Anupama Chopra Reviews

Talents like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma shine, yet Jaane Jaan falls short of its potential. Sujoy and DOP Avik Mukhopadhyay, known for Sardar Udham, brilliantly craft an atmospheric mood with …

Debutant director Akshat Ajay Sharma's Haddi, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap, and Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, drew inspiration from Hamlet, but its impact falls short of the Shakespearean masterpiece. Visit us …

Jawan, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani, Sunil Grover, and Sanjay Dutt, is a bold cinematic venture …

When you hear the word Ghoomer, you probably think of Deepika Padukone, resplendent in red, performing the traditional Rajasthani folk dance in …

The first film was called Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. This one should have been titled Gadar 2: A Screaming Match. Because there’s a lot of shouting in …

Watching strong, smart, sexy women kicking butt onscreen is one of my keenest pleasures. Add to that the thrill of seeing one of our finest, Alia Bhatt, go up against Wonder Woman Gal Gadot. I love that director Tom …

Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is delicious eye-candy with a rebellious core. Despite the flabby portions, I exited with a smile, wishing that Rocky was real and wanting to give my family a japphi. There …

Twice in Bawaal, featuring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, Varun, who plays a Lucknow school teacher named Ajay, tells other characters, "The idea is …

At 61, Tom Cruise is so determined to make us happy that he’s willing to risk his life for it. And here’s the thing – he delivers. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1, the seventh instalment in the Mission …

Neeyat starring Vidya Balan with an ensemble cast including Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora, Shahana Goswami, Neeraj Kabi …

Tarla’s story is fascinating because this stratospheric culinary stardom wasn’t planned. To know more about the movie, watch the full review by …

To get to the meat and emotion of Satyaprem ki Katha starring Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani, you have to plow through a first half brimming with sparkly dance sequences, jokes that don’t land, and that stereotypical …

The second edition of the Lust Stories anthology isn’t, strictly speaking, just about lust. To know more about the anthology, listen to the full …

When I told someone that I’m going to see a film called Bloody Daddy, he said it sounds like bad porn. As it turns out, Bloody Daddy is a solidly …

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is both enjoyable and tiring, highlighting superhero fatigue in the 32nd film of the MCU. Director James Gunn …

Afwaah (starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar and Sumeet Vyas), similar to Anubhav's recent Bheed or Hansal Mehta's Faraaz, is a part of …

Ponniyin Selvan 2 starring Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Sobhita Dhulipala is a towering tale of …

U Turn starring Alaya F is a remake of the 2016 Kannada hit, also called U Turn. But debutant feature director Arif Khan isn’t content to merely retell the story of a makeshift divider on a flyover in a new language. To …

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, starring Salman Khan & Pooja Hegde is a remake of the 2014 Tamil film Veeram. To be fair, this film has a more coherent narrative than Salman’s last few outings. But those were Radhe and …

In this review, film critic Anupama Chopra shares her review of the latest Telugu film, Shaakuntalam. She discusses her biggest takeaway from the …

A spy comedy with the formidable Radhika Apte as a Kolkata housewife who also happens to be an undercover agent. A sparkling idea. What could go …

In this movie review by Anupama Chopra, with a gripping premise and a talented cast including Aditya Roy Kapur, Ronit Roy and Mrunal Thakur, the …

Bholaa is Kaithi on steroids. Director, leading man and co-producer Ajay Devgn take Lokesh Kanagaraj’s 2019 action drama – Kaithi means prisoner - …

There is one clever twist in Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga starring Yami Gautam, Sunny Kaushal, and Sharad Kelkar but to get to it you have to sit through a disjointed story that goes back and forth in time – first, the action …

In Bheed, Anubhav revisits the horrors of March 2020, the early months of the pandemic when India went into lockdown. Anubhav and casting director Mukesh Chhabra have put together a superb ensemble cast – apart from …

Gulmohar starring Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila Tagore, and Amol Palekar begins and ends with a family gathering. There are lines in the film about the …

What is lost in Lost, on Zee 5, starring Yami Gautam, is not just a human being, but humanity itself. To know more about the film, listen to the full …

Steven Spielberg’s new film The Fabelmans starring Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams and Paul Dano is a many splendored thing. For starters, it is …

The film Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat is about two couples – one in London and the other in Dalhousie. Both are played by Alaya F & Karan Mehta. There are differences in class, religion, identity but the barriers …

With Pathaan, the emperor gets his groove back. From his electrifying introduction scene to the end sequence, in which co-writer and director Siddharth Anand tips his hat to three decades of stardom Shah Rukh commands …

Mission Majnu starring Sidharth Malhotra and Rashmika Mandanna begins with the declaration that it is inspired by true events. If we believe the events in this film, we have to conclude that Pakistan, in the …

In Chhatriwali, starring Rakul Preet Singh, Sumeet Vyas, Satish Kaushik, Dolly Ahluwalia, and Rajesh Tailang, writers Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee …

Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam starring Mammootty, Ramya Pandian & Ashokan, is Tamil for an afternoon nap. It’s the title of the new film by Lijo Jose Pellissery, one of Malayalam cinema’s most inventive and invigorating …

To the already busy plot in Cirkus, director Rohit Shetty & the writers add half a dozen characters, a superhuman ability for one twin to endure electric currents, which somehow transfers to the other twin even …

When a sequel arrives 13 years after the first film, no matter how much of a blockbuster that first film was, the question is: do we still care? James Cameron doesn’t give us a choice. To know more about the movie, …

