The hits and misses of the week.
Last week's releases Amavas and The Fakir Of Venice flopped at the box office.
Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi goes from strength to strength.
Vinod Mirani gives us his weekly verdict.
Amavas
Cast: Sachin Joshi, Nargis Fakhri.
Director: Bhushan Patel.
What works: Tough!
What doesn't: Not a single scary moment or thrill in the film!
Number of weeks: New.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
The Fakir Of Venice
Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor.
Director: Anand Surapur.
What works: The lead cast.
What doesn't: Film is too dated.
Number of weeks: New.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Akshay Oberoi, Regina Cassandra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla.
Director: Shelly Chopra Dhar.
What works: Novel story, good performances.
What doesn't: Too meek in its assertion of same sex romance.
Number of weeks: 1.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub, Atul Kulkarni, Danny Denzongpa.
Director: Krish, Kangana Ranaut.
What works: Kangana does well.
What doesn't: Significant historical characters are sidelined.
Number of weeks: 2.
Box Office verdict: Above average.
- The Rediff Reviews: Sukanya Verma and A Ganesh Nadar
Thackeray
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Amrita Rao.
Director: Abhijit Panse.
What works: Captures Thackeray honestly, without sugarcoating his views.
What doesn't: Tries to pack in too much information on Thackeray's life.
Number of weeks: 2.
Box Office verdict: Average.
Why Cheat India
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Snighdadeep Chatterjee.
Director: Soumik Sen.
What works: The film isn't boring.
What doesn't: A cynical look at the education system; scenes don't mesh into a whole; only Emraan Hashmi's character has a personality.
Number of weeks: 3.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
- The Rediff Reviews: Sukanya Verma and Sreehari Nair
Bombairiya
Cast: Radhika Apte, Akshay Oberoi, Siddhanth, Kapoor, Adil Hussain, Shilpa Shukla, Ravi Kishen.
Director: Pia Sukanya.
What works: Good performances, the film's main theme is engaging.
What doesn't: Too many subplots.
Number of weeks: 3.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
Fraud Saiyaan
Cast: Arshard Warsi, Saurabh Shukla.
Director: Sourabh Srivastava.
What works: Nothing!
What doesn't: Bad humour, cringe-worthy dialogues, senseless plot, and portrays its actresses in such poor light.
Number of weeks: 3.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
Uri: The Surgical Strike
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina, Kirti Kulhari, Yami Gautam.
Director: Aditya Dhar.
What works: The climax and the action.
What doesn't: The BJP propaganda.
Number of weeks: 4.
Box Office verdict: Hit.
- The Rediff Reviews: Syed Firdaus Ashraf and Sukanya Verma
The Accidental Prime Minister
Cast: Anupam Kher, Akshaye Khanna, Suzanne Bernert, Aahana Kumra.
Director: Vijay Ratnakar Gutte.
What works: Original names of leaders and political parties are used. Book-based scenes are accurate.
What doesn't: Inaccurate portrayal of Dr Manmohan Singh and dishonest representation of the Gandhi family and other Congress leaders.
Number of weeks: 4.
Box Office verdict: Average.
