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.

February 10, 2023 20:30 IST
Both Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta face their troubles with a great deal of good cheer, and you cannot help rooting for them as they bump along.
Fri, Feb 10, 2023
February 10, 2023 14:17 IST
The Fabelmans movie review: Even though the film is based on Spielberg's life, it manages quite artfully to not feel too artful; it refuses to turn itself into a fable.
Fri, Feb 10, 2023
February 10, 2023 09:05 IST
Farzi review: Shahid Kapoor, except for the odd scene when he allows himself to be vulnerable, doesn't give us anything novel. This is just another variant of a long line of Shahid Kapoor roles that's cementing his starry persona.
Fri, Feb 10, 2023
February 03, 2023 16:37 IST
Knock At The Cabin movie review: M Night Shyamalan takes the home invasion trope, gives it a lick of apocalyptic paint, sets it around a gay couple and their little daughter, and comes up with a better film than he has in a while.
Fri, Feb 03, 2023
February 03, 2023 11:56 IST
Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat movie review: Can love push back hate? That’s at the core of this Alaya F-Karan Mehta film, and it’s a question worth singing out loud.
Fri, Feb 03, 2023
February 03, 2023 10:52 IST
Faraaz movie review: At a time where rampant bigotry and muscular nationalism is on the rise, films which give us humans of all shades are more than welcome.
Fri, Feb 03, 2023
January 27, 2023 11:41 IST
Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh movie review: Rajkumar Santoshi's attempt at revisionism is marred by trying to play it both ways, and falling between the planks.
Sat, Jan 28, 2023
January 25, 2023 12:33 IST
Pathaan movie review: Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starrer has finally got what’s needed in a spy thriller -- non-stop action, glamorous leads, the guy who can save the world, a high-octane set piece, and an emo line at a time.
Sat, Jan 28, 2023
January 20, 2023 14:50 IST
Mission Majnu movie review: Sidharth Malhotra, Rashmika Mandanna film avoids jingoism. The line, ‘deshbhakti rooh mein hoti hai’ is like a balm in these riven, polarised times.
Sat, Jan 21, 2023
January 20, 2023 11:17 IST
Chhatriwali movie review: Rakul Preet Singh delivers a perky performance in a film hamstrung by a script that is afraid to fully embrace its message.
Fri, Jan 20, 2023
January 13, 2023 14:25 IST
Trial By Fire review: The best part of the series is the steadiness it manages to instil even in the most sorrowful faces. No loud chest-beating hysteria, no sensationalising.
Tue, Jan 17, 2023
January 13, 2023 10:14 IST
Kuttey movie review: Every time the pulsating ‘dhan-ta-naa’ comes on, and it does frequently, you flash back to the grungy delights of ‘Kaminey’, waiting for the feeble, contrived proceedings in front of you to pass.
Sat, Jan 14, 2023
January 06, 2023 20:49 IST
Aftersun is a film about belonging, aching loss, and making memories, and you will find yourself taking deep dives into personal pools of these elements, looking for your share of the sun.
Fri, Jan 06, 2023
December 25, 2022 06:30 IST
Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have been there, done that. Now Ranveer Singh is a bona fide red carpet Bollywood star.
Sun, Dec 25, 2022
December 25, 2022 06:00 IST
SS Rajamouli's RRR: What is it about this solidly crafted entertainer, high on action and emotion, laced with high-energy song-and-dance that is winning hearts.
Wed, Dec 28, 2022
December 23, 2022 19:30 IST
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, for all intents and purposes, is a sequel which aims for bigger. The gang this time around is much flashier, and the location much fancier.
Sat, Dec 24, 2022
December 23, 2022 13:55 IST
Cirkus movie review: Revving up the livewire Ranveer Singh up with ‘bijli ke jhatke’ is so extra that it should have induced non-stop, over-the-top hilarity, Shetty ishtyle. But the gags don’t land; neither does, for the most part, the lead star.
Sat, Dec 24, 2022
December 23, 2022 12:12 IST
The best web shows of 2022 were not about big names headlining them, they were filled with those small moments in which true greatness is born. Gullak 3, Panchayat 2, Delhi Crime 2 headline the list of best content on OTT this year.
Fri, Dec 23, 2022
December 19, 2022 17:44 IST
2022 will go down in Indian movie history as the year we were forced to ask ourselves over and over again: has Bollywood lost the plot?
Sat, Dec 31, 2022
December 16, 2022 16:01 IST
Avatar The Way Of Water movie review: Avatar 2 is just stunning in the parts it skims along the water, dives deep, rolls around joyously, keeping up with the incredible creatures who live in the deep.
Tue, Apr 11, 2023
December 16, 2022 09:01 IST
Govinda Naam Mera movie review: Vicky Kaushal-Kiara Advani-Bhumi Pednekar film is intended to be an easy-breezy caper, but the laughter stays strictly sporadic.
Sat, Dec 17, 2022
December 09, 2022 13:29 IST
Blurr movie review: The atmospherics are fine, but the characters, including the leading lady's who has maximum screen time, come off sketchy.
Fri, Dec 09, 2022
December 09, 2022 10:02 IST
Salaam Venky movie review: Revathy eschews all understatement in this Kajol-starrer. Every sequence is created to fill you with pathos, and leave you teary-eyed.
Sat, Dec 10, 2022
December 08, 2022 10:26 IST
Vadh movie review: The film is a pulpy tale of murder, where an unlikely killer does away with a bad guy in the most gruesome manner possible.
Fri, Dec 09, 2022
December 02, 2022 13:48 IST
India Lockdown review: The film affords a few moments, such as the one where the tired, exhausted family of four scavenge on rotten bananas or how an older woman rescues a younger one from the flesh trade.
Sat, Dec 03, 2022




