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Syed Abdul Rahim, the man who spearheaded the Indian football team into its Golden era of the 50s and 60s, is a name that needs no introduction to the Indian sports & history buffs. We all knew of his achievements, but most definitely had no clue of the struggles that went in to achieving those. And that's what the movie tries to showcase, the struggles of a National Football team coach of a country that has just recently freed itself from the clutches of a colonial master, burdened with poverty and a host of other issues, for it to be bothered by something like football.

In a time where hockey is greatly revered, and cricket is yet to achieve its moment of glory, football was one of the last priorities for most people of the country, but the Bengalis. This is why we can see a power struggle ensue when an outsider from Hyderabad tries to run the show, in his own way. But despite all the multitude of challenges from outside and within, the coach finally emerges triumphant.

The movie boasts of one of the best pieces of cinematography I have ever witnessed in a Bollywood movie. Every scene is crafted beautifully, especially the football match sequences, undoubtedly some of the best scenes of the movie. The final sequence is so immersive that it makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of the action, living and breathing football, with people starting to cheer and applaud the players as if it's a live match.

The acting and the ensemble cast is another strength of the movie. Ajay Devgn embodied the man himself, Syed Abdul Rahim, very brilliantly. Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and the actors playing the football team were all brilliant in their respective roles. The art of football was very accurate and felt real.

The length of the movie can be an issue for some, but being a fan of slow burners, I could hardly feel it being an issue. The pacing is good, with the pace varying as per the need of the scene, from lightning fast when football is being played, to slow-paced during the emotional scenes.

One improvement could have been a detailed portrayal of the importance of some of the intricacies of the sport which Rahim personally changed within the team and how they affected the gameplay, especially the introduction of one-touch passing style of football. But yes, these could have been rather too much for the casual viewers who lack much knowledge of the sport.

This would easily go down as one of the best sports movie ever produced in the country.

Overall rating : 9/10.

It was a privilege for me to witness this amazing piece of cinema at the Red Lorry Film Festival in Mumbai. The movie talks about a woman's search for the whereabouts of her ancestor, which happens to unearth (not pun intended) the story of a teacher who not only impacted several lives, but changed them forever.

The story is quite simple, yet powerful. It is a reminder of the damages done by wars and autocratic rules of the past, the effects of which still linger around. The portrayal is well-done, it keeps you glued to your seats till the very end, with a rollercoaster of emotions ensured.

The cinematography is excellent, the acting is fabulous and character development is done excellently. Some strong performances from all the main actors, especially Enric Auquer in the leading role. The movie has an aura that is reminiscing of classics like 'Life is Beautiful' and 'Malena'.

Simplicity is a great strength of this movie. For instance, the scene towards the end in which Antonio is shot dead is depicted in such a simplistic manner, devoid of any added drama, visual effects, cut scenes, or camera work, yet the impact is so tremendous and long-lasting that it stays with you long after leaving the cinema hall.

Overall - 9/10.

Watched this during the Red Lorry Film Festival in Mumbai. The movie depicts a certain part of the independence struggle that led to the downfall of the British Empire in West Asia, leading to the formation of independent states of Israel and Palestine.

One of the most genius things the makers have achieved is that they haven't taken any sides, be it the British, the Jews or the Arabs. Each faction is depicted in contrasting ways, and none can be seen as a hero or a villain. Considering the super-sensitivity of this topic right now, not taking sides could be considered as an advantage for this movie.

The weakness of the movie lies in the character development. None of the characters get well-defined enough to have a substantial effect on the viewers, and by the end of it, you don't really feel much for any of the characters, dead or alive.

Overall : 7/10.

Before watching this series, I used to believe it was something about the size or the beauty of the Kohinoor which made it a diamond of such high stature. But after watching this amazing documentary along with the visual recreation, I have truly understood the significance of Kohinoor!

The series talks about the journey of Kohinoor over thousands of years, and how it gained prominence as a symbol of power. One gets totally immersed into this beautiful roller coaster ride of a story, and the narration by Manoj Bajpayee is simply out of this world.

Every Indian and history buff should watch it.

What sets MCU apart from its comics and animated series (aka cartoons) is the fact that they invest a whole lot of chunk of their time on storytelling, recreating historic events and creating mystical ones. Be it the World Wars and the Cold War from Europe, the imaginary land of Wakanda from Africa, the Ten Rings from China, Kamar-Taj from India-Nepal, or Asgard and the world of Guardians of the Galaxy from outer space and other realms. Hence, a portrayal of one of the most significant historic events for 20% of the world's population, the India-Pakistan partition, seems pretty apt. And the way they have pulled it off, is pretty marvelous and emotional to say the least. South Asians from across the world can relate to it, and the whole world can get a taste of it too. Moreover, Marvel isn't something that's just American anymore, it's a Global phenomena, and it's good to see them getting more inclusive to actually be a team that defends "Earth", instead of one that's busy defending some burrows of New York.

