Blog | Amodini's Movie Reviews - Part 2Amodini's Movie Reviews | Movie Reviews by Year, Genre and Rating

Best Hindi Movies of 2024

Posted on July 30, 2025 by amodini

A little late 🙂 but here they are:

10. Crew: A breezy entertainer about 3 air-hostesses and friends (Kareena Kapoor, Tabu, Kriti Sanon) taking the not-so-moral path to overcome financial difficulties, this one is a decent watch.

9. Teri Baaton Main Aisa Uljha Jiya: On a US jaunt, visiting his aunt, Aryan meets Sifra and falls madly in love with her. There is more to Sifra than meets the eye though, and when the truth comes to light, all hell breaks loose. This is sci-fi meets bollywood at its campiest, but yet fun to watch with the good-looking lead pair (Kriti Sanon, Shahid Kapoor).

8. Vedaa: Vedaa is a socially conscious action drama, featuring Sharvari Wagh and John Abraham. The film focuses on caste violence and atrocities, and is a fast-paced watch. If this had been a little less commercial and a little more nuanced, it would have ranked better on this list.

7. Do aur do pyaar: A remake of the 2017 American film The Lovers, this film explores emotional drift in married life. Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi star, along with Sendhil Ramamurthy (remember him from the lovely Shor In The City?)

6. Khel khel mein: A group of friends decide to really get into each other’s business – almost as a gag, but things take a turn for the serious as unexpected secrets are revealed. This is a quirky, off-beat film and an entertaining watch. The huge star cast (Akshay Kumar, Vaani Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu, Ammy Virk , Aditya Seal, Pragya Jaiswal, Fardeen Khan) adds to the appeal.

5. All India Rank: Written and directed by Varun Grover (and inspired by his own experiences) this is best described as a coming of age film. The film is about Vivek Singh (Bodhisattva Sharma) who’s preparing for the IIT JEE in Kota – the student life depicted has refrains of Kota Factory. It feels authentic and is worth watching for the lovely acting and the nuanced characters.

4. Amar Singh Chamkila: Directed by Imtiaz Ali, this stars Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, and is a biographical musical drama about the turbulent life of Punjabi folk singer Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot. I knew nothing about him before the film, but I found it moving and interesting.

3. Bhakshak: This hard-hitting film about a lone, brave woman trying to fight systemic abuse is at times hard to watch. Bhumi Pednekar and Sanjay Mishra deliver stunning performances in this crime thriller/ social drama.

2. Kill: This film is a condensed action thriller, packing tons of gore and blood into 1 hour 45 minutes. It is intense – no songs, additional melodrama or moments of levity to dilute the pace. All we get as a let-up are snatches of a romance; little flashbacks, foils to the present blood-letting. Lakshya and Tanya Maniktala (of A Suitable Boy fame) star.

1. Laapata Ladies: The feel‑good comedy-drama of the year, this pleasant film is directed by Kiran Rao with a relatively unknown cast (Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Rana, Sparsh Srivastav).

Posted in 2024, annual roundup, Best hindi movies, bio-pic, bollywood, Hindi Movies List, lists, recommended, Top 10 | Comments Off

Saiyaara Movie Review: A Romantic Disappointment

Posted on July 28, 2025 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️
Genre: Romance
Year: 2025
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Director: Mohit Suri
Cast: Aneet Padda, Ahaan Panday, Geeta Sharma
Kid rating: PG

Saiyaara is apparently a sleeper hit. This film has been running houseful and I finally managed to see it this afternoon. After the way this film was hyped, I was hoping that this would indeed be a novel romance. Alas, it was not to be.

Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda) has suffered a major life setback, and it has left her withdrawn and unhappy. Then she meets Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), a young musician with a fiery temper. When the two are thrown together during a song collaboration (she’s a writer) they fall in love. But there are more problems in store for the young couple; they just don’t know it yet . . .

