes so late in the movie. They want you keep imagining the grotesque things that happen in such rackets. Unfortunately, it works against the plot.

Also, the over-dramatisation of some scenes is jarring. So, is Shivani's know-it-all behaviour in the beginning which settles down as the movie progresses. In the big picture though, I will take a decently made film about a serious social issue over none at all. That it does so without breaking into song and dance is treating me with respect. That it serves as a break from the war films on circuit is a welcome relief. That it raises a philosophical question, even if in passing, is a bonus.

The question of human life as collateral damage for a better cause is one of debate for some and absolutely crazy to others. It is human life; any damage is damage enough. Versus, if "sacrificing" a few does greater good, then it is ok. The latter proposition is easy to test by putting the believer's dear ones at stake, amongst the few to be sacrificed. Nevertheless, Mardaani 3 puts up its own version of the Trolley problem. But we know its stand from very early on. So, there is no room for the audience to mull over their opinion.

Which also means the pacing of the big reveals is a bit of a question mark. One comes a little too early and the other a little too late. If I were allowed to think a bit in this film, and series even, that is putting all its heart in trying to make meaningful cinema, I would feel a little more invested. That I felt my heart pound earlier in the film and not so much towards the climax is also a sign. But considering the films made these days, that my heart pounded at all means the film got a lot right. And that is enough. That this subject is getting attention, even if in films, is something better than nothing.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Loads, some of it disturbing.
Language: Clean
Nudity & Sexual content: Talk of rape.
Concept: Human trafficking.
General Look and Feel: Gruelling, gruesome.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 3
Story: 3
Lead Actors: 3.5
Character Artists: 2.5

Dialogues: 3
Screenplay: 3
Music Director:
Lyrics:

Mardaani 3 - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Yash Raj Films
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Director: Abhiraj Minawala
Lead Cast: Rani Mukerji, Mallika Prasad Sinha, Prajesh Kashyap
Supporting Cast: Indraneel Bhattacharya, Janki Bodiwala, Mikhail Yawalkar, Jimpa Sangpo Bhutia
Story: Deepak Kingrani, Aayush Gupta, Baljeet Singh Marwah
Screenplay: Aayush Gupta
Dialogues: Aayush Gupta
Cinematography: Artur Zurawski
Editor: Yasha Ramchandani
Background Score: John Stewart Eduri
Music Director: Sarthak Kalyani
Lyrics: Shruti Shukla
Costume Designer: Eka Lakhani, Gunpreet Kaur Mann, Deepali Singh Raseen
Running time: 130 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Social, Thriller

Border 2 - Review

meeta — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 19:37:49 +0000

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do ^(?)

quick review:

What you expect is what you get in Border 2. Border (1) again. The warfare seems unending, just like the film. The same laboured lines with forced energy and brief, cursory, and measured attempts at balance.

Streaming Partner: Netflix

Review

Border 2 is an ode to its brand. Not even war films, in general, it is an homage to the first episode. What's more, it is set in the same war too—the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. There is hardly any attempt to be different, let alone be more. So, if you liked the first film and feel like seeing it on the big screen, then you are in the right place.

I must say though, the first sequence raised my hopes a bit. The action choreography in that sequence, the tense situation seemed like we are in for a good ride—technically, writing and telling all felt promising. But, nope. Soon enough the usual war drama, overtly hopeful dialogue, cringe-worthy domineering, empty jingoism, and enemy bashing begin.

I found it amusing that most of the times, Indians refer to Pakistan as "enemy" but Pakistanis refer to India as "Hindustan". To me having the enemy name us is an indication of wanting to foster the hatred. Then, the attempts at balance and empathy seem hollow and perfunctory. In contrast, more than once, they had soldiers doing seemingly stupid things like charge and open fire in a bare and plain landscape without any apparent strategy.

Speaking of strategy, a dark dusky palette is used for the war scenes, especially in the last hour or so. As a commentary on the futility of war, where soldiers are dying on either side of the border, the colour tone worked. But as an audience, it was a distraction because I kept wanting to adjust the brightness.

Just like I wanted to adjust the patchy and uneven story telling. The film didn't quite stand up to the challenge it set for itself, that of balancing the contributions made by army, navy, air force. Neither the story, nor the screenplay flowed smoothly. Also, the emotional arcs were like pop-outs rather than blending with the milieu.

I understand why the scenes had to stand separately. But from a writing point of view, the 3x6 matrix of the three limbs of the military with the emotional and war angles, felt like a jigsaw puzzle with square pieces taped together.

Even the background music felt like a mismatch to what was going on in the scene. The build up to crescendos would abruptly end with nothing very dramatic on screen. That made the film a tad different, but it took attention away from the story. So, was the riff from "I've come from Alabama…" It sounded nice, but mind kept wandering to the possibility of plagiarism. I quite enjoyed the choreography and picturisation for that song though.

It was the opposite for the performances. There was nothing standout about them. The regular forgettable fare with weird timing and pauses in line delivery failing at the aim to be impactful, forceful, etc. It didn't help that the dubbing seemed off too.

It is a shame though. Because using stories of everyday soldiers to exemplify the vainness of war is so promising. But they use stories that are pretty similar to each other. When they are slightly different, there is a strain. So, even if the film has mothers who are not all about birthing sons to serve the nation. That sentiment is held with an arms distance, almost as if the makers are afraid to take that potentially unpopular stand. And then the moments of empathy, balance, and tenderness are few and far between. These glimpses are not really enough to engage for 200 minutes.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Usual war film bombing and gunfire. Not too gory, except for a couple of scenes.
Language: Clean.
Nudity & Sexual content: None.
Concept: Based on the India-Pakistan war of 1971.
General Look and Feel: Dusty and gun-powdery war fare.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 1.5
Story: 1
Lead Actors: 1
Character Artists: 1

Dialogues: 1
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 2
Lyrics: 1.5

Border 2 - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: T-Series Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., J P Films
Producer: J P Dutta, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Nidhi Dutta
Director: Anurag Singh
Lead Cast: Sunny Deol , Varun Dhawan , Diljit Dosanjh , Ahan Shetty
Supporting Cast: Mona Singh, Anya Singh , Sonam Bajwa, Paramvir Singh Cheema, Medha Rana
Music Director: Mithoon, Anu Malik, Vishal Mishra, Sachet Tandon, Parampara Tandon, Gurmoh
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar , Manoj Muntashir, Kumaar, Kausar Munir
Running time: 200 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Patriotism, War

Ikkis - Review

meeta — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:37:33 +0000

wogma rating: Watch but no rush ^(?)

quick review:

A Hindi war film that points to the futility of war and doesn’t spend all its time glamorising it is a win, even if this one isn’t among the best war films out there.

Streaming partner: Amazon Prime

Review

I have become wary of Hindi war films because of the chest-thumping and the full-throated endorsement of war. Of course, it is valiant, what our defence forces do for us. But that we ought to seek violence and be proud of how many we've killed makes me uncomfortable. And most Hindi war films commend the "josh" and see jingoistic fervour as a top virtue in one's value system. It was refreshing then, to have an officer in Ikkis ask a new soldier to temper that enthusiasm. That, and other nudges to curb the sensationalism, are wins for me.

Does that mean Ikkis is a well-made film? Not entirely. First of all, of course, it takes a shot at expressing "necessity of war vs its futility," "we are all humans," and "land is land." This shouldn't need extra applause, but it is a brave stance in the nationalistic environment the world is going through.

