game

Release date: 01.04.2011

What: Four strangers from different parts of the world land up on a remote Greek island after receiving an invitation — only to find the millionaire who sent the invite, dead.

Thumbs up: The exotic locations, Kartik Vijay’s camerawork.

Thumbs down: Too boring for a thriller, the half-baked characters, lacklustre acting.

t2 review: It’s a film that takes itself too seriously and is yet never serious enough to have a plot that is credible and edge-of-the-seat.

Verdict: FLOP

faltu

Release date: 01.04.2011

What: Fed up with the education system, some 20-somethings set up an alternative ‘college’ in this desi version of Holly howler Accepted.

Thumbs up: Sachin-Jigar’s music, some fun moments in the first half.

Thumbs down: Lack of logic and lack of spark.

t2 review: If you are looking for some low-brow humour, then Faltu may just make the cut. But why take the risk?

Verdict: Above average

THANK YOU

Release date: 08.04.2011

What: Akshay Kumar plays love guru to three married philanderers — and then turns the tables on them. A horror ride from start to finish.

Thumbs up: You must be joking!

Thumbs down: The whole film.

t2 review: The dialogues range from disgusting to even more disgusting. Someone threatens someone with: “Main tumhara chaddi banaa doonga!” Get the brief?

Verdict: Flop

teen thay bhai

Release date: 15.04.2011

What: Three brothers who can’t stand each other have to fulfil a clause to inherit their grandfather’s wealth — spend a night together in a cabin. With disastrous results — for the audience.

Thumbs up: A few funny moments.

Thumbs down: Boring and banal.

t2 review: Teen Thay Bhai is an opportunity lost. At a time when big Bolly is falling flat on its formulaic face, even half-decent small films could have partied at the box office. But there’s very little to recommend in this assault on the senses.

Verdict: FLOP

dum maaro dum

Release date: 22.04.2011

What: Relationships and friendships, lives and loves are put on the line in this Rohan Sippy-directed thriller set against the backdrop of Goa’s drug underbelly.

Thumbs up: The edgy and zippy narrative, Abhishek’s cop act, Deepika Padukone in the title track, Pritam’s music.

Thumbs down: Overlong, plot gets too complex.

t2 review: A scratchy trip through Paradise Lost, Dum Maaro Dum has its moments of wis-dum and ran-dum but when you hear that familiar scratch of the guitar, it’s Paradise Regained.

Verdict: Average

zokkomon

Release date: 22.04.2011

What: Ill-treated by his greedy uncle, an orphan enlists the help of a scientist and metamorphoses into a superhero.

Thumbs up: An earnest Darsheel Safary.

Thumbs down: Tends to drag, lacks logic.

t2 review: While a superhero film doesn’t always call for logic, not many scenes in Zokkomon come across as convincing.

Verdict: FLOP

chalo dilli

Release date: 29.04.2011

What: Stranded in Rajasthan, a high-flying Mumbai executive and a garrulous businessman from Delhi have to depend on each other to reach the capital. Along the way, the strangers turn into friends for life.

Thumbs up: A few laugh-out-loud moments, Vinay Pathak.

Thumbs down: A copy-paste narrative, a banal second half.

t2 review: Despite its predictability and ho-hum second half, it is Vinay Pathak who makes ChaloDilli watchable.

Verdict: FLOP

shor in the city

Release date: 29.04.2011

What: An ensemble film about lives colliding and crashing in Mumbai set against the backdrop of the underworld, traces the journey of four protagonists, struggling to stay alive even as external forces overpower them.

Thumbs up: The hatke premise, some edge-of-the-seat moments, powerhouse performances, the Saibo number.

Thumbs down: Too niche.

t2 review: Shor in the City is packed with moments... that nibble at your nails. Moments that make your mouth go dry.

Verdict: AVERAGE

i am

Release date: 29.04.2011

What: Hope and fear, shame and trepidation find a voice in this four-in-one film from the maker of My Brother Nikhil.

Thumbs up: Strong performances, the gripping script, the sensitive handling of the subjects.

Thumbs down: The fact that it didn’t draw crowds.

t2 review: For a film, which was funded Rs 500 at a time from supporters through social networks, I Am is a monumental achievement.

Verdict: FLOP

luv ka the end

Release date: 06.05.2011

What: Taken for a ride by the man she loves, a college girl vows to make him pay. With hilarious results.

Thumbs up: The fun, young feel.

