17 year old Neeha Gupta has been signed by Leadstart publishing for her second book Swapped.

Indian filmmakers have come a long way from the pioneering era of horror films in the Indian film industry from the Ramsay Brothers to this modern day paranormal masterpiece. From the spiritual banks of Benares to the picturesque breathtaking rock pools of...

The makers of "Arjun Patiala" have obviously thrown caution to the wind and indulged in a care-a-damn attitude. They have given absolute hoots to the critics -- a fact that is blatantly spelt out by the end of the film.This screwball comedy, designed as...

"Judgementall Hai Kya" celebrates the bizarre, at the cost of giving in to glaring flaws, much like the grammatical gaffe in its title.At the film's core is the tested good-triumphs-over-evil formula, although done in a way few Bollywood efforts have ever tried. Quirky...

The Kamal Haasan-produced film is based on a French thriller named "Point Blank", and is not one of those run-of-the-mill, star-studded action films that are all style and no substance. It comes across as a decent attempt at giving the Tamil audience a Hollywood-style...

The first thing you notice about "Family Of Thakurganj" is the sheer number of influences that overshadow its effort at storytelling. It is almost as if director Manoj K. Jha was trying to cross the thematic essentials of "Gangs Of Wasseypur" with the smalltown...

For the uninitiated, ‘The Lion King', is the story of Simba, a lion cub, who is dispossessed and made to feel responsible for the death of his father Mufasa, by his treacherous uncle Scar.The cub's birth is announced in the opening sequence of the film called,...

"Super 30" is magnificent survivor of a film. It survives Hrithik Roshan's atrocious "Bihari" accent, probably picked from one of the many Lalu Yadav skits on the internet. It not only survives the verbal abomination, it also stakes it claim among the most...

He counts the numbers of steps she walks from the bus stop to her home in the chawl. She counts the number of missing buttons in his shirts and holes in his vest. East or ‘vest', Shiva and Astha, played by two enormously talented newcomers Meezaan and Sharmin,...

It is an audacious idea, not fully or convincingly implemented. But nevertheless interesting for the way the theme of subversion of justice is used to create a whole narrative of anarchy.And then there are the actors, some of them like Anupam Kher, Kumud...

Good morning India! Director Anubhav Sinha's "Article 15", is a hard-hitting, wake-up call to those who unknowingly and unwittingly indulge in caste and political polarisation. It offers nothing new, but it mirrors our society to the core and reminds us that...

In one word, "Article 15" is spellbinding. It is everything that cinema was always meant to be. Thoughprovoking, questioning, disturbing and ultimately cathartic because the cop-hero (played with a simmering intensity by Ayushmann Khurrana) succeeds in...

"Mallesham" - the gentle, beautiful and moving story of Chintakindi Mallesham, the handloom weaver from Andhra Pradesh who revolutionised the weavers' profession by inventing a mechanical loom -- why, because his mother's shoulder threatened to collapse with all...

An Indo-French-Belgian co-production, director Ken Scott's "The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir", adapted from French writer Romain Puetolas' novel of a similar title, is a picaresque chronicle of a poor Indian street performer who hoodwinks his audience....

Remakes, more often than not, disappoint. This one doesn't. "Kabir Singh" doesn't quite better its precursor, the astonishing game-changing Telugu film "Arjun Reddy". And really, Shahid Kapoor is no patch on Vijay Deverakonda, who sweated, bled and urinated (literally)...

A Hindi remake of the popular Telegu film "Arjun Reddy", director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's "Kabir Singh", is the story of an academically brilliant medical student Kabir (Shahid Kapoor) who goes on to become an orthopaedic surgeon, but suffers from severe...

Kashmir and its blood-soaked political history renders itself well to cinematic treatment. It is to the credit of the makers of this series that not a moment of the eight episodes feels exploitative or artificial.There is a free flow to the narrative and the...

In the beginning there is the swimming pool. A splashy symbol of the upper crust's affluence that is rapidly making the poor, poorer.Deepa Mehta's disturbingly devastating dystopian drama begins with a happy family: mother, father, child splashing in the...

Director F. Gary Gray's "Men in Black: International", the fourth instalment of the extra-terrestrial investigation, is a spin-off from the "Men In Black" film series, which is loosely based on the Marvel comics of the same name created by Lowell Cunningham.For...

With all the trappings of its genre tropes, the film "Game Over" starts with a promise. But to accept the film as a psychological thriller or a horror thriller, one needs to reject the false premise it is based on.Living in a palatial bungalow with only a...