Let me start with the good. This is a Mohit Suri film and a Yash Raj production, so the film has the sheen of expensive film-making. The execution is done well, and technically it’s not a bad film. The lead actors making their debut also do a decent job.

The problem is that Saiyaara is all melodrama and very little character development. This is a romance and to feel for the two star-crossed lovers we need to actually like them or at the very least sympathize with them. We can’t though because the character development is little to non-existent.

Vaani is a timid wallflower with parents who are a little too involved in her life. Quite coddled, Vaani lacks essential life skills, but she mopes rather well. Krish is an angry young man. When he is not brawling or hooking up with random women, he walks around with a self-confident swagger. Bollywood machismo at its best.

Angry Krish is also angry and overbearing around Vaani. He bosses her around, feels free to invade her privacy, and Vaani, instead of running a mile, falls in love with him. From the moment these two meet, thanks to director Suri, each scene between the two is a stylized encounter. The aesthetics are sound enough, so it is a pity that the situations are so cringy and contrived; there’s not a shred of true emotion in all that romance.

While Vaani and Krish are given backstories to explain why they behave the way they do, it is never quite convincing. We never get a feel for who these people are, or what makes them tick. I don’t fault the actors for that – both Ahaan Pandey and Aneet Padda did fine acting-wise. They don’t have super-impressive personalities though, so not sure how they would do in grittier roles, minus all the Suri styling.

The background music is incessant, so much so that one never actually gets a chance to feel for the characters on one’s own – the music just dins it in. Mohit Suri’s films are generally strong on melodrama and thin on substance. So too with this film. But unlike his films which have great music, Saiyaara suffers from a very average soundtrack.

This film’s plot line is a jaded one, and uses hackneyed Bollywood tropes. Saiyara regurgitates the same old juvenile nonsense and presents it as a romance. If you really want to watch a good romance in the same vein, watch Rockstar or see this list of Best Romances. There is nothing new or fresh about Saiyara’s tired tripe; these are yesterday’s leftovers, served cold.

Kidwise: Liplocks and one sex scene. The real damage comes in subjecting your child to puerile notions of romance, images of women as helpless, hesitant waifs.

Posted in 2025, directors, rating-PG, romance | Comments Off

Why You Should Watch Gram Chikitsalay on Amazon Prime

Posted on July 25, 2025 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2025
Episodes : 5
Running time : 40 minutes (per episode)
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Director : Deepak Kumar Mishra
Cast : Amol Parashar, Vinay Pathak, Anandeshwar Dwivedi, Akash Makhija, Garima Singh
Kid rating : G

Remember Panchayat? Well, here is a cousin of sorts – a do-gooder doctor come to set up shop in the hinterland. Not because he needs to, but because he wants to. And if that supreme altruism doesn’t warm the cockles of your cynical heart, what does?

Dr. Prabhat Sinha comes to the remote village of Bhatkandi, Jharkhand to serve as the doctor at the neglected Primary Health Centre (PHC). When he locates the PHC, access is difficult, because it is in the middle of a field, and the tall crop is hard to wade through. On entry, he finds the PHC rundown—broken equipment, missing medicines, poorly motivated staff. The villagers flock to the local quack, Chetak Kumar (Vinay Pathak), who treats them by Googling symptoms.

Prabhat’s altruistic enthusiasm is somewhat tamped by the bureaucratic apathy & corruption, political interference, and local superstitions of the villagers. But he is not one to give up easily, and makes it his aim to slowly wean the villagers away from the quack. It will be an uphill task.

While the overarching premise is similar to Panchayat’s , Gram Chikitsalay manages to hold it’s own. Amol Parashar as Dr. Sinha does well as an earnest young man who has set out to do good. Vinay Pathak as the quack is also marvelous. Anandeshwar Dwivedi as the lazy compounder Phutani, Akash Makhija as ward boy Govind, Garima Vikrant Singh as nurse Indu, and Santu Kumar as Indu’s son Sudhir round off the rest of the cast.