Govinda Naam Mera ends with someone giving a lengthy explanation of how the pieces of the puzzle fit together but frankly by that time I was past caring. I was missing Karan Johar’s installment in Lust Stories, which …

Salaam Venky is based on a book called The Last Hurrah by Shrikant Murthy, which itself was based on the life of a young chess player named Kolavennu …

First with Bulbbul and now with Qala starring Tripti Dimri, Swastika Mukherjee, Varun Grover, Swanand Kirkire, and Babil Khan, writer-director …

Wonder Women directed by Anjali Menon stars Nadiya Moidu, Nithya Menen, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Sayanora Philip, Archana …

How much plot can you fit into one film? I don’t think that writer-director duo Hari Shankar and Harish Narayan paused to ask that question while making Yashoda starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu as a lead. Listen to Anupama …

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a curious contradiction. The opening and closing sequences of Wakanda Forever will make your heart ache. But at two hours and forty-one minutes, this is also one of the longest films in …

Rajkummar Rao, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, and Sikandar Kher starring Monica, O My Darling is directed by Vasan Bala who uses …

Phone Bhoot starring Katrina Kaif, Siddhant Chaturvedi & Ishaan Khatter and directed by Gurmmeet Singh is one of those comedies in which the makers throw everything at the screen, desperately hoping that something …

Ram Setu should have been a thrilling yarn. Instead, it’s an eye-glazing opportunity lost. Listen to Anupama Chopra's full review here.

Goodbye belongs to a particular sub-genre – funeral films. I’m sure you’ve seen one before. A member of a family dies, which causes the extended …

Maja Ma is a tender, emotionally resonant story of a middle-aged married woman who slowly makes peace with the fact that she is a lesbian. Pallavi Patel played by Madhuri Dixit makes Maja Ma even more striking. To know …

Ponniyin Selvan: I is the first in a two-part series, based on a five-volume novel written by Kalki, directed by Mani Ratnam. To know more about the …

How much you enjoy Vikram Vedha starring Hrithik Roshan & Saif Ali Khan is directly dependent on how much you have already enjoyed Vikram Vedha. …

Chup: Revenge of the Artist directed by R. Balki starring Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Deol, Shreya Dhanwanthary & Pooja Bhatt is a suspenseful slasher …

Siya starring Vineet Kumar Singh and Pooja Pandey is the directorial debut of Manish Mundra – a name you might know from terrific, left-of-mainstream films such as Ankhon Dekhi, Masaan, Newton, and Ram Prasad ki Tehrvi. …

Jogi starring Diljit Dosanjh directed by Ali Abbas Zafar takes place over three harrowing days in and around Delhi after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31st October 1984. Into the larger …

There is oodles of talent, money, and sweat in every frame of Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva directed by Ayan Mukerji, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna & Mouni Roy. To know more about …

Cuttputlli starring Akshay Kumar, Rakul Preet Singh & Sargun Mehta is a low-IQ retread with moments taken from classics like The Shining and …

Liger is a hybrid bringing together artists from Hindi and Telugu cinema starring Vijay Deverakonda & Ananya Panday as the lead. To know more …

Thiruchitrambalam has an inherently sunny disposition. There are no villains here – just flawed and fumbling human beings chasing slivers of …

Dobaaraa is so generic that it feels like Anurag Kashyap is on auto-pilot. Listen to Anupama Chopra's full review here.

Laal Singh Chaddha is obviously a labour of love – just the number of states the film has been shot in will make your jaw drop – but it never finds …

Darlings is a comedy about a grim subject.  Does debutant director Jasmeet K Reen manage this ambitious balancing act? Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to find out. 

Vikrant Rona is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action-adventure thriller film written and directed by Anup Bhandari. It stars Sudeep as the titular …

Ek Villain Returns is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Mohit Suri, and a spiritual successor to his 2014 film Ek Villain. It stars John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani and …

Shamshera is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language period action film produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films and directed by Karan Malhotra. The film …

The Gray Man is an action thriller film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, from a screenplay the latter co-wrote with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Mark Greaney. The …

RK/RKAY is a comedy-drama film written and directed by Rajat Kapoor, also starring himself with Mallika Sherawat, Kubbra Sait, Ranvir Shorey, and Manu Rishi Chadha. Listen to this review by Anupama Chopra to know more. 

Director-writer-producer-actor Taika Waititi is a singular sensation. In 2017, he directed Thor: Ragnarok starring Chris Hemsworth as a protagonist. …

The story of Nambi Narayanan is a thriller soaked in tragedy. The ISRO scientist was a brilliant, arrogant, adamant rule-breaker, a man Tom Cruise’s …

Despite the fault lines, JugJugg Jeeyo remains watchable because the actors are uniformly good. Watch Anupama Chopra’s full review to know more. 

With Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga, director Srijit Mukherji takes this material and tries to weave in a larger meditation on the deteriorating relationship between man and nature, and more. But these threads aren’t woven …

Nikamma is a remake of a Telugu film called Middle Class Abbayi which means ‘middle-class boy.’ I haven’t seen the original but the Hindi version …

Anubhav Sinha's Anek starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, poses the critical question of: Who is Indian? Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

Jayeshbhai Jordaar makes a larger plea not just for gender equality but also for letting go of superstition and to stop judging people by …

Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a sequel to the 2016 Doctor Strange. Director Sam Raimi, a master of horror, creates a …

Thar visually echoes other Hindi films that have Hollywood Westerns imprinted in their DNA. Be warned, Thar is disturbingly violent. Listen to …

Heropanti 2 is the spiritual successor of Heropanti, the 2014 film, which launched Tiger and Kriti Sanon. In my review of the first film, I had said …

Runway 34 is a mashup of a movie, the 2012 Denzel Washington starrer Flight, and a real-life incident. Director Ajay Devgn and writers Sandeep Kewlani and Aamil Keeyan Khan combine these two stories. Listen to Anupama …

Director Gowtam Tinnanuri doesn’t enlarge or significantly alter Jersey, the Hindi version. If you haven’t seen the original Telugu film, this one …

KGF: Chapter 2 is a sequel on steroids – everything is bigger, grander, louder. Everything in this movie is dialled up to 11. For Prashanth, more is more. 

RAW, the Hindi-dubbed version of the Tamil film Beast is, forgive the pun, a strange beast. It offers keen pleasures – foremost among them is superstar Vijay delivering truckloads of charisma and his signature …

Here's Film Companion's review of Bachchhan Paandey. It has taken eight years for the story of Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda to find its way to …

Here's Film Companion's review of Jalsa. It is a gripping and unsettling dissection of morality, motherhood, money, class and the myriad ways in …

Here’s Film Companion’s review of Radhe Shyam, by Anupama Chopra. There is a fine line that separates swooning romance from unintentional comedy. Radhe Shyam is a masterclass in what happens when you cross it. Listen to …

Here’s Film Companion’s review of The Batman. The Batman is a standalone film, operating in its own continuity. Which means that even if you aren’t a comic book and superhero film connoisseur, and I’m certainly not, you …

Here's Film Companion's review of Jhund. Jhund is the Hindi film debut of one of Indian cinema’s most invigorating filmmakers – Nagraj Popatrao …

In the life of a sex worker Gangubai, played by Alia Bhatt, who thrived in the bylanes of Kamathipura in the 1950s, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali finds feisty feminism, joy, brutality, heartbreak and unstinting …

Love Hostel is what you might call a Haryana Noir Western. This film is mostly a chase film with Dagar, played by Bobby Deol, in hot pursuit of his …

A Thursday chickens out and becomes a partially effective, rabble-rousing film which offers dangerous and simplistic solutions to our failed polity. …

Gehraiyaan is intriguing but never reaches the poetic heights it aspires to. Watch Anupama Chopra's full review to know more about Gehraiyaan, …

Badhaai Do passionately advocates for inclusivity and acceptance. Which is always a welcome message. Listen to Anupama Chopra's full review to know …

In Looop Lapeta, an adaptation of Tom Twyker's 1998 film Run Lola Run, we see three versions of one life-altering day and how the choices the …

There is one improvement in the Unpaused anthology series. In this one, there are two – Vaikunth, directed by Nagraj Manjule, and War Room, directed …

In Atrangi Re, you can feel the maker’s intent and his commitment to dreaming big. But it doesn’t translate. Listen to Anupama Chopra's full review …

Director Kabir Khan and writers Sumit Arora, Vasan Bala and Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan take us through the highs and lows of an incredible underdog story that is 83. Watch Anupama Chopra’s review to know more.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is fan service at its best because even us, casual lovers, can enjoy the ride. Watch Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

Director-choreographer Jerome Robbins first had the idea of transposing Romeo and Juliet to New York. And all these decades later, Steven Spielberg's …

I’m glad that Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui exists. It has taken us long to get to an empathetic portrayal. I hope more will follow. Listen to Anupama …

Tadap is the launch vehicle for a star son, Ahan Shetty, which means that even a chhota shehar ka ladka must have a degree of swag. Listen to Anupama Chopra’s review to know more.

When we last saw Bob in Kahaani, he had been hit by a car after a botched attempt to assassinate Vidya. It’s eight years later. He has come out of a coma and is now played by Abhishek Bachchan. Listen to Anupama …

Antim works as long as the film hews closely to the original Mulshi Pattern. The trouble is that the film, already shouldering the burden of Salman, …

Satyameva Jayate 2, written and directed by Milap Milan Zaveri, is many things but it’s not a film. You could view it as an expansive showreel for …

Chhorii belongs to an emerging genre in Hindi cinema – the message horror movie. It attempts to be a rousing statement of women empowerment but it contradicts itself. Anupama Chopra reviews the film.

Annette is accessible but also, gorgeously strange. And yet, Anupama Chopra strongly recommend that you give it a shot because this is storytelling with eccentricity, originality and jaw-dropping audacity. For which …

It’s a clever setup with enough potential to create a franchise, but the real downer is that the film wastes its younger pair – Siddhant Chaturvedi …

Dhamaka, which was shot during the pandemic in ten days, is essentially a vehicle for Kartik to show that he can do more than deliver monologues with …

The character of Sooryavanshi doesn’t have the flamboyance or fun of either Singham or Simmba. Watch Anupama Chopra’s full review to knoe more about …

Meenakshi Sundareshwar, starring Sanya Malhotra & Abhimanyu Dassani in titular roles, doesn’t realise its full potential but the film is sweet …

The film Eternals is part of the MCU’s Phase Four. The story throbs with ache in a way that MCU films rarely do. Director Chloe Zhao has an uncanny talent for locating the poetry in loss. Listen to Anupama Chopra's …

