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Anupama Chopra

Anupama Chopra is the editor and founder of Film Companion.

Articles by Anupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Revolver Rani's sly humour is fun

Revolver Rani establishes Kangana Ranaut as the most fearless actress in Bollywood. After winning our hearts as the achingly naïve dumped bride in Queen, she does a 360-degree flip in this film, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Apr 26, 2014 01:56 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Technology controls our lives: interview with Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman

Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman don’t give many interviews. One of the rare occasions was when HT’s film critic, Anupama Chopra, spoke to the two for their upcoming film, Transcendence.

entertainment

Updated on Apr 19, 2014 05:58 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Bhootnath makes a spirited comeback

Bhootnath is worth watching for its feel good political message, and Parth Bhalerao, who plays Akhrot, the street-smart Dharavi kid who befriends a ghost, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Apr 12, 2014 11:03 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Main Tera Hero is fools’ paradise

The camera caresses the two heroines as much as it does Varun’s six-pack abs, but overall Main Tera Hero lacks the usual David Dhawan punch, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Apr 12, 2014 01:37 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Nothing compares to the Jameson Empire Awards

I’ve been to film award ceremonies around the world, but nothing compares to the Jameson Empire Awards held in London each year at the end of March, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Apr 02, 2014 07:40 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: O Teri is Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro reduced to noise and nonsense

It’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro reduced to noise and nonsense. Anupam Kher and Vijay Raaz ham. Pulkit Samrat follows in their footsteps. Bilal Amrohi displays little talent. Eventually all that registered was Mandira Bedi’s noodle-strap blouses.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 29, 2014 03:58 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, New Delhi

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Youngistaan is brain-dead and insufferable

Every other year or so, Vashu produces a film in which Jackky stars. These vanity projects have been uniformly mediocre, but their fifth film together, Youngistaan, sets a new standard of ridiculous.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 29, 2014 03:57 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, New Delhi

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Don't miss Ankhon Dekhi

The performances by Sanjay and Seema Pahwa, who plays his harassed wife, are wonderful. Rajat, who also plays a pivotal role in the film, tells their story with tenderness and affection. Sadly, the narrative meanders in the second half, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 22, 2014 07:42 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Ragini MMS 2 offers only cheap thrills

The problem is that the characters are such insipid, low-IQ cretins that you are hoping that the murderous chudail gets them soon. The writing is so sloppy that eventually it becomes unintentionally funny.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 22, 2014 12:09 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Lakshmi is effective but brutally disturbing

Lakshmi is heartfelt and has some fine performances by Monali, Satish Kaushik and Shifaali Shah. However, In places, it’s repulsive and, yet, it demands to be seen.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 22, 2014 07:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Bewakoofiyaan is a bland tale of yuppies

The strongest performance here is Ayushmann’s. His anger and frustration at losing the good life are palpable. Still, it’s going to take a better script than this to make me summon emotion for out-of-work yuppies, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 15, 2014 01:57 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, New Delhi

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Gulaab Gang is messy, illogical

Soumik Sen is unable to embed the actresses into his fictionalised version in a coherent way. The result is an ineffectual and messy ode to women empowerment in which women in handloom saris, maim, kill, fight elections and in between find the time to sing and dance.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 08, 2014 04:57 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, New Delhi

Anupama Chopra's review: Shaadi Ke Side Effects is like average marriage

Farhan Akhtar-VidyaBalan-starrer Shaadi Ke Side Effects is in equal parts, while first half is enjoyable, the second half becomes exasperating. Pretty much like the average marriage, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Mar 01, 2014 06:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Highway leaves you deeply dissatisfied

There is AR Rahman’s soulful music — especially Patakha Guddi — and above all, Alia Bhatt’s performance. Her scenes are deeply moving. Her honesty and courage, both as actor and character, is exhilarating. And yet, I left the theatre deeply dissatisfied.