Sitting through the 10 artificially frenetic episodes of this thriller is a slog. Not because of any lack of tempo and tumult (both of which you will find aplenty), but because of a glaring absence of plausibility in the plot.Adapted from an Israeli series,...

It's easy to be dismissive of a film that has no formal structure, one which doesn't compartmentalize life's flow but chooses to go with it. The flow, I mean.But then again, it takes almost three hours of playing time for us to realize that "Bharat" is no...

What works for "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" is the simplicity of its narrative, but for its franchise fans this would be a disappointing issue.Dark Phoenix is the twelfth and final instalment of the successful franchise that began in 2000. It tells us how during...

Adapted from the 2014 released South Korean film, "Gukje Shijang" aka "Ode to my Father" in the international market, "Bharat", mounted as a comedy-romance-drama, follows the exceptional life of Bharat (Salman Khan), from his childhood to his old age.Bharat...

Confession time. I had never heard of, nor heard the songs of, the Jonas Brothers until Priyanka Chopra married one of them.Be warned. There is very little of our Priyanka in this exceptionally revealing documentary. But she is not missed."Chasing Happiness" is...

"Nakkash", meaning engraver (one who designs on metal or wood), is a balanced faith film that does not preach any religion but opens your eyes as to where humanity is heading. The messages hit you straight, on target, when you hear, "Kaam aur mazhab ke beech kissi...

There is something to be said about Bengali cinema's ongoing fascination with Satyajit Ray and yes, you can add Uttam Kumar to that. At one point in this able fable, the film's scholar-hero Subarn Sen (played by the always watchable Abir Chatterjee) says cheekily,...

A patriotic fever seems to have gripped the country big time with filmmakers trying to bring about winds of change.Writer-director Lom Harsh's "Yeh Hai India", is a mission film. A mission to change the perception of the country from the various negative...

Director Omung Kumar's latest film "PM Narendra Modi" is a biopic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The narrative begins with a lengthy disclaimer which mentions it is a fictionalised piece of work. And over the 136 minutes of its runtime, those who are aware of...

'De De Pyaar De' is a light-hearted rom-com that addresses the real and plausible, issue of an older man falling in love with a girl half his age and how it is viewed upon, by the Indian society.Ashish Mehra (Ajay Devgn), a 50-year-old London-based business...

Okay, guys, there is news. Ajay is back to spelling his surname as Devgn'. He confuses me in every film, dropping an 'a' as though it was a primetime soap's fluctuating ratings.In this film Devgn's title is not all that is confusing. His 50-year old highly...

For those who were wondering why a third version of the same rape-and-retribution story that was filmed earlier in Telugu as "Temper" and in Hindi as "Simmba", here's the answer."Ayogya" betters both by leaps and bounds. It is what remakes are meant to be....

Let's not talk what is novel or original in this film. Let's not talk intelligent stuff too. If you are fine with this, then let's proceed. Needless to say, SOTY2 is a fluffy, well-packaged  rehash, inspired from various films of its genre.Unlike its...

In a film that runs on and on, almost as fast as its agile leading man, for nearly two and a half hours, "Student of the Year 2" (SOTY 2) leaves us with nothing except repeated  visuals of youngsters pouting, preening and posing for the camera.But...

There is an infectious appeal to Chhota Bheem and his numerous adventures. While the Chhota Bheem franchise, with its numerous editions have acquired iconic stature among  the young Indian audience, this is the fourth film after 'The Throne of Bali",...

A glut and an ensuing slump in standards was bound to happen to the web series in India. After hitting high notes with "Rangbaaz", "The Final Call" and even the excessively gruesome "Abhay", ZEE5 touches rockbottom with this ridiculous crime drama set...

Director Jenny Gage's "After" is based on the romance, fan-fiction novel of the same name, written by Anna Todd. It is an innocuous teen pulp that unfolds more like an aspiring writer's checklist of narrative influences of first romance than a fleshed out story...

Designed as a mystery thriller, "Blank" is the drama of a suicide bomber who is on a mission.Debutant Karan Kapadia plays Hanif, the suicide bomber who is connected with a "dead man's switch". This "DMS" is a complicated bomb attached to his chest and is connected...

In a film where the devil lies (and never tells the truth) in the details, it is significant that debutant Karan Kapadia, who plays the title role of a suicide bomber whose mind has apparently gone blank after an accident, is not mentioned in the opening...

"Avengers: Endgame", the final chapter from the Avengers franchise, has broken box office records in India by registering an opening day collection of Rs 53.10 crore, becoming the biggest Hollywood opener in the country till date.From Iron Man to Captain America...

