Tamasha Reviews by Critics

AVERAGE RATING OF ALL REVIEWS: 3

Tamasha Review by Indicine

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Imtiaz Ali is in fine fine form with Tamasha. His flair for direction, for beautiful frames, for Delhi, for abstract themes, for cinematic subtleties, for non-linear storytelling comes to the fore with Tamasha once again. Tamasha is charming, hypnotic because of the director Imtiaz and his panache for these sort of coming-of-age love stories. Tamasha is a niche film which might even seem a bit slow to few but if you stick with it, the bounty is fulfilling. His ability to extract career best performances from his leads is nothing new and it continues with Tamasha.

Tamasha Review by Bollywood Hungama

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There were extremely high expectations from the film’s director Imtiaz Ali, whose last film was the hard hitting HIGHWAY. The sad part is that with TAMASHA, Imtiaz Ali fails to live upto the expectations and falls flat with the film. The movie suffers from a plot that appears confusing and is convoluted for an avid cinegoer. The film fails to bear the trademark way of his writing and the quintessential ‘Imtiaz Ali’ style of film making. His direction fails to complement the screenplay and vice versa. The movie is not a regular run of the mill flick and the proceedings are clearly aimed at the classes rather than the masses. The film’s first 20 minutes that aims to setup the tempo and establish the character of Ranbir, might appear as boring to some. While (comparatively) the film’s first half is refreshing, the film’s second half seems to drag majorly. This hampers the film and acts as a spoilsport in the progress of the film. While on one hand, the movie gets entangled in a web of its own plot while trying to resolve Ranbir’s identity crisis, on the other hand, the movie does have its ‘wow’ and ‘not to be missed’ moments in the form of the proceedings in Corsica, Deepika’s first meeting with Ranbir in India, Ranbir’s outburst and also Ranbir’s ‘storytelling’ to his parents.

Tamasha Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies

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In a film that belongs essentially to a superb Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika does not let the screenplay shortchange her. If Ranbir is exhilarating in scenes and situations that tap his versatility, Deepika is sure and steady even when the spotlight isn’t on her and she is reduced to playing second fiddle. Tamasha is at best a one-time watch because of the sparkle the leads lend to it. It could have been so much more.

Tamasha Review by Pallavi Patra on Zeenews

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Ali’s direction is, as expected, pretty good. However, the story at times lays stale – ridden with mere mishmash of cinematography and vivid colours of Corsica, offering not much until the first half. The second half, however, accentuates the intensity of the film, thanks to Ranbir’s powerful performance and Deepika’s contribution to the plot – which runs on the emotional ambiguity of the two characters.

Tamasha Review by Rukmini Chopra on Bollywood Life

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The film is haphazard in its treatment and lacks spontaneity. The first half of Tamasha is predictable. Where RK lives up to his eccentric, impulsive avatar in the first half, Deepika stumbles to play her part with the same conviction. Moreover, her character doesn’t have much to offer. So blame it on the writing. Imtiaz Ali gives us yet another soul searching film after Highway and Rockstar. After having watched Tamasha, I wish to ask Imtiaz, “What next?” Though this topic seems to be close to the director’s heart, I can’t help but think that Imtiaz’s creativity is stagnating with the same soul searching ventures over and over again. I wish to see a different plot from the filmmaker for his next. There are parts where Tamasha will test your patience. The sequences drag on unnecessarily and soon, this venture comes across as a mere compilation of scenes, having no flow. Till the time RK’s solo plot starts, this venture doesn’t have much to offer.

Review by Ananya Bhattacharya on India Today

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In all, Tamasha is vintage wine. There are inhibitions that keep you from falling head-over-heels in love with the film the first time you watch it. Once done away with the initial hesitation, Tamasha is an experience. Watch the film for, well, everything.

