Babloo Bachelor, Review: Bachelor and the marriage lure Of all the themes that have been chosen for making Hindi films over the last several decades, marriage is the most common. Till the dawn of the 21st century, a host of film scripts were woven around the boy-meets-girl, they cannot marry due to a plethora of reasons, the most common being inequality of status, a villain was added for effect, and it all ended well. Now, with mobile phones, social media, so many mixed marriages and live-ins...

The Least of These, Review: More was needed In India’s turbulent political climate, making a true-story movie on the life and work of a Christian Missionary who was accused of forced conversions and brutally murdered, along with his two sons, might not be such a good idea. That it is patchily made proves, once again, that all true stories are not film material, and not everybody can impart cinematic strength to powerful subjects. It is true that Australian missionary Graham Staines was...

Kashi—In Search of Ganga, Review: Searchomania and Schizophrenia Suspense thriller it could be. It is not. Search for a sibling it could be. It is not. A film that takes the audience for a royal ride, it is. A classic case of the script and the direction tying up the story in knots, and then, not knowing how to unravel the Gordian knotty, only getting naughty and clever by half. Lucknow-based journalist Devina meets Kaashi in Kaashi (another name for Varanasi or Banaras) and takes an ...

Siraj Syed reviews Wajah Tum Ho: Rapists and therapists, aka Serial Killing on a News Channel Some people just deserve to die. There must be a mistake. Are you talking to me? Are you suggesting that I have done something that ... No, not you. Then who? The corrupt Assistant Commissioner of Police who preys on young lovers in parking lots, and extorts sex the teenage girl-friend in a guest-house, in return for letting them off. Isn’t this the same cop who is blackmailing a Mumbai-ba...

Siraj Syed reviews Fuddu: Fuddy Duddy Cuddy in the Nuddy You wouldn’t use this f word if you called yourself a gentleman. In their wisdom, the makers of this misbegotten enterprise have named it Fuddu. Heaven knows why. I cannot recall even one occasion in the film when the word as mouthed, probably because the locale is Mumbai and the characters are all from Varanasi, where the culture is anything but Punjabi. Some Punjabis, and maybe Delhi-ites, who revel in the use of colourful langu...