The series portrays the dismal state of rural healthcare, and one lone man’s fight to bring it to this small village. This 5 episode series tells this story with heart, making us root for the hero. I enjoyed the simple story-telling, and would compare it to Panchayat as well as Laakhon Mein Ek – Season 2, although the latter lacks the comedic element of Gram Chikitsalay.

Season 1 was an interesting watch. I look forward to Season 2.

Posted in 2025, Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Video Recommendations, directors, drama, family-friendly, Good Shows To Watch On Amazon Prime, humor, recommended, series, social issues | Comments Off

Movie Review : Aap Jaisa Koi (2025)

Posted on July 18, 2025 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐ 1/2
Genre: Romance
Year: 2025
Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Director: Vivek Soni
Cast: Madhavan, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Manish Chaudhary, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Namit Das
Kid rating: PG

The trailer of Aap Jaisa Koi looked amazing, an actual quietly cool film questioning regressive social mores. Plus it stars Fatima Sana Sheikh who pulled at our heartstrings so effectively in the recent Metro In Dino, AND a cleaned up, shaved Madhavan. So does it deliver? Well . . . yes and no.

Shrirenu Tripathi (Madhavan) is a 42 year old Sanskrit teacher. He meets 32 year old French teacher Madhu Bose (Sheikh) from Kolkata, via the arranged marriage route. The two like each other despite differences in outlook – she is a liberal, independent woman, while he is a little more staid, still rooted in old world mores and morality.

One can almost hear the wedding bells when the relationship is put to the test. Is what’s good for the gander good for the goose? Not per Shrirenu. Madhu wants a marriage of true equality, while Shrirenu demurs. The twain might never meet.

This film reminded me of the wonderful (and much better) Tanu Weds Manu in it’s romantic tone, it’s small-towny feel and the soulful ballads. Shrirenu lives in Jamshedpur, a shy, hesitant, lonely bachelor who would like some (respectable) female comfort. When the lovely, high-heeled, chiffon-clad Madhu appears on the scene, Shrirenu cannot believe his luck.

Both Shrirenu and Madhu’s characters are appealingly sketched out. Madhavan and Fatima bring them to life. I am glad to see Madhavan back in form again as charmingly insecure Shrirenu. And Fatima Sana Sheikh is absolutely marvelous as the luminous Miss Bose. I loved that her character exuded quiet self-confidence. Even when she questions Shrirenu’s patriarchal outlook, it is not in the strident tones of the weak, but in the reasonable tones of a woman who knows her worth and will brook no nonsense.

Also nicely done are their family members. Manish Chaudhari as Shrirenu’s overbearing, patriarchal brother and Ayesha Raza as his sweet bhabhi are total scene-stealers. Madhu’s large family is well-portrayed as educated and forward-thinking. Namit Das as Shrirenu’s bumchum pal was great.

Aap Jaisa Koi as a film was lovely to behold, each frame so well put together. Lovely tree-lined streets, the elegance of Kolkata, softly focused frames! Kudos to cinematographer Debojeet Ray.

Here’s the rub though: despite all these positives, this film does not succeed like it should have. It started off well, but then it dragged its feet. It dithered. The screenplay faltered. All that lovely romantic energy just dissipated. Also, while I did like Shrirenu’s character, it is a tad annoying to see yet another hero take the easy way out. Made for a namby-pamby ending.

But that’s my grouse. Aap Jaisa Koi is still miles ahead of the chauvinist crap Bollywood dishes out as the norm. And yes, it’s a simple, non-deafening, pleasant, visually pleasing film. A one-time watch recommended.

Kidwise: Clean.

