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.

August 06,2022 15:08:08 PM
Taking in the sights and sounds of Jerusalem, seeing how the old and the new meld, and attending the 10-day festival, spread over 10 days in July, with more than 200 films, including a clutch of movies from this year's Cannes Film Festival
Sat, Aug 06, 2022
August 05,2022 10:40:12 AM
Darlings movie review: Alia Bhatt, Vijay Varma, Shefali Shah and Roshan Mathew deliver excellent performances in a film that is aware of what it is. A few forced comic touches spoil the effect though.
Sun, Aug 07, 2022
August 04,2022 18:30:32 PM
Shubhra Gupta writes: With multiple big-budget flops, it is time to slash high actors' salaries and pay the real stars, the writers.
Mon, Aug 08, 2022
July 29,2022 17:21:16 PM
A Holy Conspiracy movie review: Despite being stodgy in parts with an inexperienced supporting cast, stalwarts Soumitra Chatterjee and Naseeruddin Shah keep us engaged in this film that talks of a composite India.
Fri, Jul 29, 2022
July 29,2022 14:29:07 PM
Good Luck Jerry movie review: Despite a few slack patches, this Janhvi Kapoor-starrer never loses sight of the fact that it needs to be a caper.
Sun, Jul 31, 2022
July 29,2022 11:32:31 AM
Ek Villain Returns movie review: Disha Patani, Tara Sutaria, Arjun Kapoor, John Abraham-starrer has a disjointed plot and pedestrian performances, which makes Ek Villain look like a better film.
Sat, Jul 30, 2022
July 28,2022 13:19:03 PM
Vikrant Rona movie review: The convoluted plot and stilted dialogues of this Kiccha Sudeep-starrer mar the experience.
Fri, Jul 29, 2022
July 22,2022 10:21:57 AM
RK/ RKAY review: RK/ RKAY is fashioned like a love letter to old Hindi movies, an era when heroes in double breasted suits sighed over bouffant-clad beauties called Gulabo (Mallika Sherawat) and smoke-wreathed villains called K N Singh (Ranvir Shorey) hung around shady dens.
Fri, Jul 22, 2022
July 15,2022 13:17:07 PM
HIT The First Case movie review: Somewhere in this disjointed narrative lies an intriguing mystery, but it gets lost in the lacklustre telling, and the superficial characterisation.
Sat, Jul 16, 2022
July 15,2022 11:12:17 AM
Shabaash Mithu movie review: Taapsee Pannu shines in a film that has no space for nuance. Director Srijit Mukerji ensures everything is underlined in this sports drama.
Sat, Jul 16, 2022
July 08,2022 16:57:43 PM
Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd review: Excellent performances of Amruta Subhash, Anup Soni and Anjana Sukhani push this series when it feels dull and contrived.
Fri, Jul 08, 2022
July 08,2022 12:42:38 PM
Khuda Haafiz Agni Pariksha movie review: Vidyut Jammwal goes full tilt at high-octane action, the only reason why this film exists.
Fri, Jul 08, 2022
July 08,2022 11:14:17 AM
Modern Love Hyderabad review: The writing team has clearly been given the heart-warming, touchy-feely, sweet-salty brief, and they have taken it seriously.
Sat, Jul 09, 2022
July 01,2022 14:58:21 PM
Minions The Rise Of Gru movie review: Every character in this film feels alive, which is quite a win for a franchise whose characters are amongst the fastest-selling toys on the planet.
Tue, Jul 12, 2022
July 01,2022 13:35:45 PM
Rocketry The Nambi Effect movie review: R Madhavan makes you believe in the character, but the writing is stodgy, and the direction doesn’t quite make up for it.
Sat, Jul 02, 2022
July 01,2022 10:08:14 AM
Rashtra Kavach Om movie review: Aditya Roy Kapur-Sanjana Sanghi starrer is yet another addition to films Bollywood has adopted as a safe bet these days, with a hero who has patriotism oozing out of his pores.
Sat, Jul 02, 2022
June 26,2022 06:10:50 AM
Tamil filmmaker Pa Ranjith, who unveiled the poster of his upcoming movie at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, talks about spotlighting caste inequalities and creating his brand of cinema as counterculture
Sun, Jun 26, 2022
June 25,2022 19:42:46 PM
On that motorcycle, looking like any of your millions of show-offy young Indian men, leaving the handle-bars, jumping up on the seat, Shah Rukh Khan sang 'Koi na koi chahiye, pyaar karne waala'. And that was that.
Tue, Jan 24, 2023
June 24,2022 13:47:57 PM
Sherdil The Pilibhit Saga movie review: Done well, this could have been a strong satire, but it turns into a listless saga, with only Pankaj Tripathi and its lovely music by Shantanu Moitra standing out.
Fri, Jun 24, 2022
June 24,2022 09:07:17 AM
JugJugg Jeeyo movie review: Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani film falls back on the familiar Big Fat Punjabi Wedding with opulent sets and wedding naach-gaana every time things threaten to get real and spiky.
Fri, Jun 24, 2022
June 21,2022 16:13:26 PM
Only Murders In The Building 2 review: In the second season, things are shaggier, a little all over the place, but the charm exuded by our pals and their pals, and their ability to see the big picture, is happily intact.
Wed, Jun 22, 2022
June 17,2022 18:57:42 PM
Lightyear movie review: The Chris Evans film has little soul, spark and moving moments -- those Pixar hallmarks that are sure to make you chuckle, and cry at least once.
Sat, Jun 18, 2022
June 17,2022 17:52:38 PM
Masoom review: This Boman Irani starrer should have parlayed into a taut thriller, but the result is only intermittently effective and comes off, overall, strangely bloodless.
Fri, Jun 17, 2022
June 17,2022 17:19:52 PM
Nikamma movie review: This Abhimanyu Dassani-Shilpa Shetty starrer is a film so moth-balled that it would have been roundly rejected even in the 80s.
Sat, Jun 18, 2022
June 17,2022 08:59:04 AM
Suzhal The Vortex review: You willingly let yourself be drawn deeper and deeper into this show because you can’t wait to know what lies on the other side, and the big reveal manages to be a surprise.
Sat, Jun 18, 2022