It also has some witty, insightful and moving dialogue with great delivery by the supporting cast. I quite enjoyed Kiran Kochar's (Simar Bhatia) character too, a woman expressing her agency, and calling out a man's lack of sensitivity, especially a soldier, is quite deep for a Hindi film, let alone a war film. That Ikkis even shows the soldier's dilemma and him not being the perfect person itself spark interest in the character. But…

Yes, there is a but. Many, in fact. Simar Bhatia isn't the greatest actor on the block. Many a time it felt as if she's reading out the lines instead of owning them. Also, her scenes with her boyfriend, Lt Arun Khetarpal (Agastya Nanda) are perfunctory and lack zing.

Agastya Nanda too doesn't have much variation in his expression or body language as he moves from disappointment to happiness to fervour. Maybe they are yet to grow as actors. Then again, the veteran also, struggles through his lines. It is admirable that Dharmendra continued to work well into his eighties. But that doesn't keep his act from being jarring.

What they lack, though, is made up by Jaideep Ahlawat's presence through his character, Brigadier Jaan Mohammad Nisar's sincerity and Sikander Kher's timing in expressing Risaldar Sagat Singh's casual yet firm demeanour.

Other than that, there is nothing too spectacular about the war scenes. There is nothing to complain about either. In fact, the telling is done by the true-life story itself. And towards that end, Ikkis is a film one ought to watch, even if it is on OTT.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Loads. It is a war film. Some of it is gory too.
Language: Clean.
Nudity & Sexual content: None.
Concept: The bravery of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal during the 1971 India-Pakistan war
General Look and Feel: A war film.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 3
Story: 4
Lead Actors: 3
Character Artists: 3

Dialogues: 4
Screenplay: 3
Music Director: 2.5
Lyrics: 2.5

Ikkis - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Maddock Films
Producer: Dinesh Vijan
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Lead Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat , Agastya Nanda, Simar Bhatia
Supporting Cast: Dharmendra , Asrani, Rahul Dev, Vivaan Shah , Ekavali Khanna, Sikandar Kher, Aadyanshi Kapoor, Pragati Anand, Guneet Sandhu
Story: Sriram Raghavan, Pooja Ladha Surti, Arijit Biswas
Cinematography: Anil Mehta
Editor: Monisha R Baldawa
Background Score: Sachin Sanghvi , Jigar Saraiya
Choreography: Vijay Ganguly
Music Director: Sachin Sanghvi , Jigar Saraiya , White Noise Collectives
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil, Amitabh Bhattacharya
Costume Designer: Rohit Chaturvedi
Running time: 150 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Based on true life story, War

Dhurandhar - Review

meeta — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:34:31 +0000

wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list ^(?)

quick review:

Carries a disconcerting undercurrent of provocation, propaganda and victimhood, even though it is a well-made film that engages through its 3.5-hour-long runtime.

Streaming partner: Netflix

Review

This wannabe Gangs of Wasseypur might not match up to its aspirations, but it has enough meat in its story to keep you engaged for one watch. Yet it reeks of performative nationalism channelled through characters who think their government has been soft on terror. Because it is reasonably well-made, both story-wise and technically, it was especially disturbing for me.

Because violence can be justified. Because revenge is glorified. Because peace is described as too high a price to pay.

If we peel away the layer of bashing an entire country for what its mafia and politicians do, we have a decent story. Of course, we have to ignore its primary premise too—that a spy of one country can uncover terrorist attacks by infiltrating the mafia gangs in one area of one city in the other country. Once we take related leaps of faith, we have a decent film on our hands.

The story works because of the number of characters, even if no individual character is more than an outline, and all of them are unidimensional. The interplay and double-crossing between the characters keep you engaged, even if not engrossed.

I can imagine, however, that the film would be an absorbing experience for those who are entertained by brutal, gory violence on screen. There is no dearth of that. Every 15-20 minutes, there is one scene with slaughtering or some such.

Of course, the cast carries out the butchery with vigour—be it Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, or the rest of the supporting cast. In that sense, the film is full of all-around superlative performances because of the energy on screen. But, outside of violence, the acting is meek. Even people who were part of a terrifying bloodbath in the previous scene come across as limp in the next. It's almost as if the violence and action choreography did the job for the actors.

And yeah, this is a "man" film. In the story, the women exist either to provoke or to be used as a pawn, with no intrinsic role in the direction the story takes. The dates of the real-life terrorist acts around which the story is stitched together have a larger role to play than the women. The mentions of prime ministers over the years and of a state government seem to have made their way into the film to please the powers that be.

Having said all of that, I am not averse to the next episode that is due soon. It is likely to be more of the same, but the deceit amongst characters hasn't worn me out yet. I am also intrigued by the political commentary the film is likely to offer. It is as disturbing as it is amusing. Amusing because for all the glorification of revenge, the makers didn't even bother to translate the chapter titles to Hindi! Also, why the "patriotism" feels insincere.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Loads. Showing gore and brutality seems to be one of its main objectives.
Language: Lots of expletives can be made out even if they are muted.
Nudity & Sexual content: None really.
Concept: Gangs of Lyari are infiltrated by an Indian spy.
General Look and Feel: Ruthless mafia's den.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 3
Story: 3
Lead Actors: 3
Character Artists: 3

Dialogues: 2.5
Screenplay: 3.5
Music Director: 3
Lyrics: 2

Dhurandhar - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Jio Studios, B62 Studios
Producer: Aditya Dhar , Jyoti Deshpande, Lokesh Dhar
Director: Aditya Dhar
Lead Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Ranveer Singh , Sara Arjun
Supporting Cast: Sanjay Dutt , Arjun Rampal , R Madhavan , Naveen Kaushik, Keith Sequeira, Rakesh Bedi, Manav Gohil, Krystle D'Souza, Vikash Rai
Story: Aditya Dhar
Screenplay: Shivkumar V. Panicker
Dialogues: Aditya Dhar
Cinematography: Vikash Nowlakha
Editor: Shivkumar V. Panicker
Background Score: Shashwat Sachdev
Choreography: Vijay Ganguly
Music Director: R.D.Burman, Shashwat Sachdev, Charanjit Ahuja
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil, Kumaar, Sahir Ludhianvi, Jasmine Sandlas, Raj Ranjodh, Babu Singh Maan, Hanumankind
Costume Designer: Smriti Chauhan
Running time: 215 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Action

De De Pyaar De 2 - Review

meeta — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 18:11:50 +0000

wogma rating: Watch but no rush ^(?)

quick review:

An unexpectedly mature take on a difficult dilemma faced by parents. It'd have been nice, though, if the makers were as secure about their story as its protagonist is about himself. Yes, the silly humour is arguably unnecessary.

Streaming Partner: Netflix

Review

As an educated, progressive, modern parent, I have always wondered what curveball my kids would throw at me. Where would I draw the line? And this one comes very close—my 25-year-old wanting to commit to a 50-year-old, gender irrespective—will make me question their judgement. Not because their partner is the same age as mine. But the practicality of my child having to worry about yet another elderly person when they are my age. And this is where De De Pyaar De 2's premise has everything going for it. At least some part of the audience might be rooting against the protagonists. What a lovely concept to play with, writing-wise.

To a large extent, De De Pyaar De 2 comes through for its subject. The conflict is real. More importantly, the when and how it is resolved seems real too. There is no one-line transition. There is an inner struggle, and it is resolved with a solid, meaningful argument. It answers, "What does being there for your child truly mean?" with rare insight.

The characters' emotional maturity, when it exists, adds a unique elegance to the film. Yeah…"when it exists." The film shuttles between maturity and silliness, which makes the tone inconsistent. The same goes for the humour. The movie/TV show/advertisement self-referencing for the actors doesn't flow organically, making it jarring.

