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Sarit Ray

Sarit edits the Mumbai weekend supplement, HT48Hours (ht48hours.in), reviews films, and writes on lifestyle.

Articles by Sarit Ray

Ugly review: It's dark and dystopian

If fairy tales exist, so must nightmares. But Bollywood so often escapes into the former - happy, carefree romances, or unreal stories of achievement - that Ugly comes as a shock.

Ronit-Roy-plays-a-cop-in-Anurag-Kashyap-s-Ugly

entertainment

Updated on Dec 26, 2014 05:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, New Delhi

PK review: It's a signature Rajkumar Hirani creation

It's hard to believe at times that Rajkumar Hirani, as a director, has just four films to his credit. You somehow tend to think of him a veteran, someone whose work you look forward, and hold to a higher standard.

entertainment

Updated on Dec 20, 2014 05:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, New Delhi

Movie review: Bhopal, A Prayer for Rain is mature, watch it for the subject

Watch A Prayer for Rain for the subject, if nothing else. And because in this extreme disaster, you will see reflected stories of negligence, cutting corners and exploitation that, 30 years later, still continue to be relevant.

Kal-Penn-American-actor-producer-and-a-civil-servant-will-be-starring-in-an-Indian-film-for-the-first-time-with-Bhopal-A-Prayer-for-Rain--Photo-APrayerForRain-Facebook

entertainment

Updated on Dec 08, 2014 12:42 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

Horrible Bosses 2 review: Give us a break, boss

Unless the makers are willing to try something new, or do something unexpected, a Part 2 just doesn’t work. Director Sean Anders, unfortunately, doesn’t even attempt to rock the boat with this one.

Jason-Sudeikis-Jason-Bateman-and-Charlie-Day-pose-at-the-premiere-of-Horrible-Bosses-2-in-Hollywood-Reuters

entertainment

Updated on Nov 30, 2014 01:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

I don’t know how to get an Oscar: Martin Sheen

Hollywood actor Martin Sheen on his 'successful' but Oscar-less career, the troubled life of son Charlie Sheen, and why he dislikes superhero films.

entertainment

Updated on Nov 29, 2014 11:18 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

I do what I believe in, says Virat Kohli

Arrogant, brash, or bad boy; Virat Kohli says he doesn't seem to operate by anyone else's rules, doesn't give a damn about labels; and adds that the kiss blown towards his girlfriend in the stands wasn't impulsive.

The-worst-and-the-most-common-label-used-with-me-is-that-I-m-arrogant-says-Virat-Kohli

entertainment

Updated on Nov 24, 2014 02:11 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

I love being the sex symbol: Ranveer Singh

Kill Dil actor endorses condoms, chops his hair off for a role, behaves like he’s everyone’s best friend; is there more to Ranveer Singh than meets the eye?

entertainment

Updated on Nov 09, 2014 02:26 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review: Sonali Cable runs out of ideas

Rhea Chakraborty-Ali Fazal-starrer Sonali Cable about a feisty female cable operator threatened by an evil multinational is so amateurish that scenes intended to shock and sadden actually make you laugh, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Oct 18, 2014 04:03 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

I grew up on DDLJ: Rajkummar Rao

He may be offbeat cinema’s poster boy, but Rajkummar Rao grew up watching Bollywood entertainers; ahead of MFF, he talks about discovering world cinema, and how the National Award has helped him be more picky.

entertainment

Updated on Oct 14, 2014 10:45 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

I get lost in Delhi: Kunal Nayyar

The Big Bang Theory actor Kunal Nayyar plans to take his India association further. In a candid chat, he talks about his book in the works, about his journey from India to the American TV industry; he’s doing a Canadian film, Dr Cabbie, that has Salman Khan as producer; and now, he’s produced a documentary.