If Hum Do Hamare Do had focused more on the senior couple, it might have located the authenticity and emotion that the story hints at but never develops. Watch Anupama Chopra's review of the film starring Rajkummar Rao, …

Of course, horror films are, by design, unrealistic. But the best ones are constructed so tightly that the viewer doesn’t have the breathing room to ask: How is this possible? Dybbuk misses this goal by miles. Listen to …

Sardar Udham is the slowest of slow burns. Which isn’t unusual for Shoojit. The role of Sardar Udham comes with big demands and Vicky Kaushal …

Sanak is a Bollywoodised Die Hard. The load rests on the impressive shoulders of Vidyut Jammwal. Director Kanishk Varma and writer Ashish P. Verma …

Rashmi Rocket begins as a soaring sports saga but pivots into a courtroom drama. Director Akarsh Khurana, his team of writers and leading lady Taapsee Pannu are trying to translate a complex, little-known subject into …

Radhika Madan and Sunny Kaushal are eminently watchable actors, who can't save Shiddat, a bewilderingly logic-free film about a man obsessed with a woman. Here's Anupama Chopra’s review of Shiddat, streaming on …

Anupama Chopra reviews Kota Factory season 2 streaming on Netflix India. What continues to propel the series is the seeming ordinariness of the …

The overarching theme of Ankahi Kahaniya is love and longing in Mumbai. Watch Anupama Chopra's review of the anthology Ankahi Kahaniya, directed by …

BellBottom, inspired by true events, is set in the 1980s, described as a time when hijacking had become rampant. The films propels itself forward on a certain caper-style energy, slickness and scale. Watch Anupama …

The word immersive gets tossed around a lot but Mumbai Diaries 26/11 actually achieves it. Over eight episodes, which range in duration from 35 minutes to 48 minutes, the series recreates the horror, beat by beat. …

Watching Bhoot Police on @DisneyPlus Hotstar, I realized that a film which is mediocre is more soul-sucking than one that is actively awful because …

With his third film, Once Upon a Time in Calcutta, filmmaker Aditya Vikram Sengupta is back in Venice, being the only Indian film playing at the festival this year. The film has a lovely, lyrical quality to it. Here's …

The Father is a devastating film. One man’s descent into dementia becomes a gutting reminder of your own mortality. Watch Anupama Chopra's review of The Father. 

Shang-Chi is the MCU’s first Asian lead, and like Black Panther, this film carries the weight of the departure from the all-white pantheon of Marvel superheroes. The writing doesn’t have the heft or depth of that film. …

The Interview: Night of 26/11, starring Jackie Shroff & Anjum Nayar, is so bizarrely amateurish that it’s hard to adequately describe it. Watch Anupama Chopra's review to know more, and watch the film on BookMyShow …

These stories are about mostly affluent people grappling with affairs of the heart – divorce, infidelity, the idea of an open marriage, coming out of the closet, one-night stands and love in the time of social media. …

In Kuruthi, director Manu Warrier and writer Anish Pallyal build a Trojan horse – a home invasion movie that works as a gripping thriller but at the same time asks us to consider religious fanaticism, how faith can …

Shershaah, on  @Amazon Prime Video India , starring Sidharth Malhotra & Kiara Advani, doesn’t have the daring of its subject. The intentions are laudable but it feels tokenistic because the writing isn’t detailed …

Navarasa is arguably the mother of Indian anthologies - nine films based on the nine emotional states prescribed by the Natya Shastra. It's bolstered …

A remake of the National Award-winning 2011 Marathi film Mala Aai Vahhaychy!, buried somewhere inside Mimi is a moving story about parenting and what it means to raise and love a child. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review …

Most of the films are thirty minutes long but truthfully, little in the three hours "feels like ishq". Much of it feels synthetic, simplistic, …

14 Phere is a bewildering film. It’s set up as a romance but the horror of honor killing looms large. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review of the film starring Vikrant Massey, Kriti Kharbanda, Jameel Khan, Gauahar Khan …

In Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Toofaan, Aziz, a street fighter from Dongri, the catalyst in his life is a doctor at the local hospital. To paraphrase …

A short descriptor of Malik could be – a Malayalam Nayakan. Like Mani Ratnam’s 1987 classic, this film is also a sprawling story of crime and …

Haseen Dillruba, starring Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey & Harshvardhan Rane, is genre busting – it’s a murder mystery but also a feverish romance …

The idea of contemporary directors interpreting Ray’s writing is instantly magical but this anthology is too uneven to do it justice. The master …

Sherni has many stellar actors including Vijay Raaz, Neeraj Kabi and Ila Arun but the film is grounded by the gravitas and understated strength that Vidya Balan brings to Vidya Vincent.

After Skater Girl was shot in Khempur, a village near Udaipur in Rajasthan, the skating park that was built as a set for the movie was donated to locals. Which is probably the best thing about this well-intentioned but …

The Family Man Season 2, on Amazon Prime Video India, doesn’t deal in simplistic heroes and villains. There are enough thrills here but what stays with you eventually is a sense of sadness - Anupama Chopra reviews the …

The primal, animalistic nature of men sits just beneath the veneer of civilization imposed by society. Poke a little and a man, who is a loving father and husband, turns into a creature so savage that he is barely …

Wherever you think this narrative might go, it doesn’t. And when the twist arrives, it’s so unexpected that just like the character it’s revealed to, you are also stunned into silence. The beauty is that all of this …

What happens when an expensive Sony camera is left by mistake on the backseat of an autorickshaw? Lives change. Because the camera enables people to become storytellers. It renews hope and ambition. That is the power of …

Sardar Ka Grandson plays neither as a coming-of-age saga of a man who learns to face challenges and deliver on his commitments nor as a cross-border comedy nor as a moving family drama.