Is that enough to overpower the film's earnest feminist take? Yes and no. Mainly because of the pacing. There is a sudden shift in one of the protagonist's attitude, which feels out of place, and it is a little too late when you find out the reason. This shift in the screenplay is rather meta—the audience is manipulated just like the characters in the film manoeuvre each other.

For a change, though, the plotting and scheming, the emotional blackmail, the rationalisations, the stories we tell ourselves, the making the right noises at the right times—are not at all far-fetched. It wouldn't be surprising if we all know someone who has done that in our families to get their way.

So even if the telling gets loud, the dialogue is often powerful without being film-y. It is an exchange that could very well happen in our drawing rooms with our parents or children. And yet it is meaningful and succinct without being preachy. I actually even enjoyed the subtitles and was amused by an HTML tag that found its way to the screen in one of the songs. That is to say, the effort in the writing shows, even if it is uneven.

Interestingly, there are a couple of situations in which you can't really predict which way it will go, even though you know what's coming next from the trailer. You don't know how they will get there. I also admired that the other suitor for the lead lady is not a red flag, which is usually the case in such stories. Perhaps the character could have used a different actor. But then again, that might be because of how he was directed and his character's personality.

Speaking of which, this role perfectly suits the secure, sure Ashish that Ajay Devgn has to play. It is a cakewalk for R Madhavan playing Ayesha's (Rakul Preet's) father. Preet is a tad loud and thus irksome. The supporting cast is hit and miss, but no one stands out or stays in memory for too long.

So, when it is not brash and cringe, which it isn't for the most part, De De Pyaar De 2 is engaging. Sadly, though, the former keeps it from being a "must-watch."

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: None
Language: A couple of curse words. The rest muted out.
Nudity & Sexual content: A lip-to-lip.
Concept: A 25-year-old and a 50+-year-old are in love with each other. They are out to convince the girl's family.
General Look and Feel: Peppy and loud.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2
Story: 3
Lead Actors: 2.5
Character Artists: 2.5

Dialogues: 3.5
Screenplay: 2
Music Director: 2
Lyrics: 2.5

De De Pyaar De 2 - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: T-Series Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., Luv Films
Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Luv Ranjan, Kishan Kumar, Ankur Garg
Director: Anshul Sharma
Lead Cast: Ajay Devgan , Rakul Preet
Supporting Cast: R Madhavan , Jaaved Jaaferi , Yo YO Honey Singh, Gautami Kapoor, Ishita Dutta, Meezaan Jafri
Story: Luv Ranjan, Tarun Jain
Cinematography: Sudhir K. Chaudhary
Editor: Chetan M Solanki
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Raju Khan
Music Director: Hitesh Sonik, Yo YO Honey Singh, Jaani, Payal Dev, Aditya Dev, Sagar Bhatia, Avvy Sra
Lyrics: Kumaar, Yo YO Honey Singh, Jaani, Sagar Bhatia, Karan Aujla
Running time: 150 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Family, Relationships

Thamma - Review

meeta — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 17:00:37 +0000

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do ^(?)

quick review:

No effort to create anything of substance. Some attempt at world-building. But why would a hollow universe interest anyone? Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime

Review

It was really nice to watch a fantasy world created with consistent rules and some thought. Unfortunately, the world doesn't really hook. It didn't capture my interest as I found myself drifting out of its realm a little too often. Indeed, it was an effort to stay connected and invested in the characters and their well-being.

This is mostly because neither the story nor the telling takes itself very seriously. For instance, it ignores the fact that comedy is serious business. Attempts to make you laugh are way too casually and carelessly inserted. They don't flow within the context of the film and therefore end up making the film's pace uneven and its execution jagged.

The performances are all earnest and energetic—of the loud, monotonous kind. Ultimately, it makes the film annoying. Yes, despite Ayushmann Khurrana and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Everyone is yelling their lungs out with little effect.

I'd say it's not their fault, though. The material is as flimsy as it is forgettable. And it is a shame because Hindi cinema is truly lacking a well-made supernatural fantastical movie, let alone a world. One that can take advantage of the latest technologies with creativity that goes beyond whooshes of dust flying through the screen and apparitions appearing and going missing.

This film, though, isn't that. And the world needs a lot more work in terms of purpose and focus. The characters are cardboard cutouts of generic Hindi film characters. The situations more or less fall into a similar category.

Thamma falls squarely in the "something is better than nothing" category. Not nearly good enough.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 1.5
Story: 2
Lead Actors: 2.5
Character Artists: 1.5

Dialogues: 2.5
Screenplay: 1
Music Director: 2
Lyrics: 2

Thamma - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Maddock Films , Jio Studios
Producer: Dinesh Vijan, Amar Kaushik
Director: Aditya Ajay Sarpotdar
Lead Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui , Ayushman Khurana , Rashmika Mandanna
Supporting Cast: Paresh Rawal , Malaika Arora Khan, Sathyaraj, Varun Dhawan , Nora Fatehi, Faisal Malik, Abhishek Banerjee , Alexander O’Neal
Story: Niren Bhatt , Suresh Mathew, Arun Fulara
Screenplay: Niren Bhatt , Suresh Mathew, Arun Fulara
Dialogues: Niren Bhatt , Suresh Mathew, Arun Fulara
Cinematography: Saurabh Goswami
Editor: Hemanti Sarkar
Background Score: Sachin Sanghvi , Jigar Saraiya
Choreography: Ranju Verghese, Vijay Ganguly
Music Director: Sachin Sanghvi , Jigar Saraiya
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Costume Designer: Sheetal Iqbal Sharma
Running time: 150 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Action, Thriller

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari - Review

meeta — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:01:49 +0000

wogma rating: Don't bother ^(?)

quick review:

Love is fickle—that's my takeaway from this boring romance. The only highlights are some song and dance sequences.

Streaming Partner: Netflix

Review

I admire how quickly and easily this film's characters fall in and out of love. Of course, story-wise, we all know that their initial "true love" existed only so that it could fall apart. Which also means to begin with, we don't believe that Sunny Sanskari (Varun Dhawan) is in love with Ananya (Sanya Malhotra) or Tulsi Kumari (Janhvi Kapoor) with Vikram (Rohit Saraf). The problem, then, is that given that knowledge, the very premise of the film falls apart. So, we have given up on any hope from the story at the very outset.

The next onus of engaging us falls on the situations and the dialogue. The situations reek of lazy writing. For instance, none of the characters question the logic of some very questionable actions and reactions. It is almost as if the makers wanted to make a film that had loads of wedding-y songs and dances. The rest is just padding for that to happen.

After a while, they even gave up on naming which wedding function was on. Thankfully, the music is peppy, and some of the songs are memorable too. And they have been picturised and executed well too. But they are just sewn together haphazardly. And why-o-why do we have a sleazy end-credit item number which is utterly disconnected with texture of the film?

Also, there is hardly any support from any of the other departments. If you are wondering whether the dialogue carries any weight, you are wasting energy. Are the actors able to bring life to the lines? Just about. The film is on the edge of being a full-fledged slapstick one.

Varun Dhawan and some of the actors playing smaller roles are loud and insufferable. The women, Sanya Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor, bring some semblance of calm and composure. But only occasionally. Rohit Saraf and Akshay Oberoi don't have enough screen presence for you to remember them. And so it goes with the rest of the character artists.

In this mess, then, it was surprising to see a comment on patriarchy and feminism. And just when I was willing to take that as the one thing that made the film worth being made. But I let my hopes rise a bit too soon. In the last scene, a woman who had found her self-worth through the film was asked to quit her job. Just like that. That hurt.