Posted in 2025, All Netflix, bollywood, Hindi movies on Netflix, rating-PG, romance | Comments Off

Aankhon ki Gustakhiyan Movie Review: Neither Rom Nor Com

Posted on July 13, 2025 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️
Genre: Romance
Year: 2025
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Director: Santosh Singh
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Shanaya Kapoor, Zain Singh Durrani
Kid rating: PG

A blind musician Jahaan (Massey) and a wannabe actress Saba (Kapoor) meet in a train. She has a blindfold on, one she intends to keep on for two weeks to get ready for an audition. In Mussoorie, their destination, Saba, sans her manager, has nowhere to go and hitches a ride with her new friend. Then she persuades him to let her room with him in his villa. One thing leads to another and soon the two are in love. But, surprise, surprise, Jahan ups and leaves. 3 years later they meet in Europe, and old memories come surging back.

Aankhon ki Gustakhiyan is supposedly a romcom, but there is neither rom nor com. The writing is flat, and characters paper-thin. The dialogs and situations are juvenile and cringey. There is zero chemistry between the leads.

I can’t fault the actors though when the direction and writing is this dismal. There is suspension of belief and then there is just plain atrocious writing. This film falls into the latter category. I did not know why the characters did what they did, nor did I care – so poorly sketched were they.

I was curious to see Shanaya Kapoor who is the daughter of Maheep, of Bollywood Wives, and actor Sanjay Kapoor. Shanaya does her best with the silly character she’s saddled with. Saba is a woman missing a brain; she decides to share a car, a home and a bedroom with a man she’s just met and cannot see. She’s also entitled and bratty.

Then there is Vikrant Massey who is a very good actor (12th Fail, Dolly Kitty aur Woh Chamakte Sitare), and he also fails to impress in this film. In the first half of the film, Jahaan sported a stubble. In the second, there’s a full beard and a ton of hair – not a good look for Massey. Zain Khan Durrani played Abhinav, Saba’s boyfriend – and he did well too.

The film was full of tropes we’ve seen before. The ditzy girl and the nerd. The unrequited love syndrome. You could see the end a mile away. Very predictable and boring and a whole lot of tepid nothingness. I was very tempted to leave the theater, but stayed to see if it got better. It didn’t.

Aankhon ki Gustakhiyan is a film to be missed. It’s a pity that this was her debut film, but Shanaya will probably improve (Ananya did), given the right director and script.

Kidwise: A few liplocks.

Posted in 2025, bollywood, rating-PG, romance, stinker | Comments Off

Review: Metro In Dino – Stellar Cast in a Musical Mess (2025)

Posted on July 8, 2025 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Romance
Year: 2025
Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Director: Anurag Basu
Cast: Siddharth Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta, ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Anupam Kher
Kid rating: PG

I hate to rain on this parade, but “Metro In Dino” is a bit of a hot mess. It starts very music video fashion with Pritam and his band singing a modern ballad atop a tall building, city skyline in the background. The main characters and the introductory scenes come to you via this music video. I wasn’t gaga with this over-the-top treatment but if it had only stopped there! Yes, this is from the director who created the impeccable Barfi, and yes I had very high hopes for this movie, but alas! The good news is that this is not a bad movie, it’s just ho-hum when it could have been spectacular.

Like the earlier “Life in a Metro” this is also a story of a bunch of romantic pairs, some thrown together by chance, some together yet distant, and some just waiting to meet the one. It has a bunch of parallels too – there’s a pair of sisters in in this Metro too, the characters in the film are interconnected, some characters have the same names, there are references to Kolkata and all things Bangla, and some philosophical musings carry over here, 17 years later. And really all that nostalgia works, because you remember and smile at the memory of an older, wonderful film.

Shibani (Neena Gupta) has two lovely grown daughters – the elder Kajol (Konkona Sen Sharma) is married to Monty (Pankaj Tripathi), and the younger Chumki (Sara Ali Khan) is about to be engaged to Anand. Chumki meets Parth (Aditya Roy Kapoor) by chance. Parth is good friends with married couple Akash (Ali Fazal) and Shruti (Fatima Sana Sheikh).

So there’s Shibani who’s regretting her lack of independence, and the loss of friendships she left behind (especially the one with college sweetheart Parimal). Kajol suspects Monty is having an affair. Chumki will be married to Anand soon, but keeps bumping into Parth. Akash and Shruti love each other but different dreams dictate separate life paths. And Rohan loves Jhinuk (Darshana Banik) but she won’t hear of moving away from dad-in-law.