The Salman Khan starrer is so free of craft that it hurts. Prabhu Deva delivers yet another loud, numbing, pointless paean to the cult of Salman …

Nayattu is a chilling film about the machinations of the system. The title means the hunt in Malayalam. What makes Nayattu brilliant is the way director Martin Prakkat reworks it.

Godzilla vs Kong is the fourth installment in a franchise called the MonsterVerse. But even if you haven’t seen those films, you won’t have any trouble connecting the dots in this one.

Meel Patthar, which means milestone, is far from a road movie, which romanticises the journey and the learnings from it.

How do you repurpose a powerful and gripping story about women into an over-the-top star vehicle in which the hero towers above everything else? …

The Disciple is a meditative character study of a Hindustani classical vocalist named Sharad Nerulkar. The film might be set in the esoteric world of …

Without Remorse is an adaptation of Tom Clancy’s bestselling 1993 novel. The film attempts to speak to the reality of contemporary polarised America …

Sheela might be frail and mellow but she still knows how to deliver a memorable sound byte. Searching for Sheela is a minor companion piece to the mesmerising Wild Wild Country.

The dastaan in Ajeeb Daastaans is plural. There are plenty of ajeebs here, but what stayed with me was the expression in Bharti’s eyes in the last shot of Geeli Pucchi.

Jathi Ratnalu starring Naveen Polishetty, Rahul Ramakrishna & Priyadarshi, is the infusion of good cheer you need right now. Writer-director …

Hello Charlie on Amazon Prime Video India starring Jackie Shroff, Aadar Jain & Shlokka Pandit, is one of those films that defies reviews. Because I’m not sure I can properly explain how excruciating it is to watch.

Joji is a reworking of Macbeth and while these words might suggest a period setting, Shakespeare’s tragedy has been reimagined in contemporary times, on a sprawling rubber plantation in Kerala. But Joji, the youngest of …

The Big Bull, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Ileana Cruz, Sohum Shah, and directed by Kookie Gulati, is contrived in the old-school Bollywood way. Props …

Director Chloé Zhao constructs Nomadland like a mournful, sublime poem. The film stars Oscar-winning actor Frances McDormand who acts alongside …

The film Pagglait, starring Sanya Malhotra among others, reminds us of the many ways in which society and men control women. The word becomes an …

In the film Saina, starring Parineeti Chopra, writer-director Amole Gupte hits each of the usual sports film beats but also bungs in woman …

Mumbai Saga is apparently inspired by true events. I think there is a compelling story here of how the contours and conscience of the city shifted in 1996 and what was lost when Bombay became Mumbai. But Sanjay isn’t …

Be warned that Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, starring Parineeti Chopra & Arjun Kapoor in titular roles, doesn’t have the pacing that you might expect …

The film Roohi tries to continue in the tradition of feminist horror forged by films like Pari, Stree and Bulbbul. Director Hardik Mehta and writers …

MeToo, menopause, menstruation, motherhood, sex, adultery – it’s all here in Netflix India's Bombay Begums. These women, played by Pooja Bhatt, …

The Mohanlal starrer Drishyam 2: The Resumption on Amazon Prime Video India​ directed by Jeethu Joseph, is a genuine sequel as opposed to the ones in which characters or worlds continue with minimal connection to the …

The strength of Unfinished is that it’s in Priyanka Chopra’s voice. At one point, she writes: "I get to choose what I share and when I share it." Of course she does, but there are several places in which you wish the …

Debutant director Karishma Dube’s film Bittu is inspired by an infamous poisoning accident that took place in a government school in Bihar in 2013. …

Don’t go into the film expecting a retread of Slumdog Millionaire. In fact, the film positions itself as anti-Slumdog. Here's Anupama Chopra's full …

Ali Abbas Zafar's Tandav, starring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub among others, has too much Bollywood masala in its DNA. Which …

Ramprasad ki Tehrvi is a family drama directed by Seema Pahwa bursting with taujis, chachis, bhabhis and nanands. When they all gather after their …

The earlier Coolie No. 1 had a cheery lunacy and a degree of innocence that allowed the ridiculous plot to play out as an extended joke. But in 2020, …

In AK vs AK on Netflix, director Vikramaditya Motwane and writer Avinash Sampath construct a narrative that consistently crisscrosses the boundaries of artifice and truth. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

Unpaused, an Amazon Prime Video India anthology directed by Raj & DK, Nikkhil Advani, Nitya Mehra, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Avinash Arun Dhaware …

Durgamati The Myth on  @Amazon Prime Video India (https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC4zWG9LccdWGUlF77LZ8toA) starring Bhumi Pednekar, Arshad Warsi, Magie Gill & Jisshu Sengupta among others, is a horror/thriller …

Can a zombie movie make you cry? Yes, if it’s been directed by Yeon Sang-ho. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review of the South Korean film Peninsula, to …

Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, directed by Abhishek Sharma, saddles its solid cast, Diljit Dosanjh, Manoj Bajpayee, Fatima Sana Sheikh among others, with …

In Chhalaang, director Hansal Mehta and Rajkummar Rao, alongwith Nushrratt Bharuccha and Zeeshan Ayyub attempt to tell the uplifting story of a PT teacher in small-town Haryana, who finds his purpose in life through …

Using the game of Ludo as metaphor and structural skeleton, writer-director & DoP Anurag Basu constructs four interlocking stories, starring Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Fatima Sana Shaikh, …

Laxmii is the remake of a Tamil film called Kanchana, written and directed by Raghava Lawrence. Watch the review of the film, starring Akshay Kumar & Kiara Advani.

