Raid is a film directed by Rajkumar Gupta. After watching the trailer I felt I had to just watch this film as it was the comeback of Ajay Devgn to do something substantial. After watching, it felt like it ticked all the boxes for me.

Plot: Amay Patnaik, an IRS officer decides to raid the home of Rameshwar Singh, an MP in one of the longest raids in the history of India.

Story and direction: This film is written by Ritesh Shah who has written some good films in the recent times. The script is the strongest thing in this entire film. Being 128 minutes long the film never feels dragged and unnecessary. Some of the dialogues of this film are very good. The comedy in the film too is very subtle and doesn’t go overboard. The story gives a chance for the lead characters to shine and that is the strongest point of the screenplay. Kudos to Rajkumar Gupta and team, for making this film see the light of the day. The feel of the 1980’s is there in every shot and the editing is very crisp. But I did feel that some scenes felt unreal. Also some characters felt very under-utilized and felt that could have been explored more.

Performanes: Ajay Devgn is the star performer of the film. He is in a great spot and proves that good scripts will just enhance his performance. Illeana D’Cruz although doesn’t have much of a role but does provide good support to Devgn’s character. Saurabh Shukla proved to be a very competitive villain to Devgn’s character. He was just perfect. Amit Sial gave a good performance too. Here I would like to specially mention Pushpa Joshi. Given the fact of her age and being a non-actor she does a very fine job.

Music: The songs are by Amit Trivedi and Tanishk Bagchi. Being a T-Series production, Itb was usual that there would be reused songs. Although the songs were good, they did have no impact on forwarding the film (Tanishk’s songs). The other 2 songs were good and had a good impact especially ‘Jhuk Na Paunga’ that is played during the end credits. The BGM by Amit Trivedi was awesome.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Amay enters Tauji’s home and says that he has come to perform a search and seizure operation in his house. The acting and the dialogues in that scene is what made this scene very unique.

Verdict: It was good to see Ajay Devgn do a quality film after many years. This film is very entertaining. Although not perfect, but I did have a good time watching this film.

I am going with an 8/10.

Solo is a film directed by Ron Howard. Amid the controversies surrounding the making of this film, I was in doubt whether this film will be good or not. The trailers looked OK and I decided not to raise any of my expectations. After watching the film, I can say that it was pretty entertaining.

Plot: Explores the adventures of young Solo when he meets his friends during a heist within the criminal underworld.

Story and direction: No one is a stranger from the troubles when this film was made. And this is very clearly visible during the course of the film. Some story-lines feel very under-developed and half-hearted. The story has quite a promise to be improved on as it was looking promising. But I guess Disney opted to make it a money making vehicle. The film has fantastic action scenes and was excellent when watched in 3D. I have loved Han Solo in the original films and that’s because he was characterized so nicely. You kinda feel for him. But here they for opt the safe route which has no risks. Although this film does have some moment, I wanted more of them because that’s what makes Star Wars exceptional. It adds nothing to the Star Wars universe to make it special. It was good to listen to John Williams’ score in between the films but I did think that John Powell also has done an excellent job on his score as well.

Performances: Let’s be honest. No matter how many actors come and go, no one plays Han Solo as great as Harrison Ford. But if I judge independently, Alden Ehrenreich did a fine job. Woody Harrelson also did a fine job although I didn’t get the mentor part that was in the promos. Emilia Clarke was good but I wanted her character explored much more. Donald Glover was perfect. Each time he was on the screen, the scene was lightened up. Thandie Newton and Paul Bettany were hugely under-utilized.

Favorite Scene: It would be the first interaction between Chewbacca and Han. That scene showed why the bond between them was so strong and why they have that kind of respect for each other.

Verdict: I have no problems with Disney bringing Star Wars’ films each year. But just making them money spinning ventures is. I hope that Disney takes this as a warning signal and invest as much quality onto these Anthology films. Out of the 2 anthology films that have come I would say that this one is the weakest. I had a good time but that is not just enough in case if a Star Wars film. I want the experience to be remembered by me. I want to rejoice the experience of seeing the Star Wars film.

I am going with a 7/10.