Actor-Kunal-Nayyar-speaks-during-a-keynote-address-by-Rupert-Stadler-Chairman-of-the-Board-of-Management-of-Audi-AG-at-the-2014-International-CES-at-The-Chelsea-at-The-Cosmopolitan-of-Las-Vegas-on-January-7-2014-in-Las-Vegas-Nevada-AFP

entertainment

Updated on Oct 13, 2014 12:31 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review: The Hundred Foot Journey is all sugar, no spice

You know the feeling when you read the ingredients on a menu and think, oh, that sounds exciting. But when it arrives, it’s underwhelming, and just not an inventive as you’d imagined it’d be. The Hundred Foot Journey – about the fairy-tale-ish career of a chef – is a lot like that.

entertainment

Updated on Aug 09, 2014 06:26 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Haven't thought about retirement, says Zaheer Khan

Everyone may have written off Zaheer Khan, but the 35-year-old pacer isn't ready to hang up his boots just yet. "Playing for India was never easy in the first place. It was an impossible dream," he says in an interview.

cricket

Updated on Aug 02, 2014 09:35 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

Movie review: Pizza 3D outdoes most Bollywood horror flicks

If you're the sort of horror junkie who feeds on Hollywood and Japanese versions (Japan is to horror what Italy is to pizza), don't expect to see something you haven't seen before. But by Bollywood standards, this film easily outdoes most of what passes for horror, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Jul 18, 2014 04:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya review: Alia Bhatt holds her own in this ode to DDLJ

Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania is a conscious ode to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Debutant writer-director Shashank Khaitan makes enough bluntly obvious references to ensure that you know this — from the title, to scenes from the film playing on TV sets, to a hero who mouths lines straight out of that script.

entertainment

Updated on Jul 14, 2014 10:13 AM IST

BySarit Ray, New Delhi

Movie review: Bobby Jasoos is simplistic but positive

Balan has done such films in the past and deserves credit for pulling it off again. The overall story remains simplistic. But it serves its purpose — of shining a light on a community that is underrepresented in Bollywood films, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Jul 04, 2014 11:49 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

Movie review by Sarit Ray: Mohit Suri's Ek Villain is a recipe for disaster

Director Mohit Suri takes slices from a variety of genres — romance, crime, murder, revenge, all of which he’s dabbled in previous films — and tosses them in the blender, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Jun 29, 2014 01:02 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review: Humshakals proves Sajid Khan is out of ideas

Humshakals opens with a 43-going-on-23 Saif Ali Khan trying his hand at stand-up comedy. He has a rich-boy name Ashok Singhania and lives in London, of course, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Jun 21, 2014 01:08 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review by Sarit Ray: The World Before Her asks pertinent questions

Nisha Pahuja's documentary records the lives of two women that are so different that they are unlikely to ever cross paths. It raises more questions than it answers, but they are questions we should all be asking, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Jun 08, 2014 07:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

Movie review: Meet Mr Nose It All in The Xpose

Good films require innovation; bad ones are usually recipe-based. And the really terrible ones? Those are recipes gone horribly wrong. What the makers of The Xposé will have you believe is cinema is actually punch lines, and lots of songs roughly mashed together.

entertainment

Updated on May 18, 2014 12:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Yeh Hai Bakrapur movie review: too goat to be true

Bakrapur has more originality than your run-of-the-mill star-studded film. Now if only the goat could make a Bollywood career out of this, the satire would be complete.

Ye-Hai-Bakrapur-is-a-social-satire-set-against-the-backdrop-of-rural-India-The-film-s-story-revolves-around-the-family-of-the-Qureshis-and-their-pet-goat

entertainment

Updated on May 11, 2014 03:27 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

World of movie reviews: all that matters is an opinion

The good news is that the 'holier-than-thou' reviewers aren't getting away either. In a world where opinion is all that matters and critiquing is a thing of the past, any opinion goes. And the film-maker is happy too, so long as her film's a success.

lifestyle

Updated on May 11, 2014 10:31 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

Movie review of Jal: mainstream cinema peddles nonsense, this is a step in the other direction

What should have been a short, sharp film loses clarity over 120 mins. Jal is about the acute water crisis in arid Kutch, and the administrational apathy towards its inhabitants. The film, then, could have made for powerful satire, or a moving story of human suffering.

entertainment

Updated on Apr 08, 2014 09:29 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review: Gulabi Gang sets a high benchmark for Gulaab Gang

