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Critics Review
2.50
Ambitious but flawed
Bombay Velvet never looked exciting from day one. However one kept misgivings away owing to Anurag Kahsyap�s track record. He is ambitious here, like he always has, is meticulous and severely careful in recreating an era. Sadly, he seems to have taken up more than he can chew. Working with stars, a scale of this kind, a story this vast, perhaps was too early for him. Bombay Velvet falls flat, never raising enough to pass muster. Watch it only for the curiosity factor(more)
Source: Ameet Bhuvan, MovieCrow
2.50
Bombay Velvet has neither the softness of velvet nor the sweep of the city it is an ode to.
The most striking aspects of Bombay Velvet are its evocative visual texture and its lush and layered sound design. But these, unfortunately, can only be external accoutrements for an ambitious film that clearly aspires to be infinitely more than the sum of its superficial parts. Meticulous is indeed the word to describe the way director Anurag Kashyap and his team recreate the eventful past of an urban sprawl that was carved out of seven separate islands and turned into one landmass through multiple reclamations from the sea. The Bombay Velvet plot is littered with street fights, shootouts and murders on the one hand, and jazz soirees, bitter tabloid wars, fierce political rivalries, deadly depredations of land sharks and labour unrest on the other. The remarkably redolent period detailing, however, stays largely on the surface. It does not seep into the core of the crime thriller set against the transformation of Bombay into a city of dreams and deep divisions.(more)
Source: Saibal Chatterjee , NDTV Movies
2.00
Bombay Velvet is an epic misfire
An emotionally overwrought aria -- complete with black tears brimming down kohl�d cold eyes -- the song transcends the film and strikes operatically at the heart. Both movie and audience hold their collective breath, and despite the tedium that follows this track, this cinematic sucker-punch is enough to remind us of Kashyap�s potent flammability. Too bad the rest of the film doesn�t really sing -- or singe.(more)
Source: Raja Sen., Rediff.com
3.50
BOMBAY VELVET is a visual masterpiece that is rich in form.
BOMBAY VELVET is bound to change the way you look at him. He is bound to stun everyone with his acting debut. He gets into his character so effortlessly that you can't think of anyone else having played that role so effortlessly. He is outstanding in a scene where he goes out of the room to laugh uncontrollably at Balraj's demands.If you want to be wowed by the detailing of the 1960s, superb performances of Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar and Anushka Sharma, then go ahead and watch this film.(more)
Source: Bollywood Hungama News Network, Bollywood Hungama
3.00
Ranbir-Anushka sizzle, but where's the intensity?
Detailing is Bombay Velvet�s real deal and that makes it a watchable movie. Also, don�t expect it to be another film on the line of Gangs Of Wasseypur 1 and 2. This time, it�s more about the masses.(more)
Source: Rohit Vats, Hindustan Times
3.00
Bombay Velvet is a visually enjoyable period drama.
Anurag Kashyap is a true storyteller and this time he shows us a Gangs Of Wasseypur which is jazzed up with clubs, cigars, vintage cars and Tommy guns. Kashyap is successful in drawing us into this warped love story in the first half but loses his grip in the second. He tries to put too many characters and elements to an actually simplistic and cliched story and that is where the film lacks content wise. When it comes to the art direction, the film is top notch and in fact it could be termed as one of the best retro representations so far.(more)
Source: Surabhi Redkar, Koimoi
3.00
Grandeur, romance and all that Jazz
Bombay Velvet doesn't match up to the expectations one had from it. Despite all the grandiosity, one needs to be well-equipped in patience in order to savour the film. The external embellishments render the film quite heavy. It teeters on the edge, but ultimately manages to sail through. Bombay Velvet is grand, exquisite, elaborate ... and deserves a watch for Kashyap's style. (more)
Source: Ananya Bhattacharya , India Today
