Simran Reviews by Critics

Simran Review by Indicine

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Simran has the looks and feel of an English indie film because of the cinematography and the costume design which is accentuated by the fine production design. If director Hansal Mehta wanted the indie look for his film, the crew has delivered on that count perfectly. The editing of the film is decent although Simran has a tendency to feel overlong even at a mere 2 hours of running time. The songs of Simran are decent and give the treatment of the film nice little touches. 1 song should have remained on the cutting floor.

Simran Review by Bollywood Hungama

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SIMRAN has a decent beginning. The first 10-15 minutes are spent in character introductions and also the Las Vegas sequence and it makes for a nice watch. But as soon as Simran turns into a habitual gambler, the film falls and never goes up again. There?s no logic to her actions and it gets bewildering after a point as to what?s going on in the film. One doesn?t feel any empathy for Praful. Neither does she seem to be a smart badass, if that was the intention of the makers. Besides, there?s too much of English and Gujarati in the film that dilutes the commercial element of the film. There are too many cinematic liberties in the movie which takes the audience for granted. Even the audio isn?t clear in certain scenes and hence certain English dialogues aren?t even audible. SIMRAN comes across as a show reel for Kangana Ranaut ? notice how she is there in every scene!

Simran Review by Shubhra Gupta on Indian Express

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First things first. If anyone had any doubt that an Indian leading lady cannot carry a full film on her shoulders, banish that thought. Kangana Ranaut drives from the front seat, and everyone else follows. While that is an entirely wonderful thing, that also becomes a failing. Because there?s altogether too much of Kangana in the film: the story gives her enough to do in the first half, and we are fully engaged and absorbed. And, then it slides into slushy territory. That?s called too much of a good thing.

Simran Review by Manjusha Radhakrishnan on Gulfnews

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The introduction of Soham Shah as the eligible suitor with a strong moral compass complicates it further. But Shah and the supporting actors do their bit in allowing Patel to shine. It?s Ranaut?s show all the way. But the movie suffers from over-crowding of genres. There?s humour, there?s tragedy, there?s violence and there?s drama, but it may not always come together as a whole. The songs that are inserted to highlight Patel?s plight are overdone. Just like its grey heroine, the film is studded with hits and misses. Reserve this for a one-time watch as it?s incredible to see Ranaut play a self-destructive rebel. But if you are looking for a cohesive cinematic piece, then you are looking at the wrong film.

Review by Rohit Bhatnagar on Deccan Chronicle

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When the trailer was out, it had a strong resemblance to Queen. The story of a free spirited female who lives her life on her own conditions is what Kangana’s portrayal in Simran is. Director Hansal Mehta is a brilliant director who handles such a simple story with great conviction. The film might lack on an extraordinary plot but it has the funniest of dialogues. The hook point of the film is when she turns into kleptomaniac.

Review by Meena Iyer on The Times Of India

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The only one who is having a good time here is Kangana. Whether she’s docile or daring, the actress goes about her screen business with a flourish; getting her mannerisms pat. However, there are occasions when even she gets carried away with the constant focus. But then again, is she really to be blamed? The filmmaker doesn’t even have another noteworthy star on celluloid to share the limelight. Simran’s parents and her fiancee, Sameer (Sohum) and other actors–foreign and desi–don’t quite add up. Frankly, you can’t emotionally invest in Simran or root for her as much as you might want to. But when you watch the film, you will find yourself warming up to her occasionally, because she’s all you’ve got. Let’s give Kangana her due.

Review by Mohar Basu on Mid-Day India

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Director Hansal Mehta and his writers ? Apurva Asrani and Kangana, herself, give a novel spin to this dark and twisted story. They borrow the title from DDLJ, making a realistic parody of how women have changed since 1995. ‘Jee le apni zindagi’ is no longer about finding the man of your dreams. It’s about achieving what one’s heart desires. The narrative is layered with deep-rooted optimism, giving it the edgy fairytale feel. And they achieve all of it without romanticising or glorifying Praful’s crimes. It must’ve been tricky but therein lies the power of the plot. Despite being ridden with several clich?s, the effort to be inventive is unmissable. A special mention here is for the dialogues ? which are bound to leave you in splits. The beauty of Hansal’s direction is that the story has its grim, poignant, heartbreaking and a few high-strung emotional moments but he never lets the humour go missing.

Review by Lokesh Dharmani on Masala

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There was so much to like in Simran, yet it left me disappointed. It felt like my favorite Diwali cracker that flickered for a good 20 seconds promising a big blast, before suddenly going all phuss. More like, much ado about nothing!

Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror

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Weighed down by the pressure of carrying this film on her slender shoulders, Kangana Ranaut’s Praful seems like one who can’t tell ‘frank’ from ‘cocky’. Agreed, a character who chooses to lead life on her own terms shouldn’t be bothered to process her thoughts or engage in internal monologue. But Kangana’s Praful is also consistently high-on-life and supremely docile. When a suspicious man with dreadlocks ushers you to a corner and lobs wads of cash at you to continue gambling, you don’t respond with, “You give me money, you’re a nice person.” That the actress puts her back-and-a-half into it is evident, and having played many a emotionally warped females in films, this one would seem like a dhokla-walk. But while she delivers to a certain extent, her character is written with barely enough depth to justify her actions. Kishore Shahane and Hiten Kumar as Praful’s obsessively protective and overbearing parents are near-flawless and carry the weight of their character’s concerns and regrets in every frame. Almost like a feminist comeback, Sohum Shah’s dispensable love interest role seems like an afterthought. Director Hansal Mehta, whose realistic and cinematic portrayals in films such as Aligarh and Shahid have proven the deft and detailing of his work, fails to straddle genres here and Simran seems like a classic case of too many cooks pickle the undhiyo.