Far from the common perception of documentaries as tedious, Nishtha Jain manages to create an engaging 90 minute film. She also sets the benchmark high for next month’s Bollywood version to follow, writes Sarit Ray.

entertainment

Updated on Feb 24, 2014 04:39 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

People misunderstood the verdict: Mahesh Dattani

Playwright Mahesh Dattani discusses Section 377, actors going from theatre to film, criticism of literature festivals and his new book.

lifestyle

Updated on Jan 27, 2014 12:11 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review by Sarit Ray: Mr Joe B Carvalho

Movies are supposed to make you think. Joe B Carvalho makes you ponder on a singular question: ‘why?’ Why would a script so inane come to be made into a film? Sarit Ray writes

entertainment

Updated on Jan 08, 2014 02:19 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Movie review by Sarit Ray of Sholay 3D: Old charm, new gimmick!

Over the years, Sholay has become more than just a movie. So, go see Sholay 3D only because it’s an opportunity to see it again on the big screen, to see a young Amitabh and Dharmendra, and to introduce your kids to it.

entertainment

Updated on Jan 04, 2014 09:44 AM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray

Movie review by Sarit Ray: Mahabharat, far from epic

Unfortunately, director Amaan Khan’s animated version is a tepid retelling, released strategically during vacation time so that it might keep the kids occupied for an afternoon — provided there’s enough popcorn to go around. Sarit Ray writes.

entertainment

Updated on Dec 28, 2013 01:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

A budget trip to the UK capital

You have a distant uncle in London you’ve never met. ‘But you can stay with him.’ That’s the first bit of advice my mother offers. Two things to be learnt: Indian uncles don’t apparently mind hosting men they’ve never met...

A-pod-from-the-London-Eye-is-seen-in-front-of-Big-Ben-at-the-Houses-of-Parliament-in-London-Reuters-Chris-Helgren-Files

lifestyle

Updated on Dec 17, 2013 07:29 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

Skyfall heats up race to Indian TV

In India, the race to the TV premiere is mostly run by Bollywood films. Now, however, with the market increasingly receptive towards foreign productions, the demand for new Hollywood films has seen a rapid increase.

Skyfall-The-latest-007-instalment-Skyfall-is-set-to-be-the-most-successful-James-Bond-movie-in-the-50-year-history-of-the-franchise-and-is-predicted-to-rake-in-more-than-1-billion-dollars-at-the-box-office

entertainment

Updated on Oct 27, 2013 03:05 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, Mumbai

For your eyes only

If you’re a James Bond fan, then do visit Hampshire to see the largest exhibition of Bond vehicles in the world.

lifestyle

Updated on Oct 26, 2013 07:05 PM IST

Hindustan Times | BySarit Ray, New Delhi

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Sarit Ray

Sarit edits the Mumbai weekend supplement, HT48Hours (ht48hours.in), reviews films, and writes on lifestyle.

If fairy tales exist, so must nightmares. But Bollywood so often escapes into the former - happy, carefree romances, or unreal stories of achievement - that Ugly comes as a shock.

It's hard to believe at times that Rajkumar Hirani, as a director, has just four films to his credit. You somehow tend to think of him a veteran, someone whose work you look forward, and hold to a higher standard.

Watch A Prayer for Rain for the subject, if nothing else. And because in this extreme disaster, you will see reflected stories of negligence, cutting corners and exploitation that, 30 years later, still continue to be relevant.

Unless the makers are willing to try something new, or do something unexpected, a Part 2 just doesn’t work. Director Sean Anders, unfortunately, doesn’t even attempt to rock the boat with this one.

Hollywood actor Martin Sheen on his 'successful' but Oscar-less career, the troubled life of son Charlie Sheen, and why he dislikes superhero films.

Arrogant, brash, or bad boy; Virat Kohli says he doesn't seem to operate by anyone else's rules, doesn't give a damn about labels; and adds that the kiss blown towards his girlfriend in the stands wasn't impulsive.

Kill Dil actor endorses condoms, chops his hair off for a role, behaves like he’s everyone’s best friend; is there more to Ranveer Singh than meets the eye?