Terrie Samundra's film Kaali Khuhi is a horror film with a message. The idea is to scare you but also to make you think beyond the horror onscreen …

Every episode of A Suitable Boy is stuffed with plot, passion, conflict, faith and the endless push and pull between tradition and modernity, love …

Debutant director Puneet Khanna is not a fan of nuance. So his film has the straightforward title - Ginny Weds Sunny. Boy and girl (Vikrant Massey & Yami Gautam) meet-cute at a big, fat Punjabi wedding and their …

Director Magbool Khan’s Khaali Peeli on  @ZEEPLEX (https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCX3PcMUjayaB9ovRjoZacXQ) , starring Ananya Panday & Ishaan …

Director Sudhir Mishra's film Serious Men on  @Netflix India (https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCZSNzBgFub_WWil6TOTYwAg) , based on Manu Joseph's …

The best thing about Dolly and Kitty is that they are a mess. They can lie and steal. Both do really dumb things but because they are played by two …

Sadak 2 doesn’t just mirror the original in terms of narrative beats. The storytelling, performances, dialogue, cinematography, songs, background music – all seem to belong to the 90s, which was the last time Mahesh …

Ram Singh Charlie, directed by Nitin Kakkar, and written by Kakkar and Sharib Hashmi, is a celebration of the artist. Kumud Mishra, playing the …

Mee Raqsam on Zee5 is presented by Shabana Azmi and directed by her brother, the acclaimed cinematographer Baba Azmi. Mee Raqsam is an ode to their father Kaifi Azmi. The film is about a girl  Mariam obsessed with …

Directed by Atul Sabharwal & produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, Class of '83 is a gritty drama about a batch of police …

In Khuda Haafiz, writer-director Faruk Kabir ambitiously tries to expand the Vidyut Jammwal repertoire. With great action in place, the film has been inspired by a true incident. Also starring Shivaleeka Oberoi, Aahana …

The film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl shows Gunjan age from a schoolgirl to a young woman. With Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Manav Vij, Viineet …

Shakuntala Devi on Amazon Prime Video is the biopic of a woman without limits. The real life Shakuntala was a math wizard, who was famously known as the human computer. Directed by Anu Menon, this film features Vidya …

Raat Akeli Hai on Netflix India begins as the classic whodunnit – one murder, many suspects. With Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Shweta Tripathi …

Chaman Bahaar, starring Jitendra Kumar and Ritika Badiani, has been written and directed by debutant director Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann. Set in Lormi, a district in Chhattisgarh, this is a story about Billu, a paan seller, …

The name Gulabo Sitabo comes from traditional puppet art, in which the two characters quarrel incessantly. Like Gulabo and Sitabo, Mirza and Baankey …

The title Choked applies to many things in this film – a pipe, a marriage, a woman’s voice, her life, a society, a country. In the latest Netflix Original film, starring Saiyami Kher and Roshan Mathew, director Anurag …

Chintu Ka Birthday is a modest film with an outsized heart. Directed by debutant directors Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh, starring Vinay Pathak, …

The story of an outsider in Bollywood isn't exactly new, but writer-director Pushpendra Nath Misra attempts to spice it up by being inventive. …

The first streaming series by Anushka Sharma's Clean Slate Films, Paatal Lok is a nine-episode series, created by Sudip Sharma,  who wrote NH10 and …

Netflix Original film Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder, is a thriller set in an unnamed hill station, with Jacqueline Fernandez, Manoj …

Does a white saviour movie become more palatable if the white saviour is Chris Hemsworth? That is the critical question that Extraction presents. Anupama Chopra reviews Netflix's latest release Extraction, also starring …

With the release of Netflix India's new web series Hasmukh, Anupama Chopra reviews the show, with Vir Das and Ranvir Shorey in lead roles. The show …

This week, Anupama Chopra reviews Amazon Prime Video's Four More Shots Please! Season 2, with Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Bani J and Maanvi Gagroo …

A first on video - Anupama Chopra reviews the newly released web series 'Panchayat' streaming on Amazon Prime Video. With great performances by TVF's favourite Jitendra Kumar, and stalwarts like Raghubir Yadav and Neena …

The heart of this film and this franchise is Irrfan, who renders with singular elegance, the lunatic love and the ache that a parent feels. But …

Sudheer is played by a wonderfully frayed, fumbling, tragi-comic Sanjay Mishra, in writer-director Hardik Mehta's film Kaamyaab. The film brings back …

Baaghi 3 is an adaptation of the 2012 Tamil film Vettai. Starring the platonic ideal of the Bollywood action hero Tiger Shroff, and Riteish Deshmukh …

Thappad, starring Taapsee Pannu, is the story of a single slap. The beauty is that director Anubhav Sinha, who has co-written the film with Mrunmayee …

Written and directed by #ImtiazAli (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23ImtiazAli) , #LoveAajKal (…

Director Taika Waititi, who adapted the screenplay from a novel called Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, works a miracle here. Jojo is a 10-year-old …