entertainment

Updated on Feb 25, 2014 11:07 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Gunday has 'angry young man' swagger

Gunday, directed and written by Ali Abbas Zafar, is an unabashed love letter to the 1970s, the height of our romance with Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man. A time when heroes, even if they were criminals, were honourable men, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Feb 16, 2014 01:11 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review: 'One by two' is one part fun, two parts boring, writes Anupama Chopra

One by Two is one of those determinedly contemporary romantic dramas that are entirely played out in the world of stylish offices, coffee shops, malls, multiplexes and nightclubs. Here the beautiful, affluent, lonely young folk of Mumbai work out their angst.

entertainment

Updated on Feb 01, 2014 01:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: is Jai Ho even a film?

In all honesty, I’m confused about how to evaluate Jai Ho. Because it’s not a film. It’s a cartoon. So, to point out that the story is laughably ridiculous or that the characterisation has no depth seems churlish.

entertainment

Updated on Jan 25, 2014 01:23 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Miss Lovely is hideously beautiful

Miss Lovely is lethargically paced and unnecessarily opaque. At times, I struggled to understand the narrative. And beyond a point, the lack of dramatic momentum was frustrating. Ashim’s characters are fascinating, but his telling is laboured and self-conscious.

entertainment

Updated on Jan 18, 2014 12:38 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review: Many things to enjoy in Dedh Ishqiya, writes Anupama Chopra

There are many things to enjoy in Dedh Ishqiya - starting with that curious name. Director Abhishek Chaubey's new installment in the adventures of the lovable rogues - Khalujan and Babban - is rich in atmospherics and poetry. Anupama Chopra writes.

entertainment

Updated on Jan 11, 2014 06:01 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Dhoom 3 is gorgeous with cheerful lack of logic

See Dhoom:3 with your expectations at half-mast. It's not the popcorn thrill ride that I expected. There isn't enough joy in it. But Aamir and the stupendous action make it worth watching.

entertainment

Updated on Dec 22, 2013 03:14 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Anupama Chopra's review: What the Fish

What the Fish begins with the disclaimer that no fish or plants were harmed during the making of this film. But what about the harm done after the making? It is basically cinema as root canal. I suffered it so that you don’t have to, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Dec 14, 2013 01:16 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie Review by Anupama Chopra: R... Rajkumar

These days, you step in any multiplex and are straight away transported to the 1980s, otherwise known as the worst decade of Hindi cinema. Two weeks ago, it was Singh Saab the Great. And now it's R… Rajkumar.

entertainment

Updated on Dec 07, 2013 12:56 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Bullett Raja

Bullett Raja has flashes of fire but mostly it seems to be hobbled by a misguided sense of machismo. Everyone struts – including Vidyut Jamwal who makes an appearance as a dynamic cop – but no one goes anywhere.

entertainment

Updated on Nov 30, 2013 09:49 AM IST

ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Gori Tere Pyaar Mein!

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein! is fun as long as it sticks to the formula. If you’re willing to be shallow and overlook Kareena’s kohl-lined eyes and nude lipstick as she rails against the world’s injustices, the film is reasonably entertaining.

entertainment

Updated on Nov 23, 2013 11:13 AM IST

ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review: Ram Leela is worth watching, writes Anupama Chopra

If Sanjay Leela Bhansali is to be believed, Gujaratis are the most colorful, passionate, violent, loud and lusty community in this country. So everyone in the fictional village of Ranjaar is permanently brawling, killing, drinking or loving. Anupama Chopra writes.

entertainment

Updated on Nov 16, 2013 02:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Satya 2

Watching Satya 2 is like being bludgeoned. It’s morally specious and unintentionally comical. While the men kill and glower, the women serve tea and flash skin. I say, stay at home and revisit the original, writes Anupama Chopra.

entertainment

Updated on Nov 09, 2013 09:47 AM IST

ByAnupama Chopra

Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Krrish 3 ultimately belongs to Hrithik