Tumhari Sulu is afilm co-written and directed by Suresh Triveni. This film was on my watchlist for a very long time and finally I happened to watch it and I can say it was a very good attempt.

Plot: Sulochana (Sulu) decides to become an RJ in a night talk show.

Story and direction: Knowing that Vidya Balan was in this film, I just had to watch it. And I felt good after watching the film. The film captures Mumbai in the most realistic way as possible. It shows the common man’s household with such aptness. Since I have stayed in Mumbai for quite some time, I could very easily connect with the environment Suresh tried to create. Each character of the film felt taken out from real life. The tensions, happiness, sadness, support all these came across in a correct way. Most of the credit goes to Suresh’s writing and his way of thinking. Also the scenes in the radio office were shown correctly. The main flaws that I felt were the familiarity of the topic. This is the kind of film that was seen before and it felt nothing new. Also it stumbled onto some genre clichés. Apart from that, the film felt a bit stretchy. I felt the concentration was more on the drama part. Having these reduced, the film would have had more of an effect.

Performances: Vidya Balan is a powerhouse performer and she is just right. The nuances that she caught of a normal housewife are impeccable. Same can be said for Manav Kaul. Neha Dhupia delivered an amazing performance. Malishka was great too. Giving the fact that she is an RJ in real life too helped a lot in this film. Vijay Maurya (who also writes some dialogues for this film) deserves a special mention. Last but not the least, I feel like mentioning Abhishek Sharma as he was a good performer too.

Songs: Since T-Series is the producer, it was meant that multiple music directors and one remake were going to be there. But that doesn’t mean the songs were not good. I would say that it didn’t provide anything substantial to the film. And there was really no need to recreate ‘Hawaa Hawaai’.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Sulu joins the first day. She does some things during that scene that were very funny and unexpected. Also the expressions of the other people present during that scene were to look out for.

Verdict: This film is just Vidya Balan all the way. Her charm and charisma are to look out for and they are seriously contagious. As I said before, with a little tweaking the film would have worked wonders. But as a first timer, Suresh Triveni did a wonderful job.

I am going with a 7.5/10.

Raazi is a film co-written and directed by Meghna Gulzar. The trailers seemed good to me and the ongoing positive reception, both, critically and commercially, compelled me to watch this film. And I can definitely say that this is one of the best of 2018.

Plot: Sehmat is married to Iqbal Syed of the Pakistani army, so that she can pass information about Pakistan’s actions against India during 1971.

Story and direction: This film is adapted from the novel ‘Calling Sehmat’ by Harinder Sikka. This film has been very beautifully adapted by Meghna and Bhavani Iyer. The writing of the film is spot-on and never is it felt that the story was dragging. The character work of this film is also so intricate and detailed that I was in awe. The film not only showed that how spies work but also put light on the fact as to how difficult is a spy’s work mentally. This aspect is highlighted most in this venture which was a risk and I salute Meghna and team for taking that risk. Here the Pakistani’s are not shown as the enemies but as humans who would do anything to protect their country. The scenery of Kashmir and Pakistan were very well captured. But I did feel that I could guess some scenes. I am thinking that is just me. The character choices seemed very guessable, which was my only flaw with this film.

Performances: Alia Bhatt once again proves that she is a great actress if given a compelling script. From the young college girl to the Indian spy, she played all the roles with ease. Vicky Kaushal was another of the gems of this film. Jaideep Ahlawat was an awesome mentor to Alia’s character. Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma and Arif Zakaria also provided come great performances.

Songs and BGM: This film has only three songs and all of them are good. Gulzar’s lyrics and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music were good. The songs never felt they were there to just fill in gaps. They moved the story forward and provided fuel to such a wonderful story. My favorite was ‘Dilbaro’. The BGM felt good to the ears and not irritable as most Indian BGM’s sound.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one in the beginning where Hidayat tells Sehmat to return to college and resume her studies. But then Sehmat replies that if her father can serve the nation why not her. The kind of maturity seen in that particular scene is what made an impression on my mind and my favourite.