A tangled web it is, but quite well-portrayed by the stellar cast. Strong performances, except maybe Sara Ali Khan, who does try. A special kudos to Fatima Sana Sheikh and Ali Fazal, because they made their tortured love-story shine. Anupam Kher’s Parimal and Parimal’s touching relationship with his daughter-in-law got me misty-eyed. Konkona Sen Sharma is spectacular, as always. I loved the interconnected-ness of the whole thing, the skillful way Basu intertwined stories and attachments. Yes, it is a little cheesy (and a little ham-handed), but one is not watching a documentary, is one?

What sinks the ship is the break-aways into song every 5 minutes. Just when you’re trying to immerse yourself into the poignant moments (and to director Basu’s credit there are a few), along comes Pritam and Co, guitars strumming, long hair streaming, drums ablaze to destroy the scene and your senses. The music interruptions got so frequent, I thought I was in a Ken Ghosh music video.

This death by music might have been palatable, had the melodies been good. There are 11 songs, and most of them sound like each other. Qayde Se is the only lovely one.

Metro In Dino tries too hard to be with it. Quite a comedown for a genius like Basu, Metro In Dino is still a pleasant, feel-good film.

Kidwise: Fairly clean and free from innuendo.

Posted in 2025, romance | 1 Comment

Materialists: Celine’s Song hath no melody

Posted on July 4, 2025 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️
Genre: Romance
Year: 2025
Running time: 1 hour 57 minutes
Director: Celine Song
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal
Kid rating: PG-15

The first scene of this film makes you think you have a good one; a Friday night entertainer with a sense of humor AND good-looking leads. But then things go south. Not immediately though. At first we’re drawn in watching lovely Lucy (Dakota Johnson) make her living as a match-maker extraordinaire. She’s had 9 matches turn into marriages so far, which is apparently a great hit rate.

At one such wedding she meets Harry, the brother of the groom. Harry (Pedro Pascal), in match-maker parlance, is a unicorn, just like his brother – handsome, very well-to-do, charming, and without any bad habits. When he professes an interest in dating Judy, she tells him that that might not be such a good idea since she plans to marry the next man she dates. He is undeterred.

At the same wedding she also bumps into an old flame, cater waiter John (Chris Evans). Riding with John in his old car after the wedding, they catchup – John is still struggling in his acting career at 37, perpetually broke and living with roommates to afford NYC rents.

As Judy begins to date the wealthy Harry, she also feels the familiar tug towards John. Does money matter? Does love? And must one choose between the two?

Such an interesting premise, with such delectable stars! You’d think this would have been the romcom of the season. Unfortunately not. It’s a dud. The characters are flat. Also Dakota Johnson. For all her luminous beauty Ms. Johnson does not deign to act in this film – which was quite a surprise; I’d really liked her in Persuasion. There she was warm, wry and witty, here she is a cold fish, all monotones and small hesitant gestures. Were she not this beautiful, she might have blended into the wallpaper.

Pascal is decent, but Evans carries the film. You watch him waving that shield around as Captain America and you forget he can act. But he can. And he proves it in this film.

I did like Lucy’s character – it’s a pity it wasn’t fleshed out very well. Lucy is so torn, but she is a practical girl. She can quite see the advantages of marrying into wealth – but then John is a true friend – one she can actually talk and call upon. Somewhere along the way, Lucy makes up her mind and chooses a guy. The unfortunate part is that we don’t get to see it. The moment comes and goes, with nary an emotion to show for it.

The film is a romcom waxing lyrical about finding the one to grow old with etc. etc. We have one female with two male suitors vying for her attention. She makes her choice, but the why and the how and the stuff that comes with it just isn’t there. Where is the drama, the emotion, the heartbreak, the joy? Why Lucy does what she does is a mystery.

