Anupama Chopra Reviews

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 of the film starring Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Sai Tamhankar, Supriya Pathak & Manoj Pahwa, to know more.

Most of the films are thirty minutes long but truthfully, little in the three hours "feels like ishq". Much of it feels synthetic, simplistic, straining to be meaningful and, largely, insipid. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review of Feels Like Ishq to know more.

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 among others.

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 Jack Nicholson’s great line in As Good as it Gets, Ananya makes Aziz want to be a better man. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

Haseen Dillruba, starring Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey & Harshvardhan Rane, is genre busting – it’s a murder mystery but also a feverish romance with dollops of comedy bunged in. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

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

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 slight film.

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 Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni series created by Raj & DK.

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 recognizable.

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 plays out amidst the humdrum rhythms of daily life. There is no drama or high emotion.

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 cinema and the story of Cinema Bandi, the delightful new Telugu film, directed by Praveen Kandregula, and produced by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.

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 Khan. Anupama Chopra reviews the film.

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.

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 Indian classical music but its concerns are universal.

Without Remorse is an adaptation of Tom Clancy’s bestselling 1993 novel. The film attempts to speak to the reality of contemporary polarised America but the plot is too formulaic and the commentary too thin to underpin the high-octane thriller with gravitas.

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 Anudeep K.V. stitches together a sparkling comedy that is cheerfully silly without being lazy.

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 three brothers, is very much a subject of his father’s kingdom.

The Big Bull, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Ileana Cruz, Sohum Shah, and directed by Kookie Gulati, is contrived in the old-school Bollywood way. Props to Abhishek Bachchan for sincerely trying to hold the fractured screenplay together.

Director Chloé Zhao constructs Nomadland like a mournful, sublime poem. The film stars Oscar-winning actor Frances McDormand who acts alongside real-life nomads who were featured in Bruder’s book, who play themselves. Listen to the full review to know more about this globally-acclaimed film.

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 aspirational state, suggesting a woman crazy enough to break the rules and take on the world. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

In the film Saina, starring Parineeti Chopra, writer-director Amole Gupte hits each of the usual sports film beats but also bungs in woman empowerment. Listen to Anupama Chopra's review to know more.

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 really interested in that. Listen to Anupama Chopra's full review to know more.

Be warned that Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, starring Parineeti Chopra & Arjun Kapoor in titular roles, doesn’t have the pacing that you might expect in a chase film. But ultimately, filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee steers it to a climax that is both stinging and satisfying. Listen to Anupama Chopra's full review to know more.

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 Mrighdeep Singh Lamba & Gautam Mehra use Roohi’s story to deliver a message of self-acceptance and finding your inner strength.

MeToo, menopause, menstruation, motherhood, sex, adultery – it’s all here in Netflix India's Bombay Begums. These women, played by Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur & Aadhya Anand, lead fabulously messy lives filled with compromises and regrets. Here's Anupama Chopra's review of the series, to know more.