Jawaani Jaaneman is an official adaptation of the 2010 Argentinian comedy Igualita A Mi which means Just Like Me. Somewhere in it is a tender, funny story about parenting, growing up, the importance of family and what a …

Panga works on the strength of its performances and its writing. Ashwiny, co-writer Nikhil Mehrotra and Nitesh Tiwari, who has been credited with additional screenplay create a lived-in world with characters who have …

In 1917, director and co-writer Sam Mendes, co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and DOP Roger Deakins deliver a film that combines high impact with high artistry. Lance Corporal Blake, played by Dean-Charles Chapman and …

Jai Mummy Di’s only redeeming factor is that it’s short. Genuinely, there is nothing else I can recommend in this film – the acting is bizarre, the writing is sloppy, the plot is incoherent and the background music is …

Writer-director Om Raut, co-writer Prakash Kapadia and leading man and co-producer Ajay Devgn seemed to have cracked the formula – Tanhaji, based on …

Laxmi Agarwal's remarkable survival story is the inspiration for Chhapaak, in which Deepika Padukone plays Malti, a middle-class Delhi girl whose pleasantly ordinary life is wrecked by an acid attack.The film's biggest …

With The Rise of Skywalker, the story that George Lucas started on May 25th, 1977 finally comes to an end.  It is, as director J.J. Abrams, said the …

When you step into Dabangg 3, you know you’re in for a Salman Khan extravaganza. Which would be fine if there was some attempt to tweak the formula …

Mardaani 2 is a sequel dedicated to Shivani Shivaji Roy, a lady super cop, who locks horns with the devil incarnate, a young & remorseless criminal who is murdering young women. Starring Rani Mukerji as Shivani, it …

Panipat should have been the 18th century version of Uri because the josh of Sadashivrao and his men is always high. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, …

In Hotel Mumbai, writer-director Anthony Maras and co-writer John Collee revisit the first night of the three days the terror lasted. Starring Anupam …

Knives Out is a delicious, twisted, witty murder mystery. The film, written and directed by Rian Johnson, manages at the same time to be both meta …

Pagalpanti is a sloppy TikTok video stretched to a torturous two hours and 29 minutes. Whatever dimag you might mistakenly bring to the film will definitely be depleted by the end of it. Director Anees Bazmee may be a …

Writer-director Milap Milan Zaveri blends his favourite 80s and 90s Hindi film clichés with ear-splitting background music, bombastic dialogue-baazi and frantic over-acting by Sidharth Malhotra, Tara Sutaria and Riteish …

The Ayushmann Khurrana social message movie is now a bonafide Bollywood sub-genre. Bala is a balding 25-year-old living in Kanpur. He is an aspiring …

Neil Nitin Mukesh has written the story, screenplay and dialogue of Bypass Road, which is a fantastically convoluted thriller. There are so many …

Drive starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez dropped on streaming platform Netflix this week. Subtlety is not the film’s forte. Neither is clarity, characterisation, coherence or anything else that any …

#TheSkyIsPink (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23TheSkyIsPink) is based on the true story of Aisha Chaudhary who was born with SCID, a …

#DiegoMaradona (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23DiegoMaradona) is the modern equivalent of a Greek tragedy. An extraordinarily …

Despite the obvious bumps, what keeps #Chhichhore (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Chhichhore) afloat is the sincerity in its …

What did #AnupamaChopra (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23AnupamaChopra) think of the #Prabhas (…

#OnceUponATimeInHollywood is a many splendored thing. It’s dazzling and meandering, brilliant and indulgent, sparkling but also stretched. It’s also …

#JabariyaJodi (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23JabariyaJodi) is over-plotted – characters keep getting married, kidnapped, nearly …

Ash Is Purest White is the first Jia Zhangke film to release theatrically in India. First, let’s just take a moment to celebrate that. The Chinese director is one of the world’s most acclaimed storytellers. …

Jaw-dropping action, cool one-liners and the industrial-strength charisma of #DwayneJohnson (…

#KhandaaniShafakhana wants to deliver a serious message about the importance of being open about sex – so entire scenes play out like public service announcements, in which characters espouse the cause. The film puts …

#ArjunPatiala is designed as a spoof. #DiljitDosanjh has a simplicity and sweetness that connects whether he is playing a superhero or a cop. His comic timing is impeccable but even Diljit can’t salvage the train-wreck …

#KanganaRanaut (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23KanganaRanaut) and #RajkummarRao (…

#TheLionKing is visually stunning. Director Jon Favreau said that the attempt was to make an animated film feel like a live-action film. #ShahRukh …

#Super30 (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Super30) is the ultimate underdog story, starring #HrithikRoshan (…

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s #Shoplifters is a profound, deeply moving meditation on this question. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 and was Japan’s official entry to the #Oscars. Listen to …

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a superhero film based on Marvel Comic's character #Spiderman (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23Spiderman…

Here's Anupama Chopra's review of 'Game Over', starring Taapsee Pannu, Vinodhini Vaidynathan and Parvathi T.

Here's Anupama Chopra's review of 'Bharat', starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Grover, Sonali Kulkarni and Shashank Arora.

Here's Anupama Chopra's review of the Netflix original film 'Chopsticks', starring Abhay Deol, Mithila Palkar, Vijay Raaz and a goat.

What did Anupama Chopra think of the second edition of the SOTY films? Listen to her review to find out!

