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.

March 01,2024 13:42:02 PM
Maamla Legal Hai review: Not all the episodes work; a couple are lax, and in a few of places the jokey tone is either at odds with the seriousness of the case, or doesn't land. But the series and its solid ensemble cast wins you over.
Sat, Mar 02, 2024
March 01,2024 08:58:41 AM
Laapataa Ladies movie review: Kiran Rao film is unapologetically message-y, but its strongly beating feminist heart overrides the broad brush strokes. Sometimes things need to be stated loud and clear.
Fri, Mar 01, 2024
February 25,2024 17:34:33 PM
A pioneer of Indian New Wave cinema, his passing, at 83, brings with it a sense of an ending -- of a form of storytelling that thrived without the crutches of plot-lines
Mon, Feb 26, 2024
February 23,2024 12:33:57 PM
All India Rank movie review: Varun Grover’s debut feature is a deftly-drawn, affectionate portrait of a young man who is being blown along by the force of his father’s dreams.
Fri, Feb 23, 2024
February 23,2024 08:01:10 AM
Poacher review: The fact that the writer-director Richie Mehta has researched the subject deeply is quite evident in the way the act of poaching is depicted. Care has been taken to keep it rooted and authentic, which is clear in the choice of its cast.
Fri, Feb 23, 2024
February 22,2024 04:00:55 AM
If Scorsese is considered a legend, with a body of work that has stood the test of time, Schoonmaker, the editor of his films, is no less so.
Thu, Feb 22, 2024
February 21,2024 04:30:49 AM
Huppert plays a French woman in Seoul, looking for a means to make a living. She seems to appear out of thin air, perfectly formed, sitting on a park bench, looking around her as if she’s always been there.
Wed, Feb 21, 2024
February 20,2024 04:42:21 AM
Whether it is the global upsurge of the right, or a way of keeping torment at bay — cinema can be a successful distancing device — is a question that deserves our attention, and the answers that emerge from it.
Tue, Feb 20, 2024
February 19,2024 13:48:31 PM
Two Indian entries are making a splash at the 74th Berlinale: P S Vinothraj’s ‘Kottukaali’ (The Adamant Girl) featuring Soori Muthuchamy and Anna Ben, and Raam Reddy’s ‘The Fable’ starring Manoj Bajpayee.
Mon, Feb 19, 2024
February 19,2024 04:10:47 AM
Reddy’s ‘The Fable’ is about a clutch of mysterious goings-on in a large, prosperous Himalayan homestead, owned by Dev (Bajpayee), who lives with his wife ( Bose), a teenage daughter, and a younger boy.
Mon, Feb 19, 2024
February 18,2024 09:47:34 AM
Another End is an Italian film of intrigue and simmering power starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Renate Reinsve and Berenice Bejo.
Sun, Feb 18, 2024
February 18,2024 04:15:54 AM
'Another End’ is an Italian film of intrigue and simmering power starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Renate Reinsve and Berenice Bejo
Sun, Feb 18, 2024
February 17,2024 10:35:24 AM
The directors of ‘Keyke Mahboobe Man’ (My Favourite Cake), Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, were refused permission to travel for the world premier of their film at the 74th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Sat, Feb 17, 2024
February 17,2024 04:30:27 AM
The directors of Iranian film refused permission to travel for world premier at 74th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival
Sat, Feb 17, 2024
February 14,2024 14:34:49 PM
Love Storiyaan review: You look at the faces of these lovers, who have fought the hard fight, and have made a home together in the face of tremendous odds, and you break into a smile. Haan, yehi pyaar hai.
Thu, Feb 15, 2024
February 09,2024 16:55:12 PM
Bhakshak review: Bhumi Pednekar is earnest, and works at making her character believable, but is saddled with basic story-telling, and zero nuance.
Sun, Feb 11, 2024
February 09,2024 13:24:55 PM
Aarya Season 3 - Antim Vaar review: The final four episodes of Sushmita Sen's show fritter away all the goodwill that season one had earned.
Fri, Feb 09, 2024
February 09,2024 10:06:36 AM
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya movie review: Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon deliver confused film that combines sci-fi tropes with mushy Indian family drama.
Fri, Feb 09, 2024
February 03,2024 07:30:23 AM
For filmmakers addressing Indian audiences still conflicted about sex and passion, any depiction of rawness can be a Herculean task — we may have moved past two swans necking, but we haven’t really crashed through the bars that imprison real teenagers, with their aches and aspirations, joys and fear
Sat, Feb 03, 2024
January 26,2024 09:07:16 AM
Karmma Calling review: Helmed by Ruchi Narain and starring Raveena, the web show is an adaptation of the popular American series Revenge.
Sat, Jan 27, 2024
January 25,2024 14:26:07 PM
Fighter movie review: Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone starrer succumbs to the current atmosphere of hyper-nationalism, which in turn weakens the film. Baaps don’t go around declaring who they are. They just know.
Fri, Jan 26, 2024
January 19,2024 12:40:02 PM
Indian Police Force review: Rohit Shetty has spread over seven episodes the things he does in two-and-a-half-hours of his blockbuster cop sagas -- evil Muslim terrorists balanced by brave Muslim cops, clunky plots to demolish innocent lives, and scores of cars and jeeps cartwheeling in the air.
Fri, Jan 19, 2024
January 19,2024 11:00:01 AM
Main Atal Hoon movie review: Despite Pankaj Tripathi's inspired portrayal, the film is reduced to a rah-rah hagiography of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and fails to do justice to his multiple facets.
Fri, Jan 19, 2024
January 12,2024 09:58:27 AM
Merry Christmas movie review: Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi make for an unlikely pair, but they make it work, and she again proves that she can be an actor underneath all that pancake and bump-and-grind.
Sat, Jan 13, 2024
January 11,2024 13:28:03 PM
Killer Soup review: The whole idea of a black ‘comedy’ is that it is meant to be funny, and that it makes you chortle, despite yourself, but here I kept waiting for the laughs. I also kept waiting for shockers.
Thu, Jan 11, 2024