This film is tepid and very low-key. Even the big moments are so muted down, they hardly register. I felt little for this modern romance.

Posted in 2025, directors, hollywood, romance | Comments Off

Movie Review : Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (2024)

Posted on August 4, 2024 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Year: 2024
Running time: 2 hours
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Cast: Ajay Devgun, Tabu, Saiee Manjrekar, Shantanu Maheshwari
Kid rating: PG-15

Auron Mein Khan Dum Tha comes from director Neeraj Pandey who has also directed action thrillers like Special 26 and A Wednesday. So he has a reputation as the director of well-made, fast-paced engrossing films. One would assume that a director who has made great films in the past would also make great films in the future. Alas, he proves that theory wrong.

This film’s plot line is a grand, sweeping love story. The kind that one would remember for ages and ages for that immutable, pure love. But the film itself is so lackluster, that it doesn’t carry the intensity of that kind of a love story, despite having stars like Tabu and Ajay ‘Brooding’ Devgun.

The story goes thusly: Vasu (played by Manjrekar) and Krishna (Maheshwari, whom we saw in Gangubai Kathiawadi) are very much in love. They live in the same chawl in Mumbai and meet each other secretly. He means to ask for her hand, once he is secure in his job and future. And they dream of a life lived happily together.

Then comes a tragic event which will separate them. For ever and ever.

But the love will persist.

For starters, the film is too long and too slow. Pandey follows his directorial habits from directing action thrillers. So each scene is protracted and long and follows the protagonist in every small minute detail. If the protagonist is climbing up a set of stairs, the camera will follow them climbing up. Each stair. Every step of the way. Accompanied by ever, increasing thudding music. Which is fine for some “action” scenes but does not translate well to a romantic tale.

This is a directorial failure because the actors are pretty good. Tabu and Ajay Devgan, of course, are veterans. But even the pair that play a young Vasu and Krishna – Saiee and Shantanu – do very well. I’m honestly quite surprised by how well Saiee acts. She reminds me of a young, slightly less perky Padmini Kolhapure.

The young romance is interesting enough. And honestly, I could have watched a mini film featuring Saiee and Shantanu. So that works. What does not work is the film going on and on and on, with the young, hopeful couple giving way to an older, melancholic pair.

The other problematic thing about the film is it’s jaded feel. There is 1 scene of attempted rape in this film and it reminded me of the 80s rape scenes with heroines being abducted and molested. In fact, the whole film felt like it was situated in a bygone era – one where lovers spoke in muted tongues, remained restrained and polite and were ever so well-behaved. The storyline veering into “Dubai don” territory, the violent jail skirmishes, Krishna’s band of loyal followers in jail (some terrible acting there) seemed to belong to Hindi cinema of a past decade.

A love story should be one where you are invested and moved. Preferably to the point of tears. Yes, preferably a weepie, especially if it’s going to have the lovers separated. But this film for all its great big lovesick scenes and declarations of unending devotion, left me unmoved.

I have no great big, warm fuzzy feelings for this film or its protagonists, worthy of sympathy though they may seem on paper. What little I do feel is so distant and so far removed that, I cannot say that I will ever recall this film fondly, or at all.

Auron Mein Khan Dum Tha is a very humdrum watch for a love story. I’m not sure it’s worth two and a half hours in a theater.

Kidwise: One scene of attempted rape. Somewhat gory violence with knives and other sharp implements.

Posted in 2024, directors, rating-PG15, romance | Comments Off

Movie Review : Sharmajee ki Beti (2024)

Posted on July 27, 2024 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Year: 2024
Running time: 2 hours
Director: Tahira Kashyap Khurana
Cast: Divya Dutta, Sakshi Tanwar, Saiyami Kher, Sharib Hashmi
Kid rating: PG-15

The film is about three women with the last name of Sharma – Jyoti Sharma, Kiran Sharma and Tanvi Sharma. Kiran Sharma (Dutta) has just moved from Patiala to Mumbai about a year back and has yet to make friends and make a life for herself. She is for now, a housewife busy supporting husband and daughter Gurveen. Then there is Jyoti Sharma (Tanwar) who is a teacher at a coaching institute and mother of the whiny Swati Sharma. Tanvi Sharma (Kher) is a state female cricketer. She has a boyfriend who wants her to be more feminine and womanly although he says that he’s in love with her.

