Laura Hemmings

'Tamasha', traditionally meaning 'Spectacle' or a good theatrical performance, which essentially sums up this masterpiece of a movie. It tells the story of Ved (Ranbir Kapoor) who has an unusual craze for stories and characters from childhood. But he becomes a product manager due parental pressure (a pretty old, typical Indian film phenomena, but essential to the plot nonetheless). He takes a break from his very ordinary life and fits into a 'character' while on holiday in Corsica-- this just means that he acts like someone he is definitely not. This just so happens to be where he meets Tara (Deepika Padukone) and they decide to only tell each other lies about themselves to maximize the fun. Now, any movie lover like me could see where all this was pointing to. They will fall in love but realize it's actually the lies that lead to it -- cliche and tragic. But the thing with Imtiaz Ali movies is that you should be sitting in front of the screen with a blank mind -- no expectations whatsoever. This is probably why it failed to impress the box-office. Just a pro-tip, if you're going to watch this movie, do NOT expect a love story out of this. The audience expected a seamless love story, which is where you first go when you see a guy and a girl on the poster, especially a hot star couple like the Ranbir-Deepika jodi. Furthermore, the amount of talent displayed on the screen while you watch this is breathtaking. Deepika doesn't cease to shine even a moment throughout the film. Ranbir, as always, put out a spectacular performance much like the former. My rating :4.5/5

Secret Superstar is a movie set in urban times and an urban girl who suffers with third world problems that still exist today. It's the story of Insiya (Zaira Wasim), who is an aspiring musician coming from a Muslim family in Baroda with a father who does not encourage her in merely anything that she does. It is shown that Insiya, or "Insu", is not very forward in her studies and starts to anonymously upload videos of her singing on Youtube, wearing a burkha that covers her identity. These videos immediately gain popularity making her shoot to stardom, just with nobody knowing who she really is. This movie has a well-written script, an outstanding star-cast and a touching story. It also won Zaira Wasim and Meher Vij Filmfare Awards for Best Actress Cristics 2018 and Best Supporting Actress 2018 respectively. If you're looking for an emotional yet thrilling story, this is the one for you. My rating: 4.5/5