What doesn't: The film struggles to maintain emotional depth and often settles for familiar tropes. Certain conflicts feel stretched, while some crucial moments lack the impact they deserve. A few subplots appear underdeveloped. Despite dealing with complicated relationships, the screenplay remains fairly safe and predictable. There are moments where the film hints at exploring deeper emotions, but it never fully commits to them. For a film that carries the weight of the Cocktail brand, the sequel misses the freshness and emotional resonance that made the original memorable.
The film cleverly incorporates elements inspired by iconic cinema moments, including glimpses of the legendary mythological drama Mahabharata and other memorable films.
Dhoom Dhaam’s strength lies in its racy treatment, which keeps the audience engaged despite a relatively thin storyline. Rishab Seth’s direction shines through in the film’s visual appeal, with excellent transitions and well-choreographed chase sequences that add a dynamic energy to the goings-on. The razor-sharp editing deserves special mention, ensuring the movie remains crisp and avoids feeling dragged out. The chemistry between Yami Gautam Dhar and Pratik Gandhi is undeniably one of the film’s highlights. Their playful banter and mutual support make them a couple worth rooting for. The film’s ability to deliver a thrilling yet lighthearted experience, coupled with its high production values, makes it a delightful popcorn entertainer that doesn’t demand overthinking.
Goutham S of Pinkvilla gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Mohanlal starrer acts as mirror to socio-political narrative with string of new foes lining up to vanquish Khureshi".
Sikandar is yet another case of a mass film failing to fulfill its purpose. While the action is the highlight, it still lacks the impact to keep you hooked. The storyline carries potential for emotions but it doesn't work due to half-hearted approach. The dialogues bore you rather then entertaining because the dialogue delivery of actors is as ordinary as writing. Nobody seems interested enough in making a good entertainer.
Indian Police Force plays to the gallery. The story lacks newness and feels hollow. The writing is unabashedly prejudiced, stereotypical and preachy. The characters are not well-arched and thus they feel very basic and uni-dimensional. The visual effects in portions get jarring and for a show as ambitious as IPF, this is something that could have easily been avoided. While the show has maintained a very realistic approach through its proceedings, the climax episode gets very unrealistic, diluting the feel of the show to an extent. Sidharth Malhotra as Inspector Kabir Malik delivers a very credible performance and his body language syncs with the personality of a confident police inspector.
Kaagaz 2 fails to realize its primary conflict for the better part of its runtime. It takes too long to set up and then get to the point. There are a lot of storylines running that have absolutely nothing to add to the film's core conflict and that subsequently bogs down the film and makes it less impactful. While the courtroom sequences are relatively better executed, the lack of repartees are a killer. A competitive defendant could have made for a slightly more engaging watch.
Laapataa Ladies is a poignant yet heartwarming tale of independence and self-reliance that will make you smile, laugh and ponder. The satire addresses societal evils on the chin but continues to remain entertaining and enchanting through its course of 2 hours and 5 minutes. Kiran Rao deftly and sensitively handles the subject matter. She never lets the film feel preachy or a deliberate attempt at proving a point. She is able to extract extraordinary performances out of her marvellous actors. Everything from editing to songs, background music and cinematography is first rate and the result is a flawless film. There's a lot more to say about the movie but that would also mean giving out a lot of spoilers. So, it is best to just watch the film without any preconceived notions. There's nothing about Laapataa Ladies that doesn't work.
Maidaan is a passionately woven sports-biopic on the coach that led India to an underdog-victory at the 1962 Asian Games. The movie is tidily made and shows all that Syed Abdul Rahim had to go through, in his short yet meaningful life. Ajay Devgn delivers one of his most emotionally rousing performances, that is sure to win him numerous accolades. The eye to detail that director Amit Ravindernath Sharma has is worth appreciating. Casting of the players, to cinematography, complex camera-shots in the match sequences and the adrenaline-filled background score, the movie nails it all. From the first scene to the last, the beautiful amalgamation of scale backed by vision is clearly visible. It is the last 20 minutes of Maidaan where your patience truly gets rewarded and you leave the auditorium with an emotional high, that very few films can give you.
Premalu undoubtedly marks Girish AD's finest work since Thanneermathan Dinangal. If you're looking to escape from the stresses of life for two and a half hours and immerse yourself in laughter and enjoyment, then look no further—booking a ticket for Premalu is the perfect choice.
Sonalee Kulkarni was quite impeccable for most parts, however, there is one scene in particular where it feels she has overdone. Nonetheless, that scene does not discredit her brilliant performance in other scenes. Danish Sait, in his Malayalam debut, does justice to his character of Chamathakan, the maniacal antagonist. There is a thin line between being maniacal and overacting, and Danish manages to walk the line with precision for most parts of the film. However, there are parts where he overdoes it as well.
Ruslaan has good, stylised action. Both Aayush Sharma and Sushrii Shreya Mishraa perform their stunts well. There has been work put into it and that shows. The pre-interval scene and the climax, although predictable, deliver on the emotional front. Ruslaan's story is very routine, clichéd and basic and so are the characters. The execution is not upto the mark. Slow-motion shots literally bore you. The screenplay is extremely lousy. The plot is of convenience and suspension of disbelief is essential. The run-time is atleast 20 minutes more than what it should have been. Songs act as roadblocks in the already unevenly-paced film. Forced nationalism and forced anti-India agenda get on the nerves. It seems like we are seriously running out of conflicts for spy films.