The action is terrific but the special effects range from tacky to impressive. As do the many villains. I enjoyed Vivek Oberoi and Kangana Ranaut but the rest, including Antman and Frogman, have zero personality. The film ultimately belongs to Hrithik Roshan.

entertainment

Updated on Nov 05, 2013 10:45 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Ranveer-Deepika on link-up rumour: it’s great as long as it works for Ram-leela

In an exclusive interview, the newest pair in Bollywood - Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh tell us what’s really going on between the two of them. Here's Ram-leela lead actors in a free-wheeling conversation with Anupama Chopra.

Ranveer-Singh-and-Deepika-Padukone-display-a-sparkling-chemistry-at-the-trailer-launch-of-Ram-Leela

entertainment

Updated on Oct 30, 2013 07:06 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, New Delhi

Movie review: Mickey Virus by Anupama Chopra

The trouble with Mickey Virus is that writer-director Saurabh Varma makes this story so unnecessarily long and convoluted that by the time we get to the great climactic reveal of who did what, we don’t really care.

entertainment

Updated on Oct 27, 2013 11:41 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra, Mumbai

Movie Review: Shahid by Anupama Chopra

Director Hansal Mehta and writer Sameer Gautam Singh create a portrait of a man who lived many lifetimes in one. Mehta captures the Kafkaesque circus of Indian courts, with lawyers arguing, judges attempting to keep order and undertrials languishing in jail.

entertainment

Updated on Oct 23, 2013 01:29 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnupama Chopra

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Anupama Chopra

Anupama Chopra is the editor and founder of Film Companion.

Revolver Rani establishes Kangana Ranaut as the most fearless actress in Bollywood. After winning our hearts as the achingly naïve dumped bride in Queen, she does a 360-degree flip in this film, writes Anupama Chopra.

Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman don’t give many interviews. One of the rare occasions was when HT’s film critic, Anupama Chopra, spoke to the two for their upcoming film, Transcendence.

Bhootnath is worth watching for its feel good political message, and Parth Bhalerao, who plays Akhrot, the street-smart Dharavi kid who befriends a ghost, writes Anupama Chopra.

The camera caresses the two heroines as much as it does Varun’s six-pack abs, but overall Main Tera Hero lacks the usual David Dhawan punch, writes Anupama Chopra.

I’ve been to film award ceremonies around the world, but nothing compares to the Jameson Empire Awards held in London each year at the end of March, writes Anupama Chopra.

It’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro reduced to noise and nonsense. Anupam Kher and Vijay Raaz ham. Pulkit Samrat follows in their footsteps. Bilal Amrohi displays little talent. Eventually all that registered was Mandira Bedi’s noodle-strap blouses.

Every other year or so, Vashu produces a film in which Jackky stars. These vanity projects have been uniformly mediocre, but their fifth film together, Youngistaan, sets a new standard of ridiculous.

The performances by Sanjay and Seema Pahwa, who plays his harassed wife, are wonderful. Rajat, who also plays a pivotal role in the film, tells their story with tenderness and affection. Sadly, the narrative meanders in the second half, writes Anupama Chopra.

The problem is that the characters are such insipid, low-IQ cretins that you are hoping that the murderous chudail gets them soon. The writing is so sloppy that eventually it becomes unintentionally funny.

Lakshmi is heartfelt and has some fine performances by Monali, Satish Kaushik and Shifaali Shah. However, In places, it’s repulsive and, yet, it demands to be seen.

The strongest performance here is Ayushmann’s. His anger and frustration at losing the good life are palpable. Still, it’s going to take a better script than this to make me summon emotion for out-of-work yuppies, writes Anupama Chopra.

Soumik Sen is unable to embed the actresses into his fictionalised version in a coherent way. The result is an ineffectual and messy ode to women empowerment in which women in handloom saris, maim, kill, fight elections and in between find the time to sing and dance.