Coming to the actual episode, the flashback part was pretty amazing, but things start to worsen just when our Ms. Marvel enters the scene, and it doesn't really recover from there, in fact keeps getting worse, like the CGI. The whole thing feels rushed, much like how they ended Moon Knight, and some parts feel a bit idiotic to say the least. That's not how you do cliffhangers, Marvel!

Kaun Pravin Tambe? That's what most people would say when you mention his name in a room full of people. That's because in today's world of fandom and glamour, there is only a minute chance that a simplistic cricketer like Tambe might find a place. And the makers have gone ahead and taken that chance, and executed it marvellously.

One of the brilliant things about this movie is that unlike most Indian biopics, the makers have tended to keep focus in and around Tambe, and cricket, with masala content kept to minimum. The songs carry the story ahead, and showcase various personal moments from Tambe's life that define his journey, and struggles, in the path to becoming a champion cricketer. The story doesn't have too much of added fictitious narratives, and most part of it seems very real. The cinematography is amazing, makes you feel that you're really watching a 2022 movie, and not some budget B-movie. The pacing is fine, we can experience the Tambe story unfolding piece by piece as the movie progresses, giving us moments of laughter, sadness, glory and heartbreaks. Although they could have tried making the climax a bit longer, and maybe slightly more charismatic. Overall, the movie is amazing to watch.

One of the things that the movie missed to mention is the 5-wicket knock that Tambe took in an Abu Dhabi T10 game. This particular knock is important because of two reasons : Firstly, you can bowl only a maximum of 2 overs in a T10 match, and taking 5 wickets in just 12 balls is just something epic. Secondly, the wickets that he took were : Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen and Upul Tharanga, out of which the middle three were a hat-trick. Such is the legend of Pravin Tambe.

Went in with no expectations, majorly due to the low ratings, but came out smiling, with a new sense of confidence in the future of science-fiction genre in India.

The movie is a perfect blend of sci-fi and mythological elements to create a new and fresh concept, never before seen in Indian sci-fi world. Acting is superb by both the leads, cinematography is impressive and VFX-cum-Set-design beats expectations. It was mostly a silent affair, so judging the music would be injustice as there was only one song and it was pretty lame. You can't talk about that as being the music of the movie, as it's the silence which is the true background music here, symbolising space and adding depth to the movie. Prima facie it reminds me of the underrated Hollywood classic 'Moon' which had a similar concept focusing majorly on the lives of astronauts living in a confined space, leading a lonely life.

Overall, it's a treat for people who love sci-fi, space or adventure movies with an artsy feel to them. My score : 9/10

The main thing that attracted me to this series was that it falls in the Sci-fi genre, a genre that has long been ignored, neglected and thrown away by the Indian film industry (read Bollywood). So when I heard about it, I had to give it a try! I went ahead and started the first episode, and within the first few minutes itself I was already regretting my decision.

The main reasons why Sci-fi genre fails in India include poor storyline (Ra.One), bad execution (Krrish 3), poor acting (Baar baar dekho) or just failure in all departments (Love story 2050). Coming to the series, it's a mix of spirituality, horror, science fiction and fantasy. The plot is wafer thin and is more of a sub-plot of a major series, rather than being a series itself. The runtime is roughly around 100 mins (including start and end credits), which is feature-length, so a lot more could have happened, but didn't. The story was interesting - a couple accidentally travels to the future and gets to know about their deaths, and now they need to go back to the present to fix it. But the execution wasn't good enough, and in the end what you are left with is this.

To be honest, I had high hopes from this movie after I heard a lot of great reviews. But this movie fails to deliver in all aspects, except the cinematography, which is outstanding and the only saving grace for this unending bull run.

The movie's premise is simple. A buffalo has gone rogue, destroying everything in its path. The entire village is after it, with their own reasons for it, some personal, some collective. The villagers try to catch it, but it keeps getting away from them at every moment, with the damage caused increasing multifold from losing crops to losing lives. Finally, they are able to get a hold of it, with the weirdest movie ending I have ever seen. The End.

