Hindustan Times

Ab Hoga Hisaab feels stretched beyond its limits.

by Rishabh Suri

With an actor like Konkona at the helm, the film's world acquires gravitas. Uneven chemistry and a finale that lacks the sting it promises dilute the impact of what could have been a far more provocative film.

by Rishabh Suri

The core problem is that this feels less like a film and more like an extended ‘maha episode’ of a daily soap.

by Rishabh Suri

The second half is where my feelings about the film turn conflicted. While the idea of exploring the war through the lens of all three uniformed services is genuinely novel, the execution of the war itself is average at best. The budget and VFX are spent on expanding scale, but that becomes part of the problem. There is simply too much of it. The beats feel familiar, and in places, repetitive. We have seen this grammar of war cinema before. The climax, however, pulls the film back from the brink and redeems much of what precedes it, which means patience post-intermission is rewarded.

by Rishabh Suri

But wait. There is a film here. A genuinely interesting one, buried somewhere between the cringe-filled beginning and the exhausting end. Whenever Chand Mera Dil shifts its focus to life after the honeymoon phase, it comes alive. The moment the conflict kicks in, the film pulls you in and surprises you with genuinely solid drama. The second half thus begins on a promising note. And then the makers get carried away, seemingly unaware that the film is entering its climax with an almost empty fuel tank. Lakshya delivers a genuinely sincere performance in a role that demands a great deal emotionally. When he breaks down on screen, the anguish seems real. But what’s a love story without chemistry? Locking lips, unfortunately, is not enough. Ananya Panday emerges as the weaker link here.

by Rishabh Suri

Overall, perhaps the biggest issue with Cocktail 2 is that it constantly reminds you of a better film. The original Cocktail was messy too, but it had heart and characters you cared about. This spiritual successor has the gloss, the glamour, but not the emotional punch. Some drinks are best served once.

Arun Matheswaran's adaptation of Devdas is all about guns, roses and the desire to lead a normal life.

by Rishabh Suri

Overall, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is a film of two very different halves. For its ambition, it doesn’t quite recreate the immersive world-building that made the first part stand out.

by Rishabh Suri

Overall, Gandhari has the ingredients of an emotionally charged thriller, but fails to bring them together. Its familiar premise gets a few interesting twists, and director Makhija stages the action with conviction, but the writing is too convenient and the emotional core too underdeveloped to make Bani's journey truly moving.

by Rishabh Suri

And yet, there are fleeting stretches where the film is easy to watch, almost in spite of itself.

by Rishabh Suri

Hai Jawani Toh... proudly wears its nonsense on its sleeve. Yet, even by the standards of a David Dhawan comedy, the first half gets off to a dull start.

by Rishabh Suri

Overall, Haiwaan is a thriller that promises more than it delivers. The premise is strong, and the climax finally brings the tension that the film has been searching for. But getting there is a long journey.

by Rishabh Suri

Overall, Ikka doesn't leave you debating its twists or admiring its legal fight as the best courtroom dramas often do. Instead, it leaves you wondering how a film with Sunny Deol and Akshaye Khanna ended up feeling this ordinary.

by Santanu Das

Sometimes ambition is not enough. Even good intent is not enough to salvage a story that does not know its own pulse. Such is the case with the new SonyLiv series Jazz City. From the large, expansive frames to the many little paths this story takes to navigate a turbulent time of national importance, I see how much has gone into making the show. But that does not help its case, or for creator Soumik Sen, as the show remains inert despite its full-blown capacity, incurious despite all the concoction of different factors, and mostly, out of depth even with so much space to fill. Jazz City holds promise, but it seems like that is everything it can hold after all.

by Rishabh Suri

On paper, Kartavya, also written by Pulkit, has all the ingredients of a gripping emotional drama. Yet somewhere between it's political intrigue and caste commentary, the film struggles to make you truly invest in it's characters. It begins on an intriguing note, drawing you into Pawan’s race against time and the question of how he will track down the culprits on the run. As the narrative progresses, the beats become increasingly predictable. Two major factors hold the film back. First is the antagonist, Anand Shri, who doesn't leave the impact the story wants him to. His henchmen repeatedly build him up as a terrifying force, but the audience rarely gets to feel that menace. Apart from a couple of dialogue-heavy scenes, the character remains distant and underwhelming.

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