The hits and misses of the week.
Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi had a tepid opening on Friday, but picked up well over the weekend. It will have to sustain through the week as its budget is high.
Thackeray is doing better in its Marathi version than the Hindi one.
Vinod Mirani gives us his weekly verdict.
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: New.
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: New.
Box Office verdict: Above 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 Emran Hashmi's character has a personality.
Number of weeks: 1.
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: 1.
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: 1.
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: 2.
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: 2.
Box Office verdict: Average.
Simmba
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Sonu Sood, Ashutosh Rana, Siddhartha Jadhav.
Director: Rohit Shetty.
What works: Ranveer, Siddhartha's comic timing.
What doesn't: Too much drama.
Number of weeks: 4.
Box Office verdict: Hit.
- The Rediff Reviews: Sukanya Verma and Urvi Parikh
Zero
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
Director: Aanand L Rai.
What works: Good music, commendable VFX, good humour.
What doesn't: Too many inconsistencies in the story, too long.
Number of weeks: 5.
Box Office verdict: Flop.
Kedarnath
Cast: Sara Ali Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput.
Director: Abhishek Kapoor.
What works: Sara Ali Khan.
What doesn't: Bad VFX.
Number of weeks: 7.
Box Office verdict: Above average.
