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.

April 29, 2022 14:29 IST
Heropanti 2 review: This film has no plot. It’s basically a series of set pieces featuring Tiger Shroff prancing, romancing, and dancing, when he is not mowing down bunches of baddies.
Sat, Apr 30, 2022
April 29, 2022 09:29 IST
Runway 34 movie review: Ajay Devgn manages to deliver a somewhat effective pre interval portion despite its inelegant, underlined bits; but the film plummets as the curse of second half hits.
Wed, May 04, 2022
April 22, 2022 13:46 IST
Guilty Minds review: What’s most striking about this all-desi, hugely entertaining show is how real it feels despite the dollops of drama inherent in its stories.
Wed, Mar 26, 2025
April 22, 2022 10:06 IST
Jersey movie review: Shahid Kapoor-Mrunal Thakur-starrer film, an official remake of the 2019 Telugu hit of the same name and by the same director, has all the elements of an inspirational sports drama.
Sat, Apr 23, 2022
April 21, 2022 11:09 IST
London Files review: The six-episode ‘London Files’ sets up a brisk pace from the get-go. The rise of feeling against potential immigrants is a hot-button subject, and gives the series a sense of immediacy.
Fri, Apr 22, 2022
April 15, 2022 13:01 IST
Mai review: Despite the elements that stretch our credulity, Sakshi Tanwar manages to hold our attention.
Tue, Apr 19, 2022
April 14, 2022 14:45 IST
KGF Chapter 2 movie review: The trouble with films busy working on their look is that they forget about plotting. KGF 2 swings haphazardly between the past and the present.
Thu, Apr 14, 2022
April 07, 2022 15:00 IST
Gullak Season 3 Review: While sometimes you can see the life lessons carving themselves out in broad brush-strokes, the sheer affection with which the characters play off each other wins you over.
Fri, Apr 08, 2022
April 07, 2022 11:32 IST
Dasvi review: Abhishek Bachchan is a perfect match for the kind of character he is playing. It’s a pity that the material never quite knows whether it is an exaggerated parody or a sharp comedy with realistic overtones.
Fri, Apr 08, 2022
April 04, 2022 18:59 IST
Drive My Car review: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour film, based on a Haruki Murakami’s short story, is a masterful examination of what it is to be human.
Fri, Apr 08, 2022
April 01, 2022 11:40 IST
Attack movie review: We know exactly how things will pan out, no strain on the brain. Everything is straight-forward, no complicated characters, no morally ambiguous situations.
Fri, Apr 01, 2022
March 31, 2022 09:03 IST
Sharmaji Namkeen movie review: Rishi Kapoor is truly namkeen in this film, showing us how it is done, light on his feet, light in his eyes, a will to live. Jeena isi ka naam hai.
Fri, Apr 01, 2022
March 26, 2022 09:49 IST
The series 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' never strays too far from its leading lady and her struggles to break into the all-boys comic club
Sat, Mar 26, 2022
March 25, 2022 15:16 IST
RRR movie review: The film casts not just one super-star, but two of them – Jr NTR and Ram Charan. The biggest super-star among them all is SS Rajamouli and the audience also saved the loudest ‘taalis’ for him.
Sun, Mar 27, 2022
March 18, 2022 20:59 IST
Bachchhan Paandey movie review: Nothing about this Akshay Kumar-Kriti Sanon film reaches the level of hilarity plus inspired lunacy of the original, Jigarthanda.
Sat, Mar 19, 2022
March 18, 2022 12:50 IST
Bloody Brothers review: Bloody Brothers is an adaptation which never seems to be fully at ease with its setting and characters, who feel as if they have parachuted in for the shoot.
Fri, Mar 18, 2022
March 18, 2022 10:29 IST
Jalsa movie review: Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah film has one of the most tightly-executed beginnings, which develops the odd bump as the plot progresses, until it reaches a cathartic end.
Fri, Mar 18, 2022
March 12, 2022 09:23 IST
The Kashmir Files movie review: The film may not be interested in nuance but what stays with us are the flashes of genuine pain we see in the person of Pushkar Nath, played by Anupam Kher in a credible, moving turn.
Mon, Mar 21, 2022
March 11, 2022 16:02 IST
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in July last year.
Fri, Mar 11, 2022
March 11, 2022 15:50 IST
Radhe Shyam movie review: Prabhas-starrer expects us to swallow, hook, line and so many sinkers, and we are constantly collecting our jaws off the floor.
Sat, Mar 12, 2022
March 10, 2022 08:08 IST
Pieces of Her review: The show comes to life mostly when Toni Collette is around, as we follow the unpacking of Laura’s past life, and the demons that shaped it.
Thu, Mar 10, 2022
March 04, 2022 12:58 IST
Rudra review: There really can’t be a better choice to play that dark but inherently noble character in Disney+ Hotstar series than Ajay Devgn, because he owned that template years before.
Fri, Mar 21, 2025
March 02, 2022 11:50 IST
Jhund movie review: This Nagraj Manjule film can never quite make up its mind whether it wants to treat Amitabh Bachchan’s Borade as a hero, or focus the spotlight on the hardscrabble lives of the slum kids.
Thu, Mar 03, 2022
February 25, 2022 18:30 IST
The Fame Game review: The temptation to backlight Madhuri Dixit to make her glow like a goddess, is irresistible. But she is such a good actress that all that display of perfection on screen shouldn’t have mattered.
Sat, Feb 26, 2022
February 25, 2022 10:58 IST
Gangubai Kathiawadi movie review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest is the kind of old-fashioned dialogue-heavy, sentiment-on-sleeve film which Bollywood is forgetting how to make.
Sun, Feb 27, 2022



