Shubhra Gupta is film critic and senior columnist with the Indian Express. She watches world cinema for delectation, Hollywood for fun, and Bollywood for work. She has a huge capacity to sit through terrible Bollywood movies, but no patience at all with bad Hollywood. And world cinema has to be really cutting edge to grab her attention, and keep it. When she began reviewing, over 20 years ago, people would commiserate and say, “oh, you poor thing, you have to watch Hindi cinema”. But soon, Bollywood became cool, cool, cool. So now she hears this more often “oh my god, you watch Bollyood films, can you introduce me to Shah Rukh Khan”? No, she can’t, sorry, though she can vouch for the fact that he is really sharp and good fun in conversation. But what she can do, and has done week after week, month after month, year after year, without a break, is to lead you into the magical world of movies, and share her experiences of watching all those hundreds of films over the years. In her reviews and columns, she lets you into what she likes, and doesn’t, and invites you to be bewitched. And to know how to choose between the good ones and the turkeys, and how you can take away something from even the really ghastly ones. Because life is a movie, isn’t it? Bahut picture baaki hain, mere dost.

October 27, 2023 10:58 IST
Tejas movie review: The film is so intent upon keeping Kangana Ranaut centre-stage that everyone else ends up as satellites.
Fri, Oct 27, 2023
October 27, 2023 08:40 IST
12th Fail movie review: Vikrant Massey-starrer cleaves close to ground reality, with characters that makes you feel that they’ve wandered off the street, dishing out life-lessons laced with dollops of inspiration
Wed, Jan 17, 2024
October 20, 2023 14:01 IST
Ganapath review: What comes as a surprise is just how terrible this film is, with practically no redeeming feature in its nearly two and half hours run-time.
Fri, Oct 20, 2023
October 19, 2023 10:06 IST
Kaala Paani review: Unusually for an Indian series, the show doesn't shy away from showing just how high the stakes are. The story-tellers are serious about their intent as they to the chase.
Sat, Oct 21, 2023
October 17, 2023 14:36 IST
Hijras who clap-and-sing-and-dance, limp-wristed fashion designers, the exaggerated sway of the waist: for far too long, Hindi films have stuck to this trope in their portrayal of same-sex relationships. That's changing.
Tue, Oct 17, 2023
October 16, 2023 14:15 IST
Today, Karan Johar is uniquely positioned. He is a mega-successful director and producer, a fashion maven, and the host of a talk show on which all of Bollywood is invited to spill their secrets.
Mon, Oct 16, 2023
October 13, 2023 18:31 IST
Dhak Dhak movie review: For all its fabulous landscapes and a bunch of interesting actors, Dhak Dhak comes off patchy, with its obvious, eye-glaze bits jostling along with the smiley feel-good ones.
Fri, Oct 13, 2023
October 13, 2023 12:43 IST
Bhagwan Bharose movie review: The idea is to show how a certain kind of upbringing and learning, and consequent ignorance, can impact impressionable minds, and potentially turn people into bigots.
Fri, Oct 13, 2023
October 06, 2023 20:34 IST
Dono review: Neither Rajveer Deol nor Paloma Dhillon lift off the screen, even if they aren’t terrible. And as for the rest of the cast, you could interchange one dude with another, and one girl with another, and it would be all the same.
Fri, Oct 06, 2023
October 06, 2023 13:46 IST
Mumbai Diaries season 2 review: If the first season of Mohit Raina-Konkona Sen Sharma show created urgency, there’s ramped-up hysteria and choppiness this time. Only the quieter moments work.
Fri, Oct 06, 2023
October 06, 2023 11:59 IST
Mission Raniganj movie review: Do Bollywood's big stars ever think of how their efforts are derailed by outdated melodrama, and the pointless insistence on heroics rather than heroism?
Fri, Oct 06, 2023
October 06, 2023 09:50 IST
Thank You For Coming movie review: Bhumi Pednekar film is a heartfelt slap in the face of the zillions of movies that are about privileged boys and their putrid toys.
Fri, Oct 06, 2023
October 05, 2023 14:05 IST
Khufiya movie review: We needed more Tabu in this film. We needed more of the older Vishal Bhardwaj who used to make things sing.
Fri, Oct 06, 2023
September 22, 2023 13:59 IST
The Great Indian Family movie review: If you want to be brave, the writing needs to match: here, even such wonderful actors like Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sadi Siddiqui stand no chance. Neither does the always watchable Vicky Kaushal.
Fri, Sep 22, 2023
September 21, 2023 16:59 IST
Jaane Jaan movie review: There’s a scene in which Kareena Kapoor Khan shows just how a bona-fide star can light up the screen, in which her ‘real girl’ character segues neatly into her ‘reel girl’.
Sat, Sep 23, 2023
September 15, 2023 15:17 IST
Kaala review: Complex strands need to be knit in with skill, but poor writing ensures that confusion is completely confounded here.
Fri, Sep 15, 2023
September 15, 2023 12:42 IST
Bambai Meri Jaan review: There’s very little in the 10-episode web series based on ‘Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia’ by S Hussain Zaidi, that we haven’t seen a version of before.
Sat, Sep 16, 2023
September 08, 2023 12:32 IST
Haddi movie review: It begins as an intriguing, ultra-violent peep into a world we don’t know much about, and till it stays in that zone, this Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer keeps us engaged.
Fri, Sep 08, 2023
September 07, 2023 13:17 IST
Jawan movie review: After a kinetic and zingy first hour, Shah Rukh Khan's film slumps in bits, but as a whole, the movie is an unabashed massy entertainer with strong political messaging, making it a film which is very much of the moment.
Fri, Sep 08, 2023
September 01, 2023 13:49 IST
Friday Night Plan review: Babil Khan, in a more conventional role after his debut in ‘Qala’, reaffirms my conviction that this is an actor who tries to dig deep into his character to come up with the truth.
Fri, Sep 01, 2023
September 01, 2023 13:06 IST
The Freelancer review: The Freelancer should have been, at the very least, a serviceable thriller, given that it has Neeraj Pandey (Special Ops, Baby) as creator, and Bhav Dhulia as director. But it makes us wait for its thrills.
Fri, Sep 01, 2023
September 01, 2023 10:42 IST
Scam 2003 review: Gagan Dev Riar as Telgi is terrific, his body language determinedly ordinary—a face like millions in the crowd, bush-shirt bulging over a protruding stomach-- which hides a razor-sharp mind always working on how to get ahead.
Sat, Sep 02, 2023
August 31, 2023 11:15 IST
Goldfish movie review: A thought-provoking two-hander between Kalki Koechlin and Deepti Naval, this film leaves us with these thorny questions, and the welcome possibility of redemption.
Fri, Sep 01, 2023
August 25, 2023 14:11 IST
Dream Girl 2 movie review: The film works best when it has Ayushmann Khurrana unerringly bringing out the concept of ‘ardhanareeshwar’ so strongly and with such ease.
Fri, Aug 25, 2023
August 23, 2023 13:38 IST
Akelli movie review: This Nushrratt Bharuccha-starrer makes for a tiring watch, where all you do is wonder how we are meant to swallow the going-ons on screen.
Wed, Aug 23, 2023