A suicide bomber who can’t remember his mission is an inherently intriguing idea. And Hanif might have made more of an impression if the script was less sloppy. But Blank peddles in clichés – the bearded Muslim fanatic, …

For all those who know and relate to the MCU and for those who want to know what to look out for, here’s founder and critic Anupama Chopra’s movie review of the much-awaited 22nd film ‘Avengers: Endgame’

Kalank is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, not directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Abhishek creates an operatic fantasy filled with staggering sets, swirling fabric and heartache. Let me warn you - this film is not for …

One of the many movies that release this Friday is 'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?' inspired by Saeed Mirza’s 1980 film 'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai'. This film has been written and directed by Soumitra …

RAW stands for Romeo Akbar Walter – three names of the same man, played by John Abraham. John’s most successful films put to good use his …

Captain Marvel is the 21st film in the Marvel universe but it’s the first female-led film in the MCU. Her alter ego, Carol Danvers, first appeared in …

Sonchiriya begins with the sound of flies buzzing and then we get a close-up of the carcass they are hovering on. The close-up holds for much too …

Luka Chuppi is a tiresome tale of a couple from Mathura, Guddu and Rashmi, who decide to experiment with a live-in relationship. They do this by pretending to be married. And all that can go wrong does.

Gully Boy is loosely based on the lives of real life rappers Naezy and DIVINE, who rose from slums to stardom. Hip hop, modern day protest music, …

The Wife has been adapted by Swedish director Björn Runge from Meg Wolitzer’s 2003 novel. The plot itself is a tad contrived and not always …

Mary Queen of Scots is a sumptuous tale of two cousins. Both are queens – one of England and one of Scotland. Elizabeth and Mary are kindred spirits but their relationship is strained by the power struggle between their …

Why Cheat India, the makers tell us, is a hybrid of fact and fiction. This blend – maybe we should call it faction – seems to have become Bollywood’s …

Uri: The Surgical Strike is an unabashed love letter to the Indian army. If you want nuance or insight into the hearts and minds of brave men and women who willingly put themselves in the line of fire, you won’t find it …

Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se, the third film in the franchise, is an ode to Ayurveda. Yes, you heard that right. Sunny Deol plays vaid Puran Singh who …

A girl in a village with a guitar – that one image captures the spirit and originality of this charming and audacious Assamese film. Village Rockstars has been directed, produced, written, shot and edited by Rima Das. …

Tumbbad is a mysterious and magical movie. The story spans generations and decades - we begin in 1918 and end a little after Independence. The overarching theme is greed but we also witness corruption and betrayal, …

Sui Dhaaga: Made In India is earnest, simplistic and not entirely convincing. Writer and director Sharat Katariya immerses us into a beautifully …

Stree is a Trojan horse. Director Amar Kaushik and writers Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru create a horror-comedy, which turns out to be subversive commentary on the position and treatment of women in India. It’s clever …

Through the film, John Abraham inflicts various types of punishment on corrupt cops. His biceps do the emoting for him. His towering physicality is …

Pataakha is based on a short story called Do Behnein by Charan Singh Pathik. Vishal, aided well by his actors and crew, creates a colorful, textured …

For more than two decades, J. P. Dutta has served as Hindi cinema’s lone poet of war. He finds a profound passion and pride in stories of men in combat. In Dutta’s worldview, the battleground is where real heroes are …

Love, it is often said, is a many splendored thing. In Manmarziyaan, director Anurag Kashyap and writer and creative producer Kanika Dhillon offer us a deep-dive into this splendor. For years, I’ve exited Anurag’s films …

Loveyatri is a 1990s film being released in 2018\. Twenty years ago, Hindi cinema specialized in NRIs, Hindu festivals, Indian values, large families …

Imprisonment is a recurring motif in Love Sonia – a film about sex trafficking. Women live and work in cage-like rooms. Films like this are a tightrope act. The material is inherently ugly. And the narrative needs to …

Pihu is Trapped meets Home Alone without the anguish or the humour. A toddler, Pihu, wakes up next to her inert mother. Her father is not at home. Pihu shoves and calls and cries but her mom won’t open her eyes. It is …

Green Book is inspired by a true story. The title refers to a travel book for African-Americans – it advised them on places where they could stay and …

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a frantic movie – visually and narratively. So much happens to so many characters and the film is stuffed with so many marvels that by the end, I was both confused and …

The film, adapted from Garrard Conley’s memoir, is both efficient and effective. What I liked best about Boy Erased is that the film is driven by empathy. There are no outsized villains here – even Victor Sykes, played …

At one point in Bhaiaji Superhit, we arrive at a flashback in which Sunny Deol, as the uneducated Banaras don named Bhaiaji is serenading his wife, …

A Star is Born is a thing of beauty. It’s gorgeously romantic but also authentic and emotionally searing. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga are both brilliant and heartbreaking. The film is of course a love story but it’s …

Eela, as the title tells us, is a nightmarish helicopter parent. She hovers over every aspect of her son’s life. Just like in the Melissa McCarthy …

Gold is a fictional account of a real incident. I’m not sure how many people are aware of this victory so applause to Reema for bringing it to …

Gali Guleiyan is a film about a maze - both mental and physical. Khuddoos lives in one of the narrow lanes in old Delhi. It’s a vast and bewildering …

Sriram Raghavan is Hindi cinema’s thriller master. His films are filled with dark and dirty people – criminals and gamblers, murderers and conmen. …