Verdict: Meghna Gulzar is proving to be one of the compelling female directors of recent times. First Talvar and now Raazi. This film’s different take on a spy genre and Alia’s performance make this a must watch.

I am going with a 9/10 with this one.

Deadpool 2 is a film directed by David Leitch. The trailers for this film looked fantastic. And, since I liked the first one I was looking forward to this film. And yes, Team Deadpool has delivered is what I can say.

Plot: Deadpool must save Firefist from Cable, a time travelling soldier, who has a grudge on him.

Story and direction: From the first shot itself, the mood is set. I also liked the way they actually had a kind of James-Bond song for the film. The film doesn’t feel like a studio film who just wants to make money out of a successful venture. I can give that credit to the team. It retains the things that made the first film a success and just develops on that. Also, we do get to see Deadpool getting a whole lot of drama, which was something I wasn’t expecting. But that was good since I got to see a whole new persona of Deadpool. And this film just doesn’t feel like a set-up for future instalments which normally is the trend now in Hollywood. Since we have David Leitch on the director’s chair, how is it not possible for the action scenes to be awesome? The score by Tyler Bates was awesome. I am a fan of the kind of music he incorporates to his films. Also the VFX has improved from the last time, although still there was one particular sequence that just felt CG-ed to mess. AS with the last film, I felt much wasn’t going on in the story department. It’s a kind of story that is seen before. Since the makers wanted to introduce a human aspect to the film, I felt the jokes were little less than the previous part.

Performances: Ryan Reynolds juts embraces this character of Dedapool. You just can’t picture anyone else, since he is just perfect. Josh Brolin just proves that he is a brilliant actor who just can do any kind of role. T J Miller and Morena Baccarin were good too. Karan Soni’s was also fantastic in what he was given. Stefan Kapicic and Brianna Hildebrand also provided good support. Julian Dennison gave an earnest performance. Last but not the least I felt Domino was just superb.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one between Colossus and Deadpool during the final fight. I remember laughing so hard in that scene. The kind of chemistry these 2 characters have is like no other.

Verdict: Even with a few flaws, I still thought that Deadpool 2 was an entertaining film. I had a great time watching the film. Hopefully, the future films will be as good as or even better than this one. If I have to compare with the first part, I will say that the first part was better. Do wait for the mid credit scenes. I just loved that. It was so hilarious.

I am going with an 8/10.

Avengers Infinity War is a film directed by the Russo Brothers. This film was my most anticipated film for this year and I can definitely say the same for every MCU fan out there. I viewed the film very late and knew how much I had to wait. But the wait was worth it.

Plot: The Avengers team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos from obtaining the 6 Infinity Stones.

Story and Direction: The Russo Brothers and the writers had a huge and daunting task of bringing all of the characters that we loved for all these years into one big movie. And I can just say that they did an excellent job. Never for a moment do you feel that the characters were not given space and time to do what they wanted. The character work for this film is just flawless and I think Thanos was just the best villain MCU ever had. Although he is strong and kind of undefeatable, he has emotions which provided a lot of weight to his character. The film is has a much darker tone compared to other MCU films. The stakes in this film are very real and never there is rest for the mind. You do feel the tension lingering around and feel for the safety of your characters. But the film does retain that Marvel brand of humour in places. And all of the jokes are very funny and do provide relief. Given the film was shot on IMAX cameras, the visuals are just awesome. I had goosebumps just looking at how beautiful this film looked. Also the action scenes were awesome. And the VFX was just jaw dropping. Action scenes were just awesome. Although there were some shaky cam scenes, but they were just perfectly handled. The score by Alan Silvestri was quiet good and complemented the scenes very well. Also the film doesn’t end in a very peculiar way. It takes a very different route, which was very well appreciated. I did have one little issue but here I am being quite nit-picky. Some scenes in the trailers didn’t make it to the film which was disappointing and also the Thor storyline didn’t feel much important to the film.

Performances: The Avengers and The Guardians were just awesome with Thor being my favorite character in the entire film. His presence and his comic timing were just awesome. Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston too deliver good performances. Josh Brolin was just excellent as Thanos. Every time you watch him on screen you do feel that he was just the correct choice. Also the Black Order was nice to watch. And finally, Peter Dinklage. He also delivered an earnest performance for his role.