The movie tries to highlight the mob psychology and other factors such as the true nature of humans as beings (read Animals) shown predominantly by the ancient/tribal people. But it lacks conviction. Taking it element by element, the movie manages to score high in the cinematography area, with beautiful shots everywhere from the sunrise scene at the start to amazing visuals in the dark, and who can forget the well scene? It's well-shot, through and through. The background score is interesting, mainly made up of tick-tock or other such sounds on top of cut scenes, setting up the stage for the next scenes. But this is where the positives end, and the downhill journey starts. First up, character-development has completely gone for a toss, with no focus at actually giving time and attention to the characters, to let them grow on you. A few characters have been given small story arcs or a back story told through flashbacks, but the efforts seem shallow. The females are heavily underutilized, with the so-called female lead's most dominant on-screen appearance being an overextended scene in which she is seen standing at the door. What a pity. This is followed by the storyline, which, at first, seems to be somewhat thrilling, but ends up being ultra-simple. And finally, the human pyramid scene! This happens to be the weirdest movie ending I have ever scene, with no words to describe it. Rather go ahead and get a feel of it for yourself.

Overall : 4/10.

A really nice concept and story. Gave me chills when I got to know about Baba Harbhajan Singh. It also gives you a really important teaching of 'Plus Minus' i.e. noting down the plus and minus points when you are angry or have a fight with someone. A really short, sweet and beautiful film!

After Sacred Games, expectations have been really high from Netflix to deliver quality indegenous content, and this series has just quashed those expectations.

Ever since I saw the first promo for Ghoul, I was pretty excited (though at first I thought that they were making a live-action version of Tokyo Ghoul and I was like WHAAAAT??!! But phew, it wasn't that!). But when I started watching the series, I got confused about what exactly it was, and by the end of it, I was left disappointed and wanting for more.

Let's come to the main topic. Ghoul uses a concept that's pretty new(the Ghoul thing), but they couldn't really utilize it. There was no proper storyline, the acting was good in parts, and there was a religious propaganda-laden background surrounding it. The characters lacked depth, and you won't have feelings for any character except maybe Radhika Apte's or her dad's. Coming to the thrill part, yes, the show does give you those goosebumps, but only for a few moments, and then it becomes like any other Indian TV show, containing multiple plot holes, with people running here and there, coming and going, mumbling dialogues that even kids would laugh at.

Overall, individually the episodes are a bit enjoyable, but the series as a whole leaves you wanting for more.

Sci-fi movies made in India are a rare genre, and many duds and flops later, no one is even willing to experiment in this genre anymore. So this short film is definitely a great experiment. The plus being that it comes with a really important message, which affects everyone's lives today and tomorrow - Pollution.

The film is set in a dystopian future of 2067, where oxygen has become so scarce that it has become the new and the most expensive drug of the town, whose price is only comparable with another drug, water. Random, a guy with an artificial heart is the dealer of this drug and he wishes to become rich and finally escape to Mars, where apparently all the rich people have flown off to.

For a short film, the visuals are really great. The acting is good, Jackky Bhagnani was good in his role as Random, Nawazuddin, Prachi Desai and Yashpal Sharma were good in their minimal roles. The story is quite simplistic and straightforward but the message delivered is the most important aspect of the film.

The trailers and build-up to this movie had got me really excited. But when I checked the reviews, bam! they were horrible. This literally killed my excitement! So much that I watched this movie more than a week after its release, that too after a lot of hesitation.

But once I was halfway through the movie, I started thinking about all the negativity surrounding it, and then realized that several ratings and reviews of this movie on IMDb are utter BS. Which is why I decided to write this review.

Coming to the movie, it follows the story of Gaurav - a normal office-goer, Kavya - his love interest and Rishi - a spy. It feels like a Hollywood action movie plus some unnecessary songs and dances which is a routine in Bollywood. The movie has got a lot to offer which includes the concept of parallel timelines, plot twists and a lot of action with a dash of humor.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one of those actors who have made a name for themselves by delivering content-driven films. So, when you hear that he is starring in a movie, as the single lead, you obviously get excited for it and your expectations start soaring. But 'Babumoshai Bandookbaaz' couldn't deliver exactly what was expected.

The movie tells the story of a hit-man 'Babu', the rival politicians 'Jiji' and 'Dubey' and how Babu meets 'Fulwa' - his love interest, and 'Bakey' - a competitor, and how things fold and unfold thereafter.

The movie does have twists and turns and enough of action, but the main problem is the clichéd story, unnecessary scenes and loss of logic at several points in the movie. The movie also feels a little rushed at several points and given its runtime of 02:02 hrs, maybe they could've given some scenes more time and detail, without feeling like a 3-hour-long movie.

Nawaz is the whole and sole of this movie, and carries the entire load on his shoulders, and delivers brilliantly as always. But apart from him, there wasn't much left in the movie, with mediocre acting all over the place.

Overall the movie was disappointing, but if you love action movies that show reality from rural India you might like this one.