And with that, this supposedly romantic film leaves nothing warm to remember. A few of the songs, sure. But those you can watch stand-alone and continue to listen to online, right? Right.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Some people are being slapped.
Language: A couple of curse words slipped through.
Nudity & Sexual content: A lip-to-lip. An end-credit item number.
Concept: Boy meets girl because their exes are getting married. And they want to stop that from happening.
General Look and Feel: Bright, loud, peppy.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 1
Story: 0.5
Lead Actors: 1.5
Character Artists: 1.5

Dialogues: 1
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 3
Lyrics: 2.5

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Dharma Productions , Mentor Disciple Film
Producer: Karan Johar , Shashank Khaitan, Apoorva Mehta , Adar Poonawalla
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Lead Cast: Varun Dhawan , Sanya Malhotra , Rohit Saraf, Janhvi Kapoor
Supporting Cast: Akshay Oberoi, Manini Chadha, Maniesh Paul, Prajakta Koli, Kavita Pais, Nazneen Madan, Monika Kohli, Rohitashv Gour, Dharna Durga, Gaurav Sikri, Mallika Chhabra, Neel Salekar, Karan Sudhakar Sonawane, Salim Arif, Seema Singh
Story: Shashank Khaitan
Screenplay: Shashank Khaitan
Cinematography: Manush Nandan
Editor: Manan Sagar, Charu Shree Roy
Background Score: John Stewart Eduri
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Bosco Martis, Piyush-Shazia
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty , Ravi Pawar, Tanishk Bagchi, Krishna Kishor
Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Ajay Jhingran, Sonu Nigam, Tanishk Bagchi
Costume Designer: Manish Malhotra , Kunal Rawal, Shilpa Makhija, Varsha Chandanani
Running time: 135 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Romance

Homebound - Review

meeta — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 15:21:19 +0000

wogma rating: Add to 'must watch' list ^(?)

quick review:

Homebound touches you because it's intentionally unsettling. A no-frills look at society, with simple-AND-powerful storytelling and grounded, heartfelt performances.

Streaming Partner: Netflix

Review

We are in a world where a family can own smartphones, yet live under a kutcha roof. And the irony is that we, the audience in air-conditioned theatres, know that world is real. Throughout Homebound, this stark contrast—between the viewer and the viewed, and within the film's world itself—is haunting, daunting, touching, upsetting, heartbreaking and a little warm too.

How can the suffocating circumstances of Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) as a Muslim in India and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa) as a person from a scheduled caste be warm, you ask? Because the filmmakers make you feel for them without making you feel sorry for them or their situation.

This could also be because the characters are all representatives of the groups they belong to, making them, especially Shoaib and Chandan, two-dimensional placeholders. The situations too are dictated by the single identities—a Muslim man and a man belonging to a scheduled caste. Each scene is charged with the looming implication of how other characters are going to respond to their identities.
That makes the film a tad predictable. It doesn't help that the film is quiet but not subtle about laying out the facts as they are. I wouldn’t fault the makers for refusing subtlety, given what we’ve become as a society.

Indeed, the predictability made me very aware of my privilege, the dire situation of these groups, and the sorry state of society that we live in. Why can I tell that some of the characters are likely to react to Shoaib and Chandan?

While I can take refuge under the protection offered by some deeply affecting performances by Vishal Jethwa, Ishaan Khatter and the entire ensemble, the truth is that these societal issues are glaring us in the face day in and day out. Making me, as a part of the audience, constantly aware of them is the film's win—taking nothing away from how lived-in and rooted the entire cast looked and felt. I wish Janhvi Kapoor had a bigger role she could dig her teeth into. Though from the trailers, it looks like some of her scenes with Jethwa and Khatter didn't make the final cut.

Once you get over the "representative" nature of the characters, which results in the broad predictability of the storyline—and even if you don't get over it completely—you care for the boys. You don't want them to constantly have to temper their aspirations, which would be truly humble goals in an ideal society. But real life has it otherwise. You want them to make it.

Other than that, the film is gracefully and elegantly framed and shot with a couple of beautifully heartbreaking aerial shots. Some of the dialogue might be slightly overwritten, but it stops right in time to not become jarring.

Homebound is a reminder of how films don't need to get into histrionics to be engaging and thought-provoking. Just a matter-of-fact narration and execution is enough. More power to the makers—directors, producers, and writers.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: A fist fight, police beating up a mob.
Language: Clean.
Nudity & Sexual content: None.
Concept: Two childhood friends growing up in poverty try to balance their aspirations in a world that is staged against them from the word go.
General Look and Feel: Earthy, real.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 4
Story: 4
Lead Actors: 5
Character Artists: 5

Dialogues: 3.5
Screenplay: 4
Music Director: 3.5
Lyrics: 3.5

Homebound - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Dharma Productions
Producer: Karan Johar , Apoorva Mehta , Somen Mishra, Adar Poonawalla
Director: Neeraj Ghaywan
Lead Cast: Ishaan Khatter , Vishal Jethwa
Supporting Cast: Chandan Anand, Shalini Vatsa, Janhvi Kapoor, Shreedhar Dubey, Harshika Parmar, Vijay Vikram Singh, Yogendra Vikram Singh, Pankaj Dubey
Story: Neeraj Ghaywan , Sumit Roy, Basharat Peer
Screenplay: Neeraj Ghaywan
Dialogues: Varun Grover , Neeraj Ghaywan , Shreedhar Dubey
Cinematography: Pratik Shah
Background Score: Naren Chandavarkar, Benedict Taylor
Music Director: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Varun Grover
Costume Designer: Rohit Chaturvedi
Running time: 120 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Based on true life story, Social

Jolly LLB 3 - Review

meeta — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:01:35 +0000

wogma rating: Watch but no rush ^(?)

quick review:

A topic that should be part of every living room conversation plays out as a predictable yet meaningful courtroom drama. The strongest film in the series so far, but still weighed down by unnecessary, slapstick flab.

(Streaming Partner: Netflix)

Review

Jolly LLB must be one of those rare series that is getting better with every episode. Not by a lot, though. And considering the first one was barely memorable, that is not saying much now, is it? Yet, this one will stick mainly because of the premise of the plot and the arguments on both sides. But it won't stick a lot better in memory because it is padded up with way too many side-tracks.

Jolly LLB 3 is, certainly helped by the topic—development, farmer suicides, inequality, and how the rich and powerful manipulate to marginalise the already marginalised. It is a burning current issue that is talked about way too flippantly in middle- and upper-class societies. Jolly LLB does well by giving the generic "farmer" a face and a story, even if it is as predictable as any such courtroom drama.

It is not just that you know what the general outcome of the case and the film will be. You even know which defence arguments are going to be picked up by the plaintiff's lawyer—line-for-line. And that would still be okay. It is an important enough conversation that I was willing to sacrifice my need to be surprised or blown away.

The fluff around this solid storyline is problematic, though. Of course, there is the passing derogatory language-tone combination used about gender and skin tone. But there is also the trans person prelude, the lawyers' personal life, and most of all, the judge's personal life—all extraneous, doing little to add context, and adding unnecessary minutes to the runtime.

Unnecessary because the film has so much going for it. There are lovely background-music-free conversations that allow you to soak in the vibe. The one stand-off between Khaitan (Gajraj Rao) and Janki (Seema Biswas) leaves a much more powerful impact compared to all the arguments in the courtroom.

It does help that a couple of the actors do justice to their characters. For instance, you do feel like slapping Ram Kapoor's Advocate Vikram for thinking poor people ought to feel obligated to his client for buying their land. And you feel infuriated on behalf of the villagers led by Seema Biswas. Shilpa Shukla's role might be the most inconsequential one, but she takes it on earnestly. She blushes so well!