Favorite Scene; It would be Thor’s scene with the Guardians. That scene lightened the mopd for a bit and also gave that kind of entertainment you expect out of these characters.

Verdict: This film satisfied the Marvel fan in me. I walked out of this film with a lot of questions about what will happen next and I can’t just wait for the next instalment arriving next year.
I am going with a 9/10.

Ittefaq is a film co-written and directed by Abhay Chopra and a remake of the 1969 film of the same name. I had a while before watched the original. While I loved the idea of the film the execution lacked problem for me. But this one, was better executed than its predecessor.

Plot: Vikram Sethi is accused of murder of his wife and Maya's husband Shekhar. Now, it is upto CBI officer Dev to solve the crime in just 3 days.

Story and director: The film opted to a very nice promotion strategy. Even though I had seen the original, I was on the edge of my seat every time. The way the story was cleverly adapted was awesome. And the direction too was great. Abhay and team never let the suspense and tension down for even one second of this 105 minute movie. It was good on the team's part to make this a song-less film as the songs would have ruined the whole experience. The BGM for this film is excellent. The cinematography was awesome. The angles and images shown were so correct and accurate. The characters for this film were real-like. I liked where they actually concentrated more on the police part where they hadn't concentrated in the original. Also the jokes were spot-on. They were a relief in this suspense laden film, unlike the original where whole drama was added which made the film very dragged and boring. Although I felt that nothing was missing in the film, I did feel that the climax was a bit ruined as I had seen the original.

Performances: Siddharth Malhotra is a good actor. And this film does prove that. His character has many shades and he performs them effortlessly. The same can be said for Sonakshi Sinha too. But the one that will take all praise is Akshaye Khanna. First Mom and now Ittefaq. He is one of the most underrated actors of our industry. I do want to see him more as he is one of the gems Bollywood has. The rest of the supporting cast did give earnest performances.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Dev goes to a house to collect some information on Vikram and Catherine's relation. The scene was very amusing and also depicted on how people are desperate so that they get some media coverage.

Verdict: If you haven't seen the original film, don't. This one is much fast paced and better version of the 1969 film. It was a fun ride for me and certainly one of the best that 2017 had to offer.

I am going with a 9/10.

Shanghai Knights is a film directed by David Dobkin. I had seen Shanghai Noon some months ago and was entertained by it. Due to some reasons, I couldn't see the 2nd part. But after seeing it yesterday night, I was overjoyed.

Plot: Chon Wang and Roy go to London to seek vengeance for murdering Chon's father.

Story and direction: These are the kind of films that I love. For the full 114 minutes, I was highly entertained by this film. Not a single moment felt dull. The comedy for me was spot on. The writers have so correctly written the story that it cashes on the star-power of our protagonists correctly Also the fight scenes were so nicely choreographed. It is always a treat to watch Jackie Chan fight. A big salute from my side to his stunt team for making me believe that good and realistic stunts are possible in cinema. The stunts also feel done in one-shot which I is a big thanks to the editing team. The sets and costumes were awesome and life-like. Also some popular references to pop-culture were appreciated. About some flaws with the film, I would say that if you are considering as something will be great about the film story-wise, don't. There is nothing much to the story. Also I did feel that there were some historical inaccuracies, that angered me a lot.

Performances: Jackie Chan will always have a special place in my heart. In this film too, he shows that not only he is dedicated to his stunts but also delivers a good performance. Owen Wilson also performs good as a "side-kick". Fann Wong was a good addition to the cast. Donnie Yen and Aidan Gillen proved to be quite good villains. Tom Fisher too provided some great support.

Favorite Scene: It is always a treat for me to watch Jackie Chan fight. So, for me the favorite scene of the film would be the London Market fight scene. The scene is choreographed so nicely. The comedy also was spot on and Jackie Chan makes the stunts feel so easy.

Verdict: I had a great time watching this film. My tie was very nicely utilized. This film is highly recommended for those who want to have a fun time and also are ardent action lovers and Jackie Chan fans.

