28 Years of Lamhe: Bollywood Could Do with More Heroes Like Anil Kapoor’s Viren
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28 Years of Lamhe: Bollywood Could Do with More Heroes Like Anil Kapoor’s Viren

Yash Chopra’s Lamhe is not “ahead of its time” for daring to show a salt-and-pepper Viren falling for a barely legal Pooja. What makes it unique, to me at least, is the man’s intense internal struggle, self-flagellation, and multiple desperate efforts to not act on the impulse. How often have we seen a hero who doesn’t feel entitled to the affections of the woman his heart desires?
Laxmii Review: A Film That Has Managed to Offend Men, Women, Transpeople, Writers & Directors
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Laxmii Review: A Film That Has Managed to Offend Men, Women, Transpeople, Writers & Directors

Bollywood’s latest fad is to course correct its own history of ignorance. Laxmii is the latest casualty of this impetus to display big-ticket morality. The tedious nature of Laxmii’s politics is draining. Some of the film’s moral lecturing is done with the half-heartedness of a Covid mask hanging below the chin. The writing is bizarre, especially when it concerns itself with pseudo-religious ideas.
Mumbai Gangster Movies Ka King Kaun? Satya
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Mumbai Gangster Movies Ka King Kaun? Satya

Long before RGV Ki Aag and Guns and Thighs, Ram Gopal Varma gave us a masterful Mumbai gangster movie like Satya. Crime films need characters, not caricatures – they need real grime, not artistically recreated versions of it. They don’t make films like Satya anymore.
Vivek Oberoi: The Man Who Could Have Been a Superstar
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Vivek Oberoi: The Man Who Could Have Been a Superstar

While the first half of Vivek Oberoi’s career remains a lesson in how not to mess with Bollywood heavyweights, the second half is a case study in how sometimes it’s best to keep one’s trap shut. Is it any wonder then that in 2020, Vivek Oberoi is known more for his political affiliation and a questionable taste in memes than his acting prowess?