The other actors such as Arshad Warsi, Akshay Kumar, and Gajraj Rao might not inspire any strong feelings, but they don't turn you off either. Huma Qureshi and Amrita Rao, though, are mere props. And, of course, there is Saurabh Shukla, who does what he is told to do so well. But, should he really be made to say or do all the inanities his role demands? Shouldn't he be treated better?

Despite all of that, I did walk out of the theatre feeling grateful to all these people for taking on this all-important and controversial social commentary. Maybe one day, real life will match reel life.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Police beating protestors. A fist fight.
Language: Clean
Nudity & Sexual content: None
Concept: David vs Goliath. Marginal farmers vs business tycoon.
General Look and Feel: Crisp, no-frills.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2.5
Story: 3
Lead Actors: 2.5
Character Artists: 2.5

Dialogues: 2.5
Screenplay: 1.5
Music Director: 2
Lyrics: 2.5

Jolly LLB 3 - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Star Studio
Producer: Ajit Andhare, Alok Jain
Director: Subhash Kapoor
Lead Cast: Arshad Warsi , Akshay Kumar
Supporting Cast: Amrita Rao , Seema Biswas, Saurabh Shukhla , Shilpa Shukla , Vibha Chibber, Ram Kapoor , Avijit Dutt, Huma Qureshi , Sameer Khurana, Robin Das, Gajraj Rao , Srikant Verma, Kharaj Mukherjee, Mahender Singh Bisht, Rajshree Sawant, Vinod Suryavanshi, Mahesh Sharma, Raman Atre, Sukumar Tudu, Vandana Rao Pianist, Ankur Rastogi, Aadarsh Giri, Deepak Gurjar, Sajid Akhtar, Rajendra Mathur
Story: Subhash Kapoor
Dialogues: Subhash Kapoor
Cinematography: Rangarajan Ramabadran
Editor: Chandrashekhar Prajapati
Background Score: Mangesh Dhadke
Music Director: Vikram Montrose, Anurag Saikia , Aman Panth
Lyrics: Puneet Sharma, Ram Kumar Singh, Pardhaan, Megha Bali, Akhil Tiwari
Costume Designer: Veera Kapur
Running time: 140 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Social

Baaghi 4 - Review

meeta — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:09:13 +0000

wogma rating: Don't bother ^(?)

quick review:

It's so bloated that every thump in the music, each fight sequence, nearly every song, every attempt at comic relief seems like a huge, stinky burp.

Review

Usually, for sequels, I don't go back and read the reviews I wrote of the earlier instalments. But, this time, I couldn't resist the temptation because the fourth edition felt way too much like more-of-the-same. I had to double-check if I was remembering correctly. Baaghi 4 surpasses the other three in being incoherent even though it might be slightly less problematic.

For instance, the plot just goes from bad to worse and even worse scene after scene after scene. The absurdity goes so out of hand that I laughed out loud when I should have been crying at the tragic state of the writing.

Sure, the women have slightly more agency here. Not nearly enough, though, to give Baaghi 4 points for making at least some women characters have shape that goes beyond their bodies' forms.

Then there is the '80s-'90s brand of pointless comic relief. Unless the point of the entire film was to somehow go past the 2.5-hour mark. And it would be believable if it were that. Even the fight sequences in this action film feel like they are "extra". They are also half-hearted because the editing and sound leaves the gore to your imagination rather than going all out and showing it on screen. There's nothing else that can explain the ridiculous placement of songs in the narrative.

Then again, nothing explains so many other weird things happening in the film. And can we really, truly expect a sober explanation? After all, this film's idea of creativity is its protagonist lighting cigarettes and human bodies with live electric wires.

If that were not enough, the actors feel like they were in different rooms when the scene was shot and sewn together using some artificial technology. While Tiger Shroff has been able to emote better than in his previous films, the story and his arc are so lacklustre that he can't be expected to carry that burden.

Yes, that is despite the generally interesting opening premise of the film. The build-up is so long, so flat and at the same time so full of gas that you lose interest in knowing what is going on with this vulnerable man! Even if the brain's involuntary response to almost every event in the film is, "What the #3!! is going on!?"
Then you have Harnaaz Sandhu putting up a show that you want to admire, but it is so weird in the context of the film that you want to shut your eyes. The rest of the crew is loud, over-the-top, intolerable, cringe-inducing…all at once.

And the last (or first) weird thing, of course, like all the films in this series, is that this film too has no reason to call itself Baaghi. Who's rebelling? Against what?

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Loads. Attempt at being gory, but bad edits leave a lot to your imagination.
Language: Clean.
Nudity & Sexual content: The usual item-number type song and show of Tiger Shroff's 2,594 abs.
Concept: A man mourns the death of the love of his life? ;)
General Look and Feel: Attempt at gory action.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 0.5
Story: 0
Lead Actors: 1
Character Artists: 0

Dialogues: 0.5
Screenplay: 0
Music Director: 1
Lyrics: 1

Baaghi 4 - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala
Director: A. Harsha
Lead Cast: Tiger Shroff , Harnaaz Sandhu
Supporting Cast: Sanjay Dutt , Shreyas Talpade , Upendra Limaye, Sonam Bajwa
Screenplay: Rajat Arora , Sajid Nadiadwala
Dialogues: Rajat Arora
Cinematography: Swamy J Gowda
Editor: Kiran Gowda, Nitin FCP
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Farah Khan , Raju Khan, Bosco Martis, Aadil Shaikh
Music Director: Gourav Dasgupta, Badshah, Tanishk Bagchi, Payal Dev, Aditya Dev, Suyyash Rai, Aagaaz Virk, Ganesh Waghela, Siddhaant Miishhraa, Mani Moudgill, Salamat Ali Matoi, Josh Brar
Lyrics: Kumaar, Sameer (2), Danish Sabri, Badshah, Mani Moudgill, Josh Brar, Farhan Memon, Gopi Sidhu, Paradox, Starboy Loc, Diljan, Jagdeep Warring
Costume Designer: Manish Malhotra , Aki Narula, Navin Shetty, Rushi Sharma, Manoshi Nath, Ashish Sharma, Chetna Rawat
Running time: 155 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Action

Param Sundari - Review

meeta — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:48:54 +0000

wogma rating: Don't bother ^(?)

quick review:

Using 2020s' slang can't hide the jadedness of the girl-meets-boy plot. Dropping Shah Rukh Khan and Sri Devi references only highlight the story's age-old, simplistic "What if?" Even these icons, four decades ago, knew they had to reimagine the genre.

Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime

Review

The saving grace is…yes, there is so much to gripe about that I will begin with the sort-a kind-a redeeming qualities.

The unabashed racism via the problematic alter-ego friend is countered. It is called out, it is not normalised, and it is reversed using the character's arc. In that sense, Param Sundari offers a social commentary.

Then, the third point of the love triangle is actually a likeable character instead of the usual despicable one in such films.

But, aren't these aspects the bare minimum in any kind of responsible writing? And anyway, the rest of the writing and narration is as lazy as it gets. It feels like yet another film that worked its way backwards. They either wanted to make an Onam film or highlight the North-South contrast through a film. In either case, everything else is retro-fitted to serve that purpose.

Within that too, the details are rather shabbily written. The lead lady character is quite inconsistent. She is conveniently sickle-wielding, no nonsense bold or loses all agency depending on the part of the story we are at. One might argue that she is vulnerable to certain characters in her life, but it just isn't convincing.

Other than that, save for one honest moment, the film is loud. It skirts around being slapsticky, but doesn't want to own that label. There's loads of objectification. I guess they want us to be grateful that it is equal opportunity objectification as far as gender goes.