Review by Suhani Singh on India Today

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Unsurprisingly Ranaut is the centrepiece present in every frame to demonstrate Praful’s many frailties and charms. Her Gujarati accent is far more credible than the one heard from an actress in a Europe-set romance. Ranaut is entirely invested in the character, often at the cost of laughing loudly and alone at some poorly constructed jokes. Ranaut brings flippancy to the character that often feels misplaced given Praful’s circumstances. The remains of Queen’s Rani are evident throughout, be it in the breakdown that Praful has in a public space (casino), dancing like nobody’s watching at a wedding or her willingness to make a fool of herself, but the result is not as engaging or charming.

Review by Sarita A Tanwar on DNA India

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Kangana Ranaut is the star of the film. Literally. Apart from her, there is not a single actor you can name. She is delightful in every scene and in character throughout. Only problem is that she seems to have played a messed up character many times before. But still, another noteworthy performance from her. Sonam Shah plays the role of the good boy rather well.

Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning

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Based loosely on the story of the Bombshell Bandit – Punjabi girl Sandeep Kaur, Simran could either be a great comic caper or a tragic story of greed gone wrong. It’s neither.

Review by Tushar P Joshi on Bollywood Life

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The best thing that works for Simran is also it?s biggest flaw. Kangana?s character overshadows every other character in the film. Most of the supporting characters seem to be written to serve Kangana and further showcase her acting chops. It gets boring and becomes uni-dimensional early on. Also there is a bit of fatigue that sets in with Kangana?s performance. She needs to take a break from playing identical characters. Back in the day she was typecast as the problem child, who has a dark past, now she?s trapped playing the bohemian wild child with an unpredictable personality. Kangana?s earlier performances ? be it Queen or Tanu Weds Manu ? have appealed also because they were backed by a solid supporting cast which is clearly amiss in Simran. Kangana delivers yet another award-worthy performance. But we wish the plot did more justice to her versatility. Simran is only a one time watch.

Review by Ritika Handoo on Zeenews

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Kangana is funny, fiesty and full of life. The audience will surely be amazed at the kind of versatility the actress has shown. There are a few songs but not the ones which you will take home after the film gets over. The title track ‘Simran’ by Sachin-Jigar is nice and breezy. You must watch ‘Simran’ only for appreciating the brilliance of ‘Queen’ Kangana Ranaut.

Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies

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Something else I liked about the film was that the makers did not delve in her marital past and come up with a sob story for her divorce in order to garner sympathy for her character. Also, Praful?s bitter-sweet relationship with her parents is quite real and relatable, unlike the way parents and their kids are portrayed in regular Bollywood films.

Review by IANS on Sify

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Director Hansal Mehta has taken oodles of cinematic liberty to create situations and trying to pass them as existent. Praful’s character, however, is a well-etched one. He manages to make the lives of the Indian diaspora – their values, struggles, fears look real. The film is racy and although the second half seems a tad long, it never really lets you stifle a yawn. Laced with abundance of humour, some straight- faced and witty dialogues, Kangana essays Praful Patel with her characteristic panache.

Review by Sweta Kaushal on Hindustan Times

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With Simran, Hansal took a detour from his own style of cinema – dark, real tales of mostly marginalised people. Perhaps, he wanted to make a happy, light-hearted film that celebrates an independent-minded woman. However, what we get to see onscreen is a messy mocktail of a star and a well-written, strong character gone wrong in a narrative that fails to keep things from falling apart.

Review by Vaihayasi Pande Daniel on Rediff

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If you have never seen Kangana Ranaut on screen before (like me) and instead know more about her in real life and the spirited controversies and feuds that seem to happily follow her about, you realise that the actress puts a lot of herself into a screen role or at least this role. The feisty, mooh-phat, ‘frank’, fighter Praful/Simran has similarities with the Kangana The Rebel that you read about. The dialogue that comes out of the mouths of the rest of the cast in Simran are enjoyably salty too and archetypical.

Review by Rajeev Masand on News18

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There?s ample meat in the story, yet the writing itself is weak. The film?s second half feels particularly sloppy, and don?t even get me started on the caricaturish villains. But it?s a testament to Kangana?s full-blooded performance that Simran works despite these complaints. She?s in excellent form, an artiste at the top of her game, as she gives us another indelible character in the perplexing Praful Patel. Come to think of it, the movie?s no slog. Mehta keeps the pace going, and delivers some terrific moments that?ll make you smile.

Review by Vishal Verma on Glamsham

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As the idea behind the title of this film SIMRAN demands an extra dose of patience, tolerance and imagination, Hansal Mehta had an interesting badass women robber – the bombshell bandit to churn into an intriguing piece of cinema like his previous SHAHID and ALIGARH which were based on characters from real life but this time in order to turn a bit quirky it turned murky resulting in a lost bet.

Review by Meeta on Wogma

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The various facets of Kangna Ranaut’s character push you to dislike her. The commentary on financial mismangement and general irresponsibility of the millenials seem exaggerated and yet, ring true. The struggle of Indian parents and children in America to be both American and Indian at the same time isn’t new. But put together, they make the film a rich experience that cannot be slotted into one genre. My heart leaped with joy at the climax. If only, the 20-30 minutes in the second half didn’t distance you from the film.

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