Review by Shubha Shetty-Saha on Mid-Day India

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What didn’t work was that the film was unnecessarily stretched to two and half hours. Besides, there were one or two logic-defying, difficult-to-relate-to scenes which seemed forcibly introduced to take the story forward.

Review by Shubhra Gupta on Indian Express

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I really liked a lot of the second half. There’s so much good stuff going on, including the pair which strays, and then journeys towards each other. Despite its flaws, this is Ali’s most complex story, teeming with ideas, and gives us Ranbir back again, along with the lovely Deepika, even if the plot keeps losing sight of her : there are tracts when she goes missing.

Review by Mehul S Thakkar on Deccan Chronicle

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Imtiaz Ali, in this film, creates a different world and makes you believe in it till the last shot of the film. The movie isn’t a conventional love story, but every emotion has been layered with justification that only Imtiaz could pull off successfully. This ‘Tamasha’ is definitely to be seen again and again. Going by the full house that came in to see the film for a 9 am show, Ranbir Kapoor had never lost any audience despite 3 flops in row.

Review by Martin D’Souza on Glamsham

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However, given these flaws, TAMASHA moves on and entertains. The finale matches the mood of the film as sparks fly between Ranbir and Deepika once again. Apart from the two, it’s Vivek Mushran (the ILU ILU guy from SAUDAGAR) who shines in his role as Dev’s boss. Perfect.

Review by Sweta Kaushal on Hindustan Times

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Tamasha could have been, but is certainly not, Imtiaz’s best – I found it better than Rockstar, but it is not as gripping as Highway. With Imtiaz’s intriguing take on love stories, scenic locations and brilliant acting by Ranbir and Deepika, it is a one-time watch, but nothing more.

Review by Sarita A Tanwar on DNA India

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The pace of the film is inconsistent, especially in the second half. Also, at one point in the latter part, the emphasis completely shifts from the love story, in which you’ve invested so much till then. Watch Tamasha because it’s beyond the ordinary and for the fantastic screen chemistry of Ranbir and Deepika.

Review by Sreehari Nair on Rediff

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But between all that templatisation, here, Ali, very briefly tries to document darkness without trying to verbalise it. Very briefly, we see an honest film and some three-dimensional characters. The dread in Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha feels real. The silliness, however, comes across as too orchestrated.

Review by Meena Iyer on The Times Of India

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If you watch Imtiaz Ali’s new film assuming that Deepika-Ranbir have unfinished business, you will forgive Tamasha its indulgence. The writer-director obviously knew he was dangling a carrot in front of these two Bollywood exes whose unrequited love has been gossip-column fodder for years now. And, they probably decided (this is an assumption) that if they hook up on screen once again, perhaps they could reach a closure.

Review by Rajeev Masand on IBNLive

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Expectedly, it’s the affecting performances of Ranbir and Deepika that keep you invested in the film until the end, even when the script feels like it’s going around in circles. Ranbir displays incredible maturity and just the right amount of restraint in a complex part, once again giving proof of his abundant talent. Deepika does the bulk of her work with those big expressive eyes, and conquers challenging scenes with natural ease. She practically steals the film, despite it being Ved’s story essentially.

Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror

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Tamasha would’ve been a dream on paper but a lot is lost in execution. Ranbir and Deepika’s offscreen chemistry may be history but a romcom set in a scenic geography is usually a recipe for success. Whether this will be enough to influence the film’s economics, we’ll have to wait and watch.

Review by Sonia Chopra on Sify

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Imtiaz Ali tells the story with delicious flourishes like that bit of absurdist theatre in the beginning complete with a unique introduction to our characters, and a trippy interlude where the fantasy characters including Aladdin’s genie come alive .

Tamasha Review by Indiaglitz

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Let’s just skip everything and start with what a wonder this Deepika Padukone lady is. She expresses, emotes, delivers and acts like a marvel in every scene. You cannot get your eyes of her in even a single scene. Ranbir, whose character the movie revolves around, plays his part with confidence and so much ease. He is brilliant and the switch in his character from being a fun-loving guy to a boring machine is commendable. And above all that, there is Ranbir and Deepika sparkling chemistry that makes us forget all the flaws that the movie may contain.