Towards that end, both Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor look absolutely stunning. Their act is constrained by the material given to them making it slightly unfair to judge their performances. Inayat Verma is the most engaging of all the characters who have been decidedly told to go over-the-top but be under control.

This last bit convinces me that the makers were very aware of the plot's plainness. Only that can explain the weird #ificiation of the dialogue. The new-age language pops out for you to notice it rather than blending in with the film. And that doesn't quite "slap". See what I mean?

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: An arena fight.
Language: Clean
Nudity & Sexual content: A lip-to-lip. Lots of eeky male and female objectification.
Concept: Girl meets boy
General Look and Feel: Bright and chirpy. Loud and jumpy.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2
Story: 1
Lead Actors: 2.5
Character Artists: 1.5

Dialogues: 1.5
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 2.5
Lyrics: 2.5

Param Sundari - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Maddock Films
Producer: Dinesh Vijan
Director: Tushar Jalota
Lead Cast: Sidharth Malhotra , Janhvi Kapoor
Supporting Cast: Sanjay Kapoor, Manjot Singh, Renji Panikkar, Inayat Verma, Siddhartha Shankar
Story: Aarsh Vora, Tushar Jalota, Gaurav Mishra
Screenplay: Aarsh Vora, Tushar Jalota
Dialogues: Aarsh Vora, Tushar Jalota, Gaurav Mishra
Cinematography: Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran, Jani Master
Editor: Manish Pradhan
Background Score: Sachin Sanghvi , Jigar Saraiya
Choreography: Brinda Gopal
Music Director: Sachin Sanghvi , Jigar Saraiya
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Costume Designer: Sheetal Iqbal Sharma
Running time: 135 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Comedy, Romance

War 2 - Review

meeta — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:08:03 +0000

wogma rating: Don't bother ^(?)

quick review:

Reasonably decent conceptualisation of fight sequences with tacky execution. The rest—patriotism, plot, etc—is anyway only padding around the cool-on-paper action.

Review

For starters, it is not about war. And no, that is not giving the movie away. At best, it is giving the title away. The good news then is, if you are looking for aggrandisation of war, you won't find it here. What is it about then? It is the wish and vision to show a lot of action around something that will sell. And, of course, that something is patriotism.

Which might have still worked, if only, the fight sequences weren't mostly shabby CGI and edits taking over actual action choreography. It is borderline annoying because you see all the money spent on awesome, non-standard locations, but zero creativity in the execution.

It is a given that almost anything cool is clearly a rip-off from something we have seen in Hollywood. But that's not my complaint about the creativity. It's frustrating that it is not copied well despite the resources.

And if they are at this stage in their main aim—action—it would be silly to expect creativity in the writing, right? Like even simple things, such as having loftier aims. Why are spies from the YRF Spy Universe only saving India and not the world, not even the sub-continent? What is the endgame? As in what are they expecting to achieve by doing what they are doing?

Given the lack of logic, it is decent that there is some sense of flow and logic in the details. And the actors together—Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, Kiara Advani—are able to give some weight to the goings-on, not necessarily through their performance but their earnestness.

Yep, too little for the three-hour do. Except for the five-minute dance when Hrithik Roshan does his thing. I, for one, might not get over how well he can move his feet. Alas, not nearly enough.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Loads of action
Language: Clean
Nudity & Sexual content: A few lip-on-lips.
Concept: Patriotism, war, soldiers, loyalty.
General Look and Feel: Tacky execution of lots of fight sequences, almost throughout the film.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 0.5
Story: 1
Lead Actors: 2
Character Artists: 2

Dialogues: 1
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 1.5
Lyrics: 1.5

War 2 - Movie Details

Banner: Yash Raj Films
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Lead Cast: Hrithik Roshan , Kiara Advani, Jr NTR
Supporting Cast: Anil Kapoor , Bobby Deol, Varun Badola, Gautam Gulati
Story: Aditya Chopra
Screenplay: Shridhar Raghavan
Dialogues: Abbas Tyrewala
Cinematography: Benjamin Jasper
Editor: Aarif Shaikh
Background Score: Sanchit Balhara, Ankit Balhara
Choreography: Bosco Martis
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Costume Designer: Anaita Shroff Adajania, Niharika Jolly
Running time: 170 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Thriller

Metro…In Dino - Review

meeta — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 18:00:45 +0000

wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list ^(?)

quick review:

What a quick dive this one took from being chique and warm to annoying and infuriating! Just like the relationships it uses to give you the "boys will be boys" vibe.

Review

If Metro…In Dino were to be believed, sex was at the crux of any meaningful romantic relationship. The other main point it takes a jab at is that the natural progression of questions society asks people is:
"When will you find someone?"

"When will you get married?"

"When will you have kids?"

"When will you have an extra-marital affair?"

"When will you get caught?"

"When will you start regretting your affair (mainly because you got caught)?"

That's mostly for the men. The women, on the other hand, are more watchful, smarter, more aware, and more deliberate. Yep, the film's storyboard seems to be a 3x5 table.

Age group	Man	Woman
60s-70s	@r$3^!3	Sacrificial lamb
40s-60s	@r$3#^!3	Sacrificial lamb
20s-30s	Confused @r$3^!3	Confused sacrificial lamb
Teens and young adults	Getting better	Owning her space

I know that sounds reductive, but hey, I didn't start it.

You'll notice, though, and it is heartening to see Metro…In Dino, have faith in Gen Alpha. For a bit, it even tried to be a commentary on the impact of social media on not just younger generations. But those light streaks are about the only progressive ones you see in the film. Unless, you count making the woman in the relationship responsible for her freedom despite all the faults her man is unapologetic about. Sure, he apologises, but that is only because he is called out. None of the men characters seemed like they wouldn't repeat their acts if the clock were turned back.

It is a shame, then, that I got fooled into believing I am in for a treat in the first few minutes of the film…the first hour even. The lyrical smashing of the fourth wall, the Broadway musical take on narration, and the music itself were all thoroughly engaging. Regular readers will know how much breaking of the fourth wall seems like a cop-out to me. But, the approach made it good enough for me to slide my misgivings to the background. Yes, even Pritam and his band showing up on screen.

Soon, the narrative style gets tired of its own gimmick. To be fair, as an audience, I too was ready for the incessant music-overshadowing-dialogue bit to change. Change, it did; but to plain and regular.

Sure, sustaining the energy of the first hour's music is a tall order. It made my heart sing. I didn't want the film to end. I started making plans to watch it again with the family. Of course, it was silly of me to expect that to go on for another 1.5+ hours. Only to realise after those 1.5 hours, that the makers too knew they didn't have anything else going.

The stories were actually just one love story. Sure, there are five couples, but they are just at different stages of the relationship. So, it's really only one story. The trajectory is clear—cuddly-cute start, terrible things like marriage and kids happen, the inevitable affair, the relationship waking up from its deep slumber…by now, we are so bored that it doesn't matter that there is an ever after, happy or not. Sorry, I lie. It was seriously annoying and infuriating when it's happy.

Because it's not that infidelity is unforgivable or that people change their strong opinions. It's how things change without warning; how very good build-ups fizzle out. Real-life couples find their ways around the "cheating" in their relationships. So, that's believable, alright. People who don't believe in love, fall deep when they find it. That's cool too. It is "how" that is mismanaged here. This character feels SO wronged, is SO angry, SO disturbed, SO indignant…and all that washes away? This other character is against steady relationships and is suddenly seen inviting people to his wedding.