Spandan Chukya, a small town guy with dreams sky high, lands up in Mumbai and joins as an intern in an MNC where he soon realizes that corporate life wasn't anything like what he learnt in his MBA. The series follows his life as an intern, where his morals, ideals and willpower gets tested at each step and the ways in which he handles all of it in a quest to be in the game. Every character has been designed and written very neatly, and by the end of the series, you are guaranteed to adore at least two or three of them. Bonus points for the 'real'ness of the story. Overall rating : 8/10

The show revolves around the life of 4 Delhi flatmates and their quest with corporate life. Though the corporate part does not get a great amount of focus, it still uncovers the fact that corporate life is not something one dreamt of how it would end up being. The show is a mix bag and every episode is a fun-filled ride.

A very stimulating movie which includes an used plot and borrows certain elements from older and more recent movies like 'Pink' and 'Jazbaa', but still manages to make an impact.

Another movie which focuses on how the women in our country are really unsafe, and the state of law in the country where people can really get away with such serious crimes. Though the movie tends to focus more on the revenge than the trial, unlike 'Pink' whose chief focus was on the trial. The first half is moving and can even be slightly disturbing, but the second half loses grip and becomes slightly obvious.

In terms of performance, all the actors are pretty impressive. Sridevi and Nawazuddin make an impact. Sajal ali, as the daughter and the rape victim, was believable. Akshaye khanna, as the cop, was gritty and maybe he should have received more screen time. Adnan siddiqui as the dad wasn't up to the mark and perhaps the writers didn't do enough justice to his character.

The downside of the movie is that there are no twists and turns and the plot is pretty straightforward, and sometimes becomes a bit too predictable, which does not do justice to its 'thriller' tag.

Overall rating : 7/10.

The movie was definitely not what was expected. It starts with 3 wannabes (Two Delhi daredevils and a Mumbai cha mulga) trying to loot a bank, and then failing miserably while doing that. But that's just the start.

What follows is a series of twists and turns which continue till the very climax which is something that you don't wanna miss. So sit back and forget logic and sense of humour for the first half of the movie and wait till the end to enjoy this comic thriller (less of a comic and a lot more of a serious though).

Overall rating : 7/10 Suitable for family viewing : Yes definitely

Force 2 continues the story of ACP Yashwardhan. Sonakshi sinha plays the role of 'KK', a RAW agent and Tahir raj bhasin is the incredible villain 'Shiv'.

Plot summary :- The movie starts with the killing of 3 RAW agents in China. This is followed by a fight scene where ACP Yash (John Abraham) is seen lifting a car. Yash receives a book from his friend, which was a message from his friend. Soon it is understood that there is someone within the RAW who is leaking the information of Indian agents to the Chinese. Yash and KK are assigned the job to identify and catch that person and bring him back to India.

Tahir Raj Bhasin as the villain is the main highlight of this movie, the way he plays with the minds of the lead protagonists and always keeps them guessing. John and Sonakshi are pretty OK in their acting. Genelia has a guest appearance, which feels rather unnecessary.

Towards the climax, there is an entire sequence shot in first-person which is something new to Bollywood, something quite nice and enjoyable. The plot is a bit shaky but still manages to keep you engaged till the end.

Overall a decent watch. 7/10

Raaz Reboot is the fourth installment in the Raaz franchise and i don't understand why it's called a reboot, or why it's even tagged as an horror movie.

The movie has laughable sequences throughout, like when possessed Shaina (Kriti) climbs up walls like spiderman. The movie tries real hard to scare you, but fails. The ghost, that is when Shaina's possessed, doesn't even look a bit of scary. In fact, Emraan Hashmi as a ghost is scarier than her.

Towards the end, the movie once again uses the age old tactics of questioning God's existence and using religious practices to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.

Fun fact : The makers wanted the film to be look as realistic as possible, and Emraan suggested Vikram Bhatt to shoot at the haunted Hoia Baciu Forest. But the forest was hardly used except for burial of Emraan's body and later unearthing it.

If you get scared quickly, then maybe you should watch this movie for some thrill. Otherwise, if you're a big fan of horror movies like The Conjuring, skip this.

Baar Baar Dekho is Bollywood's tryst with Hollywood-style film- making. The cinematography, background score and eye-catching futuristic scenery is amazing to watch.

Coming down to the story... It's a man's struggle juggling between his professional life and family. Luckily, he gets a chance to travel into future and get a glimpse of how his life is going to be. After realizing the mistakes he will make in his future life which affected his further future, he decides to rectify everything after moving back to the present time.

There's no logic explained in the movie behind the time travel experiences that Jay (Sidharth) goes through. But this is something that anime fans and Hollywood movie lovers are pretty much used to, and they would pretty easily relate to this phenomenon. So, go for it just to experience something new and exciting in Bollywood.

This isn't your everyday masala rom-com, so if you are a fan of everyday Bollywood movies and hate Hollywood-style, twisted and brain-teasing movies like Interstellar or Inception, strictly avoid it.