Toilet—Ek Prem Katha, Review by Siraj Syed: Loo and behold! There is no point getting revolted by the title. Any fear that the film might have ‘dirty’ scenes can be laid to rest by the realisation that we have a robust Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that sanitises every film before release. And almost every Indian knows that the current Prime Minister launched a campaign two-and-a-half years ago, to ensure that millions of villages and small towns in rural India ...

Siraj Syed reviews Raees: Contentious content, alias “Don’t call me Battery” Ra.One did it. Don 2 had done it. Raees, wherein he plays a Don once more, adds to his raeesy. Superstar ShahRukh Khan must be a happy man these days, heading in the right direction, hitting the road to Hitsville.Touted as the block-buster of the year, Raees, about a small-time bootlegger who wrangles his way to the top and becomes not only raees (Urdu for ‘rich’) but filthy rich, has no...

Siraj Syed reviews Wajah Tum Ho: Rapists and therapists, aka Serial Killing on a News Channel Some people just deserve to die. There must be a mistake. Are you talking to me? Are you suggesting that I have done something that ... No, not you. Then who? The corrupt Assistant Commissioner of Police who preys on young lovers in parking lots, and extorts sex the teenage girl-friend in a guest-house, in return for letting them off. Isn’t this the same cop who is blackmailing a Mumbai-ba...

Siraj Syed reviews Beiimaan Love: Bed bet It’s as old as the hills: rich brat leads a virtuous-but-sexy woman down the garden path, discards her like a soiled tissue, roles get reversed, hunter becomes prey, exploited heroine strikes back, lays out an elaborate game-plan, and ‘vengeance is mine’. Would you make a film on this theme with a former porn-star in the central role and her current husband as her comrade-in-arms? Not if you weighed the odds. Yes if you felt that tho...

Siraj Syed reviews Fuddu: Fuddy Duddy Cuddy in the Nuddy You wouldn’t use this f word if you called yourself a gentleman. In their wisdom, the makers of this misbegotten enterprise have named it Fuddu. Heaven knows why. I cannot recall even one occasion in the film when the word as mouthed, probably because the locale is Mumbai and the characters are all from Varanasi, where the culture is anything but Punjabi. Some Punjabis, and maybe Delhi-ites, who revel in the use of colourful langu...

Ek Paheli Leela, Review: ‘Porn’ again? Sunny Leone plays Meera, the pseudo-Italian model/performer who sets England ablaze with her hot numbers and even hotter anatomy. (Italy is the favourite real-life destination of the 34 year-old Canada-born porn-star, whose real name is Karenjit Kaur Vohra). A long and high profile assignment in the desert of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, follows the London extravaganza, but Meera has a mental condition that makes her terrified of flying, so ...