While other character transitions are better justified, these two are too glaring to keep your hands from going up in the air in frustration. It doesn't help that the men in the story simply refuse to communicate. They do the most bizarre things to get what they want, but they will not have a straight conversation. Which would have been fine, because you know that's how it is usually in real life. And what is cinema but a reflection of life?

The snag is when this is shown as an okay thing to do. It is problematic when the characters get away with being the way they are, and it is implied that no real change is needed. It feels like this behaviour is being rewarded. It feels like the makers are making an excuse for men to continue to be children who need constant mothering. The film wants to recognise how women are asked to move heaven and earth, and how unfair that is. But it shrugs that away with, "Women are destined to be martyrs. What can we do?"

I half-wished that the performances weren't as good as they were so that I could be distracted from the lame writing by some sub-par acting. But with Neena Gupta leading the way, there was little chance for that. Konkona Sen Sharma uses her eyes to communicate so well that you might dismiss the rest of her being, which makes her characters what they are. Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh are convincing as a regular couple with regular problems.

Even Aditya Roy Kapur and Sarah Ali Khan make you chuckle at the right times. In fact, Kapur has some of the most well-written lines. So much so that after having watched the full film, I wonder if they were ~~lifted~~ inspired from elsewhere.

Which might be true of some of the music that I enjoyed in the first hour. And if that's true, there isn't anything worth the trouble that should drive you to watch the film, for the music is available online. We are living the drama that modern romance offers—if not our own, that of those around us. We don't need a superficial take on it. Especially, when it thinks it is layered and deep.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: None
Language: No curse words used.
Nudity & Sexual content: Lots of talk about sex, a couple of making out scenes. Infidelity is the theme of the movie. So, even if there isn't too much explicit content on screen, there is a thick air about it throughout the film.
Concept: The stages of a relationship.
General Look and Feel: Goes from slick to "regular" from first to second half.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2
Story: 1
Lead Actors: 4
Character Artists: 4

Dialogues: 3
Screenplay: 1
Music Director: 3.5
Lyrics: 3.5

Metro…In Dino - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube
Banner: T-Series Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., Anurag Basu Productions
Producer: Anurag Basu , Bhushan Kumar, Kishan Kumar, Tani Basu
Director: Anurag Basu
Lead Cast: Anupam Kher , Konkana Sen Sharma , Aditya Roy Kapoor, Neena Gupta , Ali Fazal , Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima Sana Shaikh , Sara Ali Khan
Supporting Cast: Anurag Basu , Imtiaz Ali, Saswata Chatterjee, Rohan Gurbaxani, Kush Jotwani, Darshana Banik, Pranay Pachauri, Pihu
Story: Mayur Puri , Anurag Basu , Momin Khan Momin
Screenplay: Anurag Basu
Dialogues: Sandeep Srivastava, Samrat Chakrabarti
Cinematography: Anurag Basu , Abhishek Basu
Editor: Bodhaditya Bandyopadhyay, Satish Gowda
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Lyrics: Sandeep Srivastava, Neelesh Misra, Qaisar-Ul-Jafri, Anurag Sharma
Costume Designer: Aashish Dwyer
Running time: 160 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Relationships, Romance

Sitaare Zameen Par - Review

meeta — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:11:43 +0000

wogma rating: Watch but no rush ^(?)

quick review:

A film that could've been a warm hug misses the chance by being way too preachy, pushy, and Aamir-Khaney. Such golden intent gets lost because it is enamoured by itself.

Review

I'll go for the low-hanging fruit. There's a scene in which the coach of a differently-abled basketball team, Gulshan (Aamir Khan), is yelling instructions at a player, asking him to focus hard. After having had enough, the player pretty much yells back, "Sir, shut up!" echoing the exact sentiment I felt for Aamir Khan, "Sir, move the spotlight away from you!!" And I had had enough in the first few minutes.

It's a shame that that's my takeaway from a film about such an important topic. Sure, there are some warm, cute, charming scenes when the real protagonists of the film get a moment to be themselves. And how each one of them shines! <3 <3 <3

But, the rest of the film pretty much involves Aamir Khan getting lectured about neurodivergence or him showing us how his character is gaining insight. Both of these would have been wonderful if they were shown, not told.

I understand and appreciate that Gulshan is a representative of how society at large treats people who are "different." But, was there no other way to do it than making it all about the STAR? It doesn't help that Aamir Khan's acting is so on-brand that you even for a frame, you can't forget who you are watching on screen—the patronising know-it-all.

Sure, on paper, you see episodes with Gulshan realising the shallowness of his thought processes. But, the vibe is that of Aamir Khan knowing his character is going to recover from his follies, which he will soon reveal to the audience. But, as with most films of this genre, the audience knows.

Of course, the climax is a refreshing change—my prediction for the climax of only one out of the three plot points came through. But, that too feels forced. More like the writing process was, "We want the people to know about neurodivergence. We will have the following climax. Let's put this together in a story even if all we are doing is making the right noises."

A few of the pieces strung together work. Most don't. I quite enjoyed the cheeky inclusion of religious and political statements. I also liked how various aspects of bullying, body-shaming, and the idea of inclusivity were brought to the fore, including openness to non-standard relationships. But, these are fragments. The larger tone is that of the audience being taught.

There is some respite with the songs and in episodes like the training montage, the lift scene, and the matches. There's nothing very fancy going on in any of these—and that is the charm, the simplicity and heart with which they are executed.

I left the theatre with one overwhelming thought, "please tell me, another film on this topic can still be made." Sure, use the tropes. Of course, create awareness. Absolutely, no need to reinvent the wheel. Just weave the details of the "how"s better, without losing heart while having so much of it.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: None.
Language: Clean. Mention of a prostitute.
Nudity & Sexual content: None.
Concept: Awareness about neurodivergence.
General Look and Feel: A light, breezy vibe.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2.5
Story: 3
Lead Actors: 2
Character Artists: 5

Dialogues: 3
Screenplay: 2
Music Director: 3.5
Lyrics: 3.5

Sitaare Zameen Par - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Aamir Khan Productions
Producer: Aamir Khan , Ravi Bhagchandka, Aparna Purohit, B. Shrinivas Rao
Director: R S Prasanna
Lead Cast: Aamir Khan , Genelia Deshmukh
Supporting Cast: Brijendra Kala , Dolly Ahluwalia, Gurpal Singh, Rishabh Jain, Deepraj Rana, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Naman Mishra, Simran Mangeshkar
Story: Amitabh Bhattacharya, Divyanidhi Sharma
Screenplay: Divyanidhi Sharma
Dialogues: Divyanidhi Sharma
Cinematography: G Srinivas Reddy
Editor: Charu Shri Roy
Background Score: Ram Sampath
Choreography: Vijay Ganguly, Ruel Dausan Varandani
Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan , Ehsaan Noorani , Loy Mendonca
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Costume Designer: Sachin Lovalekar
Running time: 160 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Social

Bhool Chuk Maaf - Review

meeta — Fri, 23 May 2025 15:43:25 +0000

wogma rating: Don't bother ^(?)

quick review:

Two elements exist. The time-loop concept and the "moral of the story." Whichever came to the makers first, the other feels terribly forced. In either case, what's the case for the loud story-telling, the stretched-out pacing, the thoughtlessness of it all?

(Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime)

Review

I have so many questions, all of which can be summed up with, "What were they thinking?"

Why is Titli (Wamiqa Gabbi) in love with Ranjan (Rajkummar Rao)? The man has no redeeming qualities. And the writers knew there was no reason for her to love him, which is why they narrate the love story through animation in the title sequence. Cool, it is, but it's not followed up with anything worthwhile. The bigger question is…

Why is it accompanied by extra loud music? Why does the entire movie have extra loud, extra slapstick and extra random music? The music is so loud that it feels like even when the shooting was on, the actors couldn't hear each other. This would explain why they all ended up shouting at each other and over one another throughout the film. And it's not like they have anything of import to say.