Entering the cosmic universe of the Marvel super-heroes as they all assemble in a swaggering spectacle of strength and temerity, Ais like a child being put in a middle of the largest toystore in the world and told he canA buy any and everything he wishes.The...

"Jersey" opens with a bearded 40-ish Nani running after a girl at a bookshop with a copy of a book that she wasn't able to get ."Are you stalking us?" the girl's friend asks, not unreasonably.The opening scene, filled with an overdose of what the mush lovers...

Set in the pre-Independence era, in Husnabad in undivided India, director Abhishek Verman's "Kalank" is a saga of love, where all the six pivotal characters crave for love and yet, have to let go of it.Roop (Alia Bhatt) agrees to marry Dev Chowdhary (Aditya...

In 1980, Saeed Akhtar Mirza had directed a film, "Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?", based on his own story. The film, designed as a slice-of-life film, created ripples as a neo-realism film, during the parallel cinema movement and acquired a cult following.Thirty-nine...

Based on true incidents, director Vivek Agnihotri's "Tashkent Files", is a fictionalised film with cinematic liberties.In form, it is a blend between a courtroom drama and an online game with different task levels. In purpose, while seeking answers to the...

The first shot of this documentary is disorienting as well as jaw dropping. The top angle shot, with the camera floating out of the edge of a cliff capturing rock climber Alex Hannold astutely manoeuvring his way to the top of the cliff, gets you drawn to...

A silver lining to a dark cloud makes a good visual. Similarly, a melodramatic and depressing romance makes attractive viewing, which "Five Feet Apart" with its message - 'Life is too short to waste a second' - is.This film's title refers to the 'six foot...

There is something to be said about bringing back the 'F' word into cinema. Fun, fun and more fun than I've had in a super-hero film years...Shazam! leaves us breathless with its sense of self-wonderment.It's like going back to the roots of the super-hero...

What makes them do it? No, I don't mean the bravehearts like Meghna Gulzar and now Robby Grewal who dare to make films about those daredevils who risk their lives to act as Indian spies in Pakistan. But those unsung daredevils who sneak into Pakistan to glean...

Director Robbie Grewal seems to have taken William Shakespeare's quote, "What's in a name?" literally.This film, "Romeo Akbar Walter" is the story of an Indian spy with many names and identities.It begins with a focused, deliberate and remarkable black-and-white,...

There is something endearing and exciting about this superhero film. Designed on one of the most, lesser known DC characters, this origin film packs in so much heart and fun with a superhero that truly feels like no other.Apart from the story, it is the style...

Coming from an Oscar-nominated director like Ashvin Kumar, "No Fathers In Kashmir", is disappointing. And the fault lies particularly in the filmmaker's scattershot approach to a politically sensitive subject like Kashmir.Narrated from the curious eyes of a...

Mounted with utter-greatness, Director Anurag Singh's "Kesari" is a fictionalised piece, documenting the true story of one of the bravest battles in history, the Battle of Saragarhi.Led by Havaldar Ishar Singh (Akshay Kumar) of the 36th Sikh Regiment, it's the...

There is something supremely sad about a meditation on womanhood and female empowerment gone awry.Juanita means well. It wants us to enter a black American woman's home and psyche to get to know why she thinks her life as a single mother has snuffed out her...

First things first. What is Priyanka Chopra doing playing a frisky floozie in this bird-turd of a film? Second question: why are we expected to invest 90 minutes in what looks like a rejected episode of "Inside Amy Schumer"?"Isn't It Romantic" is just plainly...

Set in Mathura, Director Laxman Utekar's "Luka Chuppi" is a straight-laced, frothy rom-com that panders to the concept of a "live-in-relationship".You never know where the heart is going to lead, and often, it is to the most inappropriate places. This is...

This is the third film of the series and like its predecessors, this one too is an action-comedy with its heart in the right place, but its story isn't.The plot is a cheerfully crappy schlock: The tale is flat, generic cat-and-mouse chase between eight characters...

Debutant director Shelly Chopra Dhar's "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga" is an interesting romance tale with a social message, where love blossoms at a wedding and culminates on the stage of a theatrical performance.The story pivots around Sweety (Sonam K. Ahuja)...

Director Abhijit Panse's rendition of this biopic, crafted from Sanjay Raut's story, spans from 1961 to 1994. It gives us an insight into the life of the late Bal Keshav "Balasahed" Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena and his meteoric rise in Maharashtra's...