Shruti Chaturvedi

Crux: Highly chauvinistic, hypocritical, sexist, conservative, patriarchal show which boats of promoting women empowerment but does exactly the opposite. Disappointed that it is widely appreciated show and 'critically acclaimed' one. The immense popularity of the show and recommendations from various people forced me to watch the show. And, to my disappointment what started as a fresh an empowering concept ended up becoming just the opposite. The story of a strong female protagonist is inspiring and worthy of appreciation but at the end she is made to confirm to certain societal and patriarchal standards, succumb to male ego (that too happily) is sheer injustice to the concept of the show. Further, liberal women are branded as home breakers and whatever Male lead does is justified because he is a male (yes he actually says it himself in one of the episodes). The fact that the show has been accepted and appreciated widely in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh just reflects how conservative and sick our mentality is as a society. A good plot and a good actress wasted.

If you're looking for a realistic love story to watch, this movie is the best one to start with. Abhay Deol standing upto his ideals of not promoting typical bollywood stereotypes, does justice to his role. The movie starts with a realistic trajectory ultimately culminating to an ethical conundrum. The dilemma is responded to by the protagonist in 'a human way' rather than being 'unnecssarily heroic' or acting typical bollywood Savior or god. Human beings are product of their circumstances and cannot ever operate in White and black is the underlining theme of the story. It's sad that we are accustomed to watching unrealistic DDLJ types. Watching it in 2021would make it a bit difficult to relate to 2006's social context and light scenes. But they are very minimum and can be skipped or forwarded. I liked few songs too. This movie is better than Deol's often promoted movies like Dev D and Manorama 6Feet Under. I just wish he hadn't given up on Bollywood altogether. What he started long back in 2000s is gaining popularity in Bollywood 2 decades later. To Abhay Deol ❤️

Novel storyline, good storytelling. Don't expect edgy drama because it has been realistically made as the lead is not seasoned criminal. Bit slow paced. But overall it's good. Shahid looked the part, Carried the role nicely! Vijay Sethupathi... nicely written character! Very believable character...no hot shot unnecessary drama. He feels comfortable in his skin .. lethargic, unfit, non violent, imperfect yet effective and committed! Sethupathi added charm to his character. One major complaint is the excessive use of one particular slang. 1. It should not be used at all in 2023. There are 100s of other non-offensive slangs. 2. The use of the slang seems deliberate on the face of it. Slangs are organic and naturally delivered!

2.5 stars out 5 Good acting, production, cast, sets, bgm etc. Good job on depiction of Akbar's policies, empire's prosperity, debauchery etc. But they forgot to work on dialogues/language. It felt like shoot k time hi dialogue decide kar lenge. Engaging and fast moving plot. Does not get boring till episode 4-5. But after that, looks like makers forgot what they were making (quest for throne) and shifted the entire series to salim-anarkali fictionalized love story. Had to watch episodes 5-8 in 2x speed to know something worthwhile happened, but turned out to be wastage of time. Moreover, makers could only read first few pages of history to make characters accurate and then closed the book and imagined the rest of the story to finish the series somehow. I had high expectations after 3 episodes but utterly disappointed. I don't understand how such fine actors like Naseer Saab end up doing such inaccurate and dissatisfying dramas.

Movie with a purpose. Doesn't deviate from the track, doesn't display unnecessary tracks and scenes. Direction is perfect till the end. Right dialogues at right time with right messages and correct emotional punches at right places make this movie worth watching. The characters are relatable and practical. No effort has been made to make it look dramatic unnecessarily. Rani Mukherjee does justice to the role.

Such a long journey of Omar covered tactfully in 1 hour 32 minutes. Film opens well explaining the details of how and why omar got involved into this world. The film then sets to portray the 'achievements' of Omar spanning years. This part could have been much more than fact telling and scattered pieces. The story of Daniel Pearl's murder has been researched and expressed very well. The film cotinues to feel the viewer thrilled and horrified with the life of Omar Sheikh because of Rajkumar Rao's spectacular portyal of the character. It also provides an insight as to how the young men are brainwashed. Had the director made it a 2 hour film, he could have very well supplied the missing elements from the movie such as transformation of Omar into such a violent character and the motivations behind the major crimes he committed. Overall, the film is worth the time. Sadly it couldnt earn at the box office because of Infinity War.