All these three women live in the same building and know each other marginally. The film is about their urban experience, the way they go through life buffetted by its demands, the demands of the people around them, and how they find peace and resolution to their problems.

It’s an interesting concept, and it’s nice for once to see a woman making a film about other women. The women are the stars and the men are supporting characters.

The film is enjoyable, but predictable. At times a little too pat and annoying. The younger Sharma girls – Gurveen and Swati are a whiny, spoiled lot. The older Sharma women are a lot stronger, more resilient and patient.

The film does get into juvenile teeny bopper territory when it deals with problems faced by Gurveen and Swati. And at times it gets a little too overdone like in the story of Kiran Sharma, and her taciturn husband. Dutta is a fine actress but she overwhelms in certain scenes and underwhelms in others and because she’s a fine actress, I don’t think it’s her – it’s the director.

Saiyami Kher really fit her role. She does very well and her storyline is quite interesting to watch, but unfortunately not as well fleshed out as I’d liked. And then there is Sakshi Tanwar playing Jyoti, as the teacher, who’s always looking for approval in her bratty daughter’s eyes. Jyoti just takes it and takes it and takes it until realization dawns on her daughter – which I thought was real namby-pamby. Like whatever happened to parenting?

I have mixed feelings about Sharmajee ki Beti. It does raise important issues in female urban existence but gets too silly and ham-handed at times. Interesting stories and predicaments are hinted at, but given a surface level treatment. Also, I’m not dazzled by star power, storyline, pacing or direction. I’m deeming it a mediocre watch.

I hope director Khurana will get better with every film she directs, but this one is not something to write home about.

Kidwise: Clean.

Posted in 2024, bollywood, coming of age, directors, drama, family-friendly, rating-G, touchy-feely, women | Comments Off

Movie Review : Chandu Champion (2024)

Posted on July 20, 2024 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4
Genre: Bio-pic
Year: 2024
Running time: 2 hours 22 minutes
Director: Kabir Khan
Cast: Karthik Aryan, Vijay Raaz, Bhuvan Arora
Kid rating: PG-15

There have been many Hindi movies which are made on the lives of famous sportsmen, swimmers and soldiers. Chandu Champion is another. It is the real life story of Murlikant Petkar, who was born in great poverty, in a small, rural village and became a champion wrestler in the village.

Then he joined the Army, trained to become a boxer and actually represented India in the Asian games. During a war, he was paralyzed from the waist down. Then he decided to take up swimming and was so good at it that he actually won an Olympic gold medal In the para-olympics.

It is a remarkable and true story of great indetermination, passion and courage.

Chandu Champion is made by director Kabir Khan who while he does do the job (his films are entertaining enough – Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Ek Tha Tiger, New York) is not quite known for nuance or fine detail. The film is a typical Kabir Khan product – well-made and competently put together. The pace is good. You will not be bored.

I am not a great big fan of Karthik Aryan, although this is is probably his finest role; I had no idea he could act like that. I did enjoy Vijay Raaz’s role as Petkar’s Army supervisor, and also coach, later in life. Raaz, as always, is magnificent. Bhuvan Arora (you might remember him from Farzi), as Petkar’s close friend Jarnail Singh, also does a commendable job.

As a member of the audience, you are quite awed by Petkar’s immense courage and resilience. Towards the end of the film, they do show real life clips of the actual man and his life.

Chandu Champion is a good enough watch. It does not boast of any major stars save Aryan. The film is interesting because of the real life story, but while holding your interest for it’s length, doesn’t leave you quite rah-rah. This is interesting if tepid cinema.

Kidwise: Pretty clean.