It is to their credit that despite the lack of depth in the writing, at least a few times in the film, I wondered if they weren't made to shout, we would have seen some very good performances. They deliver the few good lines with decent timing. But there's only so much they can do because yelling-contests are marked by regressive, problematic one-liners—from misogyny and body-shaming to classism and casteism.

What made them give away the crux of the film in the trailer when they were going to spend half the film on the set-up? The first hour seems atrociously long—I couldn't wait for the interval break. The second half picks up pace, but it's too late by then.

What was the whole preachy speech in the end for? It is not like Ranjan did what he did out of the goodness of his heart. He is pretty much forced to do it. He didn't really have a moral compass, even a tiny one. And the film itself uses a suspicious mechanism to bring its "moral of the story," into play. Sure, "do your deeds, don't expect results from them," is a good go-to mantra to make a "message" out of. But the other one seemed highly dubious.

Was Varanasi chosen as the backdrop to bring the end "angle" into the works? Because it is not like Varanasi had anything to do with the rest of the story. Just like the other angle. It could have been any other town, just like it could be a person with any other name. Maybe just like Ranjan, the makers wanted to feel good about themselves.
~ ~ ~
Oh, and wait, why was a break-up song chosen as the end-credit sequence?

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: None
Language: A few instances of inappropriate language.
Nudity & Sexual content: An item number objectifying women.
Concept: A man is stuck in a time loop, waking up on the day before his wedding day.
General Look and Feel: Loud and garish.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 1
Story: 1
Lead Actors: 2.5
Character Artists: 2

Dialogues: 2
Screenplay: 0.5
Music Director: 2
Lyrics: 1

Bhool Chuk Maaf - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: Maddock Films , Amazon MGM Studios
Producer: Dinesh Vijan
Director: Karan Sharma
Lead Cast: Wamiqa Gabbi, Rajkummar Rao
Supporting Cast: Zakir Hussain, Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Ishtiyaq Khan, Raghubir Yadav, Anubha Fatehpura
Story: Haider Rizvi
Screenplay: Haider Rizvi
Dialogues: Haider Rizvi
Cinematography: Sudeep Chaterjee
Editor: Manish Pradhan
Background Score: Ketan Sodha
Choreography: Vijay Ganguly
Music Director: Tanishk Bagchi, Gifty Mehra
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil
Costume Designer: Sheetal Iqbal Sharma
Running time: 120 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slapstick

Raid 2 - Review

meeta — Thu, 01 May 2025 18:18:30 +0000

wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list ^(?)

quick review:

Repeat performance of Raid. Raid 2 = 2x the drama and associated pain. 2x the slack writing. About 1x the fun of watching corrupt politicians get their due—fair and square, without involving police brutality. (Streaming Partner: Netflix)

Review

Despite all the tiring and unnecessary drama, the first half creates intrigue. A cold face-off between two smart people—you know they will soon start outwitting each other. And bam! One of them exposes the laziness in the writing. Why-oh-why—in any movie—does the hero or the villain tip the other on what the other is missing? And in this movie then, the two get into a tip-exchange programme. Raid 2 never recovers from that.

Raid has created this brand of providing a special thrill and a dose of fun, despite the predictability. In one scene, you have elected officials mocking democracy. In the next, you are watching these corrupt politicians, who strut around with impunity, being brought down legally. So enjoyable!

But, beyond that, everything else just feels like it is for effect. Not germane to the plot; not cohesively linked from one sub-plot to the next; not fully thought out; just for the effect, for the drama. Whether it is the Income Tax Department's motto in Kusho Mulo Danda, which Ajay Devgn can barely pronounce or invoking Ram, Ramayan and Mahabharat into the conversation or presenting a character's devotion to his mother—it is all to serve the drama. Whether it connects to what the character was saying before or after is not important.

So, except for one or two instances, the witty lines from Raid go missing in Raid 2. This makes the performances of two of the supporting actors even more remarkable. One is Amit Sial as Lallan Sudheer, with his timing and just general presence. And the other is Shruti Pandey as Geeta Devi. Her energy had me smiling a couple of times.

The same cannot be said about Vaani Kapoor, whose role as Amey Patnayak's (Ajay Devgn) wife exists, just because. The role she does play in the actual meat of the story is clearly an afterthought. The things she gets done could easily have been done by Patnayak himself. Thankfully, the romantic scenes in Raid 2 take a cut compared to Raid.

A similar "just because" role exists for Saurabh Shukla, who continues to play Tauji from Raid. It is an obvious set-up for the next episode in this series. I don't completely roll my eyes at that prospect. I like the basic premise of the series. An honest income tax officer raids corrupt politicians. It's just that, beyond that, the form takes over substance.

There is potential for a coherent screenplay where the moles on one side are not conveniently placed, where the dots can be connected beyond rapidly spoken lines. There is a lot more scope for energy in the writing where the landline phones won't have to do the heavy-lifting of creating drama every time they ring and are lifted in slow-motion; where an item number isn't inserted at the slightest excuse.

Aren't they out of fashion already? Both slow-motion and item numbers. Speaking of which, it is high time that casual sexism and overt patriarchy are made out of fashion too. The whole "sasuraal ki rotiya tod raha hai" (feeding off of his wife's parents) ridicule was distasteful.

But that becomes a minor quibble compared to what could have been. It was sad to see the well-done build-up amount to something so hollow. How can a character be so corrupt and have such a spotless image? Oh well, who am I to argue if this was a real-life story like Raid? Is it, though? I looked it up, but couldn't find anything. Meanwhile, I continue to hope that the next round of Raid fulfils its capacity to be truly engaging.

- meeta, a part of the audience

Parental Guidance:

Violence: Angry mobs
Language: Clean
Nudity & Sexual content: There is reference to rape and physical abuse. Two item numbers.
Concept: An honest income tax officer raids a corrupt politician's home, office, etc.
General Look and Feel: Dramatic

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

Direction: 2.5
Story: 2.5
Lead Actors: 2.5
Character Artists: 3

Dialogues: 2.5
Screenplay: 2
Music Director: 1.5
Lyrics: 1

Raid 2 - Movie Details

Official Sites: YouTube Wikipedia IMDB
Banner: T-Series Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., Panorama Studios
Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Abhishek Pathak , Kumar Mangat Pathak
Director: Raj Kumar Gupta
Lead Cast: Riteish Deshmukh , Supriya Pathak, Ajay Devgan , Vaani Kapoor
Supporting Cast: Saurabh Shukhla , Rajat Kapoor , Amit Sial, Jacqueline Fernandez , Yo YO Honey Singh, Tamannaah Bhatia, Shruti Pandey
Story: Ritesh Shah , Raj Kumar Gupta , Jaideep Yadav, Karan Vyas
Cinematography: Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, Chinmay Salaskar
Editor: Sandeep Francis
Background Score: Amit Trivedi
Choreography: Ranju Verghese, Rajit Dev, Piyush-Shazia
Music Director: Amit Trivedi , Yo YO Honey Singh, Rochak Kohli, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sachet Tandon, Parampara Tandon, White Noise Collectives
Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir, Kumaar, Kausar Munir, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Nusrat Badr, Yo YO Honey Singh, Jaani, Purnam Allahabadi
Costume Designer: Naveen Shetty, Priyanka Christina Castelino, Mehak Shetty
Running time: 140 minutes
Reviewer: meeta
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Genres: Politics, Social

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