2017 was a mixed bag when it came to Bollywood films. We had a few small gems like Lipstick Under My Burkha and Newton, and several big-budget turkeys like Jagga Jasoos and Tubelight. But whether you finally enjoyed a film or not - The Quint’s critic, Stutee Ghosh, kept you entertained with her dramatic and filmi movie reviews.
Here’s a round-up of our Bollywood reviews of the year that was, in no particular order.
1. Jab Harry Met Sejal
Starting with King Khan - who had two releases this year - Raees and Jab Harry Met Sejal. While Raees managed to surprise us with SRK in an anti-hero avatar, Jab Harry Met Sejal barely made the cut among critics because of its problematic script.
2. Raees
We also had “honest” critics review the two films. Check it out:
3. Lipstick Under My Burkha
Coming to the “lady-oriented” film Lipstick Under My Burkha, which made a lot of noise ahead of its release because of the CBFC’s decision to ban it. The film finally opened to a full house and The Quint rated it a whopping 4.5 quints out of 5.
4. Judwaa 2
The story is the same, even the music has been rehashed. Why then watch Judwaa 2, when you can simply replay the original? The only reason could be that there was no other new film in the week of its release.
We also got Vikram and Anand - who are twins to review David Dhawan’s Judwaa 2 starring his son, Varun Dhawan.
So, if you’re looking for more, we tried to capture the essence of the film in ten insults. Take a look: Review: These Twins Review ‘Judwaa 2’ In Ten Insults, More or Less
5. Half Girlfriend
There are few things as irritating as the term "half girlfriend". Probably Arjun Kapoor's ridiculous attempt at speaking Bihari can come a close second, opines Stutee.
But no more than two minutes must be spent watching this Sharaddha Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor-starrer. So without much ado, here’s the time-saving review:
6. Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
This socially relevant film was a two hour long Public Service Announcement which almost guarantees Akshay Kumar another National Award. While we await that announcement, catch our review here:
7. Tiger Zinda Hai
Coming to Blockbuster Bhaijaan, Salman Khan. After the disappointment of Tubelight, Salman bounced back at the box-office with Tiger Zinda Hai starring Katrina Kaif. The masala entertainer made Rs 150 crore just in four days!
Catch the reviews of the two Salman films below:
8. Tubelight
9. Newton
You don’t have to shout to be heard, and Amit Masurkar’s Newton became India’s official entry to the Oscars without much fuss. While the film unfortunately fell out of the Oscar race, there is no denying that this Rajkummar Rao-Pankaj Tripathi starrer is one of the best films of the year, after all we rated it 4.5 quints out of 5.
10. Jagga Jasoos
Ranbir Kapoor’s much-anticipated, much-delayed solo release of the year, Jagga Jasoos offered viewers “something new”. The film drew mixed reviews from critics and was largely lauded for its performances and cinematography, however it failed at the box-office.
11. Simran
Controversies, fights and credit quarrels ensured that Simran joins the most talked about and anticipated films. And one can't help but keep wondering which scenes had a Kangana imprint on it (who has been credited for additional story and dialogues) and which ones are solely the vision of original writer Apurva Asrani, writes Stutee.
We also reviewed Kangana Ranaut’s Simran in 2.5 minutes, for time-saving once again. You can catch it right here:
12. Anarkali of Arrah
Bollywood took one step forward in the right direction with Swara Bhasker’s Anarkali of Arrah. What we need is more films that talk about consent and male entitlement. Here’s how Stutee reacted to this hidden gem.
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