Rhea Chakraborty-Ali Fazal-starrer Sonali Cable about a feisty female cable operator threatened by an evil multinational is so amateurish that scenes intended to shock and sadden actually make you laugh, writes Sarit Ray.

He may be offbeat cinema’s poster boy, but Rajkummar Rao grew up watching Bollywood entertainers; ahead of MFF, he talks about discovering world cinema, and how the National Award has helped him be more picky.

You know the feeling when you read the ingredients on a menu and think, oh, that sounds exciting. But when it arrives, it’s underwhelming, and just not an inventive as you’d imagined it’d be. The Hundred Foot Journey – about the fairy-tale-ish career of a chef – is a lot like that.

Everyone may have written off Zaheer Khan, but the 35-year-old pacer isn't ready to hang up his boots just yet. "Playing for India was never easy in the first place. It was an impossible dream," he says in an interview.

If you're the sort of horror junkie who feeds on Hollywood and Japanese versions (Japan is to horror what Italy is to pizza), don't expect to see something you haven't seen before. But by Bollywood standards, this film easily outdoes most of what passes for horror, writes Sarit Ray.

Balan has done such films in the past and deserves credit for pulling it off again. The overall story remains simplistic. But it serves its purpose — of shining a light on a community that is underrepresented in Bollywood films, writes Sarit Ray.

Director Mohit Suri takes slices from a variety of genres — romance, crime, murder, revenge, all of which he’s dabbled in previous films — and tosses them in the blender, writes Sarit Ray.

Humshakals opens with a 43-going-on-23 Saif Ali Khan trying his hand at stand-up comedy. He has a rich-boy name Ashok Singhania and lives in London, of course, writes Sarit Ray.

Nisha Pahuja's documentary records the lives of two women that are so different that they are unlikely to ever cross paths. It raises more questions than it answers, but they are questions we should all be asking, writes Sarit Ray.

Good films require innovation; bad ones are usually recipe-based. And the really terrible ones? Those are recipes gone horribly wrong. What the makers of The Xposé will have you believe is cinema is actually punch lines, and lots of songs roughly mashed together.

Bakrapur has more originality than your run-of-the-mill star-studded film. Now if only the goat could make a Bollywood career out of this, the satire would be complete.

The good news is that the 'holier-than-thou' reviewers aren't getting away either. In a world where opinion is all that matters and critiquing is a thing of the past, any opinion goes. And the film-maker is happy too, so long as her film's a success.

What should have been a short, sharp film loses clarity over 120 mins. Jal is about the acute water crisis in arid Kutch, and the administrational apathy towards its inhabitants. The film, then, could have made for powerful satire, or a moving story of human suffering.

Far from the common perception of documentaries as tedious, Nishtha Jain manages to create an engaging 90 minute film. She also sets the benchmark high for next month’s Bollywood version to follow, writes Sarit Ray.

Playwright Mahesh Dattani discusses Section 377, actors going from theatre to film, criticism of literature festivals and his new book.

Movies are supposed to make you think. Joe B Carvalho makes you ponder on a singular question: ‘why?’ Why would a script so inane come to be made into a film? Sarit Ray writes

Over the years, Sholay has become more than just a movie. So, go see Sholay 3D only because it’s an opportunity to see it again on the big screen, to see a young Amitabh and Dharmendra, and to introduce your kids to it.

Unfortunately, director Amaan Khan’s animated version is a tepid retelling, released strategically during vacation time so that it might keep the kids occupied for an afternoon — provided there’s enough popcorn to go around. Sarit Ray writes.

You have a distant uncle in London you’ve never met. ‘But you can stay with him.’ That’s the first bit of advice my mother offers. Two things to be learnt: Indian uncles don’t apparently mind hosting men they’ve never met...

In India, the race to the TV premiere is mostly run by Bollywood films. Now, however, with the market increasingly receptive towards foreign productions, the demand for new Hollywood films has seen a rapid increase.

If you’re a James Bond fan, then do visit Hampshire to see the largest exhibition of Bond vehicles in the world.

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