Review by Shishir Gautam on Nowrunning

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Imtiaz places two of the most competent actors we have from the current generation – Ranbir and Deepika – on screen to put his vision in act. And he is not let down. Ranbir proves his mettle yet again, as he delivers remarkable emotions scene after scene. But it is Deepika, who seems to be only getting better. The film’s most memorable scenes are with her.

Tamasha Review by Bollyspice

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Tamasha in every sense is a typical Imtiaz Ali movie – soulful music, a tragic love angle, beautiful cinematography and a different take on a known storyline – a movie which either you will love or you will hate depending on what you take away from it. In this movie, he uses an incredibly innovative style of story-telling using the backdrop of Ved’s obsession with stories and theatre. Add to that the oh-so-pristine locations of Corcisa captured by Ravi Varman and you have a piece of art that is visually so appealing! Of course, if we talk about the highlight of this movie it would definitely be the performances by the lead cast. It’s a delight to watch Ranbir Kapoor – frankly after movies like Rockstar and Barfi, there was never a doubt that with the right movies he can deliver soul steering performances. As Ved, who leads a mechanical life with his mediocre work but lights up every time a story is heard or told by him, Ranbir manages to connect with everyone who ever had to give up their passion for “stability”. But for me Deepika was the star; the movie revolves more around Ranbir but Deepika manages to make heads turn with an amazing performance. In a way this movie is closer to Rockstar than any of Imtiaz’s movies – I had always felt that Rockstar would have been more heartfelt if it had an actress who could make you fall in love with her and Deepika’s shows just how it could have been.

Review by meeta on Wogma

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Any film that makes you go into a thought circle like that has won me. While Tamasha might have aimed at it, it won’t make you get up and relook your life and the many faces you carry. It won’t make you rip off the mask you wear and let the beast in you out as soon as you walk out of the theater. But, if it makes you think in that direction for even a little bit, if it makes you look at your bipolar self which might just be normal, while making a genuine attempt at telling the same story differently, hasn’t it done its job?

Review by Lokesh Dharmani on Masala

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If the first half of the film lacked depth and hugely depended on an attempt to create ‘carefree’ characters in carefree Corsica, the second half became a tad loopy and gimmicky. The scenes where Ved goofs up in his work presentations or apologises to his boss were funny initially. After a point it was like, ‘Hey you liked that joke, wait I will crack that again!’ The final verdict? Should we go and watch? Umm yes! I feel Shagun Batra dealt with the same issue in Ek Main Aur Ek Tu a shade better, devoid of any dramatics, real and urbane. But Tamasha, despite bringing in a touch of tamasha, is a one-time watch for sure.

Review by Manjusha Radhakrishnan on Gulfnews

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Tamasha may have its heart in the right place, but the conflict in Ved and Tara’s lives will not get your pulse racing. The lead actors and Corsica look picture-perfect, but the movie isn’t free of blemishes.

Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies

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The first half of the film seems to be totally sponsored by the Tourism department of Corsica and if Ali thought he could pull wool over our eyes by showing us exotic locales, he was mistaken. In the absence of a strong storyline, the first half looks like a promotional video exhorting viewers to drop everything and book a flight to Corsica. The second half has a lot of ‘rona-dhona’ after Tara dumps Ved and the latter starts behaving like a schizophrenic and basically scares the crap out of everyone associated with him. There is also the ‘done to death’ scene urging people to choose between what they want and what the world wants from them as Ved sets out to discover himself. The only good thing that can be said about the film is the way it has been shot. Cinematographer Ravi Varman does credit to the genteel lanes of Shimla and the sun-kissed streets of Corsica. The music is not bad as such and had the two been accompanied by a good story, Tamasha could have surely been a delight.