Tragedy

It is interesting to think that the central character of Haider (Hindi) is not Haider (Shahid Kapoor) but his mother – Ghazala – and her fickle heart. A heart that sends Haider away, lets in Khurram (her brother in law) into her life, removes Hilal (her husband) from her life, and eventually destroys the last vestiges of their family. Loosely based on Hamlet, Hilal is the victim of an army crackdown in Srinagar. As his son Haider tries to trace him down, the complicities of the relationships within the family – and that with Arshia (Shraddha Kapoor) – Haider’s girlfriend – begin to unravel. Extremely watchable, intense, and somewhat disturbing

14/20

Bengali Warrior

I must confess that I am thrilled by a Bengali hero (Dev) holding his own through kitschy plots filled with a delectable heroine - Nandini (Mimi Chakraborty), malicious villians, a storyline that could be a copy of a hundred others, and special effects that are some three decades behind Hollywood - in short, a Bengali movie that looks oh-so-suspiciously like a Bollywood flick. Dev holds his own as a passable warrior and a mostly passable romantic hero, as a flashback storyline plays back and forth. Yoddha is quite entertaining for the average Bengali movie-goer who gets a treat of Bollywood from Tollywood.

12/20