Thumbs down: The loopy second half.

t2 review: Luv Ka The End’s got attitude. Loads of it. The kind Gen-Yo ‘likes’ and ‘follows’.

Verdict: FLOP

haunted

Release date: 06.05.2011

What: A young man must travel back in time to prevent a girl from being raped in this Vikram Bhatt film, India’s first 3D outing and Mithun’s son Mimoh’s (now known as Mahaakshay) comeback vehicle.

Thumbs up: The novelty of Bollywood in 3D.

Thumbs down: Too many to count.

t2 review: As for the 3D, well the trailers on TV end with the screaming line: “Imagine this on 3D”. They should place the same line at the end of the movie.

Verdict: ABOVE AVERAGE

ragini mms

Release date: 13.05.2011

What: A weekend of sex, lies and videotape goes awry for a couple when they discover a spooky presence in their love nest.

Thumbs up: The unrelenting tension, the spook-a-minute screenplay.

Thumbs down: Tends to drag in Half Two.

t2 review: Ragini MMS is that rare Bollywood horror film which understands that your best bet to scare the audience is not with what you show but with what you don’t show.

Verdict: AVERAGE

stanley ka dabba

Release date: 13.05.2011

What: A young boy incurs the wrath of his gluttonous schoolteacher when he fails to bring his lunch dabba. A simple story with a heart.

Thumbs up: The restrained performances, the engaging plot.

Thumbs down: Lack of publicity.

t2 review: As the dabba opens compartment by compartment, we stop looking for plot or pace, twist or turn, and just soak in the bitter-sweet vignettes of school life that many of us have had the privilege to experience.

Verdict: FLOP

shagird

Release date: 13.05.2011

What: A hard-hitting film on the corrupt ways of the power-happy, Shagird marked the acting debut of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. The under-publicised film came and went within a week.

Thumbs up: The ballsy plot, powerhouse performances led by Nana Patekar.

Thumbs down: Lack of publicity.

Verdict: FLOP

love you... mr kalakaaR!

Release date: 13.05.2011

What: A pair of lovers overcome the obstacles set by society in this regressive Rajshri film.

Thumbs up: An earnest Tusshar Kapoor.

Thumbs down: Too many to count.

t2 review: Love U… Mr Kalakaar! comes three decades too late. A yawanathon from start to finish.

Verdict: FLOP

pyaar ka punchnama

Release date: 20.05.2011

What: Three bachelor boys discover that they are better off without love in this wannabe Dil Chahta Hai.

Thumbs up: The fresh cast, some genuine ROFL moments, the music.

Thumbs down: Too long, a convoluted second half, stereotypical.

t2 review: What starts out as a fun ride of laughter, jokes and camaraderie gives way to fights, tears and emotional manipulation. And stifled yawns.

Verdict: ABOVE AVERAGE

KUCCH LUV JAISAA

Release date: 27.05.2011

What: A bored homemaker meets a criminal on the run. And the fun starts.

Thumbs up: Credible performances from Rahul Bose and Shefaali Shah, the fun first half.

Thumbs down: Too slow, the boring second half.

t2 review: By the time the intermission arrives, you’re thinking Madhu is quite brainless and asks too many questions, and Raghav is quite crude.

Verdict: FLOP

ready

Release date: 03.06.2011

What: A young man does all it takes to win over the family of the woman he loves.

Thumbs up: Salman Khan, some fun moments, Pritam’s music — especially Character dheela and Dhinka chika.

Thumbs down: A slow first half, lack of genuine jokes, poor production values.

t2 review: Ripping off his shirt to reveal his rippling six-pack, jumping off buildings in one gravity-defying stunt after another, spouting smart-liners... Ready is the Salman Khan Show.

Verdict: BLOCKBUSTER

shaitan

Release date: 10.06.2011

What: Five youngsters high on drink and drug kill a couple under their car, only to find themselves sinking deeper into the abyss of lies, deception and, finally, murder.

Thumbs up: The edgy treatment, the uninhibited performances, the music.

Thumbs down: Repetitive in parts.

t2 review: A heady concoction of action and reaction, dizzy drama and hard-hitting violence, Shaitan has you in its grip from first to last, keeping you glued to the edge of your plex seat.

Verdict: FLOP

love express

Release date: 10.06.2011

What: Engaged to be married, a girl and boy find ways and means to break off the relationship, only to fall in love in the process in this Socha Na Tha copy.