I am going with an 8/10.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a film directed by David Yates. I had watched some of the Harry Potter films years ago. Then I came to know about this particular film which was a prequel to the Harry Potter Films. Seeing the craze of the Harry Potter series in many people, I decided to give this film a try. And I enjoyed it.

Plot: Newt Scamander arrives in New York when some of his creatures escape from his suitcase and it is upto him and his allies to save the day.

Story and direction: This is J K Rowling's first film as a screenwriter and I can say she has done a wonderful job in creating a world where both magicians and normal citizens live together. Hats off to David Yates and team, for creating a world for creating a world I so want to be in. The creature designs were fantastic and that goes on to say how talented the crew is. The characters for this story were so mesmerizing. Each of these characters had something to be liked. The comedy also was so good and never felt forced or out of place. The action scenes were so nicely done. The production design and costumes transported me back to the 1920's. But the film, was not all perfect. The film's first 20-30 minutes, felt little flat for me. But that was understandable, as I was getting to know this world and it was a slow-buildup movie. Also the editing and VFX in certain portions of the film felt little haywire.

Performances: Eddie Redmayne was very lovable as Newt. The little chacacters nuances were perfectly performed by him. Katherine Waterston also provided some great support to Newt's character. Dan Fogler was the comic relief and he was impressive. Allison Sudol was good too. Ezra Miller was awesome. You could feel the pain his characater was going through. Colin Farrell was great. And for those who haven't seen this film, I would say just wait for Johnny Depp. Yes, he is there in the film. But I won't go any further.

Favorite Scene: Again no spoilers but there is a scene involving, Newt, Tina, Queenie and Jacob towards the climax that was heart-touching. I also teared up for a bit.

Verdict: I had a fun time watching this film. For a person who has not been updated with the Harry Potter series, I fully understood the film. And was quite happy that the film didn't rely on Harry Potter. It's good on its own.

I am going with an 8/10.

Mukkabaaz is a film co-written and directed by Anuragh Kashyap. From the trailers itself, the film looked very interesting and I was dying to see the film. And finally when I saw the film, I was overjoyed.

Plot: The story follows Shravan's struggle towards fulfilling his dream and winning his love while facing hardships in form of uphill castiesm and corruption of the Boxing Federation which is heightened by the political atmosphere of Uttar Pradesh.

Story and direction: From scene one itself, the film hooked me. The film is not only about an underdog rising to become a great boxer but is about much more. The film has so many layers to it and it ticked off all the boxes for me. For normally a film with so many writers, the film looks very aimless. But in this film (which has 6 writers credited), the film is very neat and tidy. It's like all the writers were in sync. The social issues highlighted were also not in a very conventional manner. Kudos to Anurag Kashyap and team, for bringing such a film to the spotlight. The characters are also so rich and deep, that you feel for each of the people present on screen. Even the jokes cracked were spot-on and didn't seem forced. The cinematography was awesome. And so were the boxing scenes. They felt so real. But I had a small little issue with the film. And that is the length. I felt that if it would have been a little above 2 hours, it would have been the masterpiece of this year.

Performances: Vineet Kumar is the star of this vehicle. With every scene, he is so impactful, that I have no words to describe his performance. Zoya Hussain was impressive too. Although she doesn't have dialogues, the facial expressions spoke lot more than words would express. JImmy Shergill was the bad-as and he nailed his character to the T. Ravi Kishan was awesome too. Therest of the supportimg cast were also very much impressive in their performances.

Music: This film had some great music too. Normally, I would not listen to such music. But since the songs are mostly situation driven, I could very easily connect with them. I would say 'Paintra' and 'Hatthapai' were my favorites.

Favorite Scene: It would be the scene where Shravan argues with his father as to why is he expecting so much from him when he himself (Shravan's father) didn't achieve anything in life. The jokes cracked as well as the performances and the realism of the scene is what make me think about it.

Verdict: For all Anurag Kashyap fans out there, please watch this film. This is one of the best so far in 2018.Films like these need our support, so that India can be at par with world cinema.

I am going with a 9/10.