Farhan Akhtar-VidyaBalan-starrer Shaadi Ke Side Effects is in equal parts, while first half is enjoyable, the second half becomes exasperating. Pretty much like the average marriage, writes Anupama Chopra.

There is AR Rahman’s soulful music — especially Patakha Guddi — and above all, Alia Bhatt’s performance. Her scenes are deeply moving. Her honesty and courage, both as actor and character, is exhilarating. And yet, I left the theatre deeply dissatisfied.

Gunday, directed and written by Ali Abbas Zafar, is an unabashed love letter to the 1970s, the height of our romance with Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man. A time when heroes, even if they were criminals, were honourable men, writes Anupama Chopra.

One by Two is one of those determinedly contemporary romantic dramas that are entirely played out in the world of stylish offices, coffee shops, malls, multiplexes and nightclubs. Here the beautiful, affluent, lonely young folk of Mumbai work out their angst.

In all honesty, I’m confused about how to evaluate Jai Ho. Because it’s not a film. It’s a cartoon. So, to point out that the story is laughably ridiculous or that the characterisation has no depth seems churlish.

Miss Lovely is lethargically paced and unnecessarily opaque. At times, I struggled to understand the narrative. And beyond a point, the lack of dramatic momentum was frustrating. Ashim’s characters are fascinating, but his telling is laboured and self-conscious.

There are many things to enjoy in Dedh Ishqiya - starting with that curious name. Director Abhishek Chaubey's new installment in the adventures of the lovable rogues - Khalujan and Babban - is rich in atmospherics and poetry. Anupama Chopra writes.

See Dhoom:3 with your expectations at half-mast. It's not the popcorn thrill ride that I expected. There isn't enough joy in it. But Aamir and the stupendous action make it worth watching.

What the Fish begins with the disclaimer that no fish or plants were harmed during the making of this film. But what about the harm done after the making? It is basically cinema as root canal. I suffered it so that you don’t have to, writes Anupama Chopra.

These days, you step in any multiplex and are straight away transported to the 1980s, otherwise known as the worst decade of Hindi cinema. Two weeks ago, it was Singh Saab the Great. And now it's R… Rajkumar.

Bullett Raja has flashes of fire but mostly it seems to be hobbled by a misguided sense of machismo. Everyone struts – including Vidyut Jamwal who makes an appearance as a dynamic cop – but no one goes anywhere.

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein! is fun as long as it sticks to the formula. If you’re willing to be shallow and overlook Kareena’s kohl-lined eyes and nude lipstick as she rails against the world’s injustices, the film is reasonably entertaining.

If Sanjay Leela Bhansali is to be believed, Gujaratis are the most colorful, passionate, violent, loud and lusty community in this country. So everyone in the fictional village of Ranjaar is permanently brawling, killing, drinking or loving. Anupama Chopra writes.

Watching Satya 2 is like being bludgeoned. It’s morally specious and unintentionally comical. While the men kill and glower, the women serve tea and flash skin. I say, stay at home and revisit the original, writes Anupama Chopra.

The action is terrific but the special effects range from tacky to impressive. As do the many villains. I enjoyed Vivek Oberoi and Kangana Ranaut but the rest, including Antman and Frogman, have zero personality. The film ultimately belongs to Hrithik Roshan.

In an exclusive interview, the newest pair in Bollywood - Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh tell us what’s really going on between the two of them. Here's Ram-leela lead actors in a free-wheeling conversation with Anupama Chopra.

The trouble with Mickey Virus is that writer-director Saurabh Varma makes this story so unnecessarily long and convoluted that by the time we get to the great climactic reveal of who did what, we don’t really care.

Director Hansal Mehta and writer Sameer Gautam Singh create a portrait of a man who lived many lifetimes in one. Mehta captures the Kafkaesque circus of Indian courts, with lawyers arguing, judges attempting to keep order and undertrials languishing in jail.

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