Thumbs up: The fun premise.

Thumbs down: Poor direction, bad performances.

Verdict: FLOP

always kabhi kabhi

Release date: 17.06.2011

What: A group of friends grapple with the pangs of growing up in this back-to-school flick produced by Shah Rukh Khan.

Thumbs up: A story with potential, the earnest performances.

Thumbs down: Wide off the mark.

t2 review: Boring and banal, with a storyline that packs in too much and yet goes nowhere, Always Kabhi Kabhi is a waste of those 125 minutes of your weekend and those 200 bucks in your pocket.

Verdict: FLOP

bhindi baazaar inc

Release date: 17.06.2011

What: Two rival gangs of pick-pockets operating in the seedy Mumbai underbelly will stop at nothing — not even murder — to further their ambitions.

Thumbs up: The winning cast, led by Kay Kay Menon and Pawan Malhotra.

Thumbs down: Too predictable.

Verdict: FLOP

bheja fry 2

Release date: 17.06.2011

What: Bharat Bhushan The Idiot returns with double the tricks but half the laughs in this remake of the 2007 sleeper hit.

Thumbs up: Vinay Pathak, some laugh-out-loud moments.

Thumbs down: Not a patch on the first film.

t2 review: Not only is the novelty factor gone, the charming innocence is lost as the scenes look too contrived and calculated and the film tries to hop from one gag to another.

Verdict: FLOP

bin bulaye baraati

Release date: 17.06.2011

What: An underworld don’s suitcase containing gold and expensive jewellery gets into the wrong hands. Then begins the chase to get the suitcase back. The rest isn’t worth remembering.

Thumbs up: Mallika Sherawat’s Shalu number.

Thumbs down: The rest of the film.

Verdict: FLOP

DOUBLE DHAMAAL

Release date: 24.06.2011

What: Four friends out to make a quick buck land up in one sticky situation after another in this sequel to the 2007 rib-tickler.

Thumbs up: Mallika Sherawat as Jalebi Bai.

Thumbs down: Not a patch on the first one.

t2 review: Double Dhamaal has no intention of tickling you. The idea is to torment you.

Verdict: ABOVE AVERAGE

delhi belly

Release date: 01.07.2011

What: A case of mistaken identities and missing packages results in a comedy of errors. Producer Aamir Khan churns out the most irreverent and uninhibited Gen-Y film ever made in Bollywood.

Thumbs up: The no-holds-barred look, language and feel, the superlative performances, Ram Sampath’s music led by DK Bose.

Thumbs down: Too much toilet humour.

t2 review: Bhaag bhaag to a movie theatre near you and treat your Calcutta belly to some laughter.

Verdict: EXCELLENT START

bbuddah hoga terra baap

Release date: 01.07.2011

What: Amitabh Bachchan rehashes some of his most famous scenes and songs, looks and films to play a contract killer in this mindless but masaledaar flick.

Thumbs up: Amitabh Bachchan.

Thumbs down: Lacks logic, too many characters, threadbare plot.

t2 review: The plot is next to nothing, the characters are one too many and the screenplay disjointed, but you don’t really care as long as a 6’2” frame keeps your eyeballs engaged.

Verdict: AVERAGE START

FAST FORWARD TO QUARTER 3

zindagi na milegi dobara This Zoya Akhtar film shot extensively in Spain, the biggie of the quarter, boasts the likes of Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay and Katrina. The promos are cool, the music — led by Ik junoon and Senorita — even cooler.	singham After Gangaajal, Ajay Devgn returns as a tough cop in this no-holds-barred actioner directed by Golmaal maker Rohit Shetty.	AARAKSHAN A year after Raajneeti, Prakash Jha directs this multistarrer focussing on the caste quota in the education system in the Hindi heartland. The line-up — Amitabh Bachchan to Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone to Prateik — makes Aarakshan a must-watch.
BODYGUARD Salman plays bodyguard to Kareena Kapoor in this remake of the Malayalam blockbuster by the same name. The Sallu biggie this Eid.	MERE BROTHER ki dulhan Katrina Kaif plays the woman sandwiched between her fiance (Ali Zafar) and the fiance’s brother (Imran Khan) in this Yash Raj production.	MAUSAM Shahid Kapoor gets all serious — sporting a moustache — as an Air Force pilot in this September release which marks the directorial debut of his dad Pankaj Kapoor. Sonam Kapoor co-stars.