User reviews

Hindi Films have often been guilty of plagiarism and with 2018's biggest box-office disappointment 'Thugs of Hindostan', the idea of originality in the Mumbai-Based industry was in question, once again. This action-adventure period-piece, is undoubtedly adapted from the Hollywood Blockbuster franchise of 'Pirates of the Carribbean'. But, is the film as bad as the critics and the general audience thought it is? My answer - is a NO.

Sure, 'Thugs' was slaughtered ever since it's trailer released and the comparisons to Pirates, and it's setting, were of course obvious. So for originality and also for smartness, Director Vijay Krishna Acharya scores less. But is his misfire a terrible film? Absolutely not. 'Thugs' is a predictable ride, but never an unwatchable film. Its got its moments, for sure.

Set in the late 1700's, 'Thugs' follows a group of Rebels known as Azaad, led by the commanding Khudabakash (Amitabh Bachchan), who must take down a vicious British Leader (Lloyd Owen). In their pursuit to defeat the British, the rebels are faced with a friend/foe in the form of Firangi Mallah (A delightful Aamir Khan), a rogue who cannot be trusted.

'Thugs' is a predictable film, and sadly, barring Firangi's colourful character who changes sides every time and now, there are no surprises here. Even the character of Zafira (Fatima Sana Sheikh) and her personal vendetta against the Villain, for having killed her family in front of her eyes, is so 1980's. However, the moments between Firangi and Khudabaksh are engaging and the joy of watching two of Indian Cinema's most respected actors coming together for the first time, cannot be denied.

The biggest plus of the enterprise is Aamir's enjoyable portrayal of the anti-hero, who hits all the right-notes, be it Comedic or Sly. The action-sequences are nicely staged, but they aren't exceptional overall. Ajay-Atul's Score is superb and the Production Design is absolutely lavish. The art and costume design are top-notch, as well.

The Writing by Acharya could've be stronger, for sure. Considering the amount of talent and money that has been associated with this biggie, Acharya should've made the narrative more arresting and tried on something novel. The Writing isn't bad at all though, it's by the books and works well in some parts. Acharya's Direction is decent. Cinematography is top-notch. Editing is fine, but the film feels a little too long at a 160-minutes.

Of the cast, barring Aamir, no one really stands out, as they aren't given much to do. Bachchan gets a brilliant intro, but is later given limited lines and scenes, Fatima is just about okay, Katrina Kaif has just 2 songs and 3 scenes throughout the film and Owen does well. In supporting roles, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub does a sincere job as Firangi's friend and Ronit Roy is wasted as Zahira's father.

On the whole, 'Thugs of Hindostan' isn't as bad you have heard it is, but it isn't even as good as it should've been. It's, at best, a fair watch!

2018 was a fantastic year for Bollywood thanks to movies like Padman, Padmaavat, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Stree, Parmanu, Raid, Tumbbad, AndhDhun , Badhaai Ho etc. Unfortunate part is that we do have movies like Race 3, Namastey England which are repeated and outdone while the essence of the flavor is dying. Thugs Of Hindostan belongs to the second list which tries hard to entertain you but falls flat on the face.

Thugs Of Hindostan tells the story of Khudabaksh (Amitabh Bachchan ), who fights against British empire for a free independent India. He is supported by his adopted daughter, Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh). Being opposed by strong army of Khudabaksh, the British Empire hires Firangi (Aamir Khan), to fight for them and defeat Khudabaksh.

From the director of terrible films like Tashan and Dhoom 3, Vijay Krishna Achrya gives you yet another disappointing film. So much was expected from Thugs Of Hindostan but the lousy direction , insensible screenplay and terrible editing gives you a headache which you never asked especially from a star like Aamir Khan. The good news is that Thugs Of Hindostan is better than craps like Dhoom 3 and Tashan as it has visually appealing CGI with some amazing action sequences. I loved the background score which gels well with the mood of the film. The entry scene of Amitabh Bachchan is classy while Aamir Khan does well in the first half. However, his frequent change of party, though was nice to some extent , was leading to boredom eventually. I wanted to ask him after working hard so much for Dangal in 2016, what made him choose this script which required to prepare for 2 years.

The plot is weak while the length of the film spoils the entire mood of the film. Music is another complete letdown. Art direction and cinematography is mind blowing. Amitabh Bachchan does well but does not get much scope to show his skills. Aamir Khan does raise few laughs but much was expected from the actor of his stature. Fatima Sana Shaikh does well in her role as Zafira. Katrina Kaif as usual is used for glamour purpose and is wasted.

Overall, Thugs Of Hindostan is loud, lousy and unconvincing. Not recommended. 2/5

It is not the best of Amitabh Bachchan... It is not the best of Aamir Khan... and Katrina Kaif actually has no talent in acting at all. Fatima is good. because this is fiction, we don't need to debate the issue of islands and ships in India, where we know that India is not an archipelago.

This was the worst possible movie for Amitabh and Amir to share the screen for the first time. They deserved a lot better. . . Good : Amir Khan's performance. That's perhaps the only saving grace. Still, not his best work at all. The opening was fairly decent. Some parts were visually appealing. . . Bad : This movie is just absolutely bad. The role of Khudabaksh could've been given to any B grade actor. Bachchan was wasted as Khudabaksh. It was a shameless ripoff of Pirates of the Caribbean. Okay, I can tolerate that. But, that's not all. It has the same old Indian rebels vs Angrez storyline which has grown stale over the years, and it doesn't even try to make it more interesting. Instead, it gives us lamer version of that storyline. It also jinxed some promising characters, but like in almost every Bollywood mainstream film, it makes a parody out of it and books it completely over the top, if the initial characterization wasn't much of something called "over the top". The action scenes look super fake. There are sword fights, and not a single drop of blood. We can clearly see the swords going under the armpits (THAT'S VIJAY KRISHNA ACHARYA FOR YOU). It is too laughably bad. The character of Amir Khan feels like too much. He continues to trade sides between Angrez and Indians, to the point where it feels absolutely nauseating and to every point beyond that. You would want to scream "pleaaase, stop". There is one gigantic "twist" in the film. But, if you have seen any of these stupid masala entertainers, you can predict it. Since they won't kill of a major character, the twist becomes trivially predictable. That's how lame this is. There is no character development to understand why some characters get their mind changed, except for the fact that they wanted to include a cheap shock value. Katrina Kaif serves her usual purpose of showing her skin for some sexually appealing scenes and dancing in a semi nude costume. Other than that, she is a plot device. And her acting is too good. Even a mannequin gives more expressions than her. The story is crazy and lame. It looks too big, but is the same old stupidity. If you want to see an Angrez vs Indian film, watch "Kranti" (1981), not this garbage.

Conclusion : If you are a fan of Amitabh or Amir, check out this film, because it may be the only film in which they both are together. But except for their mere presence, do not expect anything. It sucks big time. Otherwise, do anything productive. Spend your time locking yourself in the bathroom doing nothing, rather than watching this movie.

Rating.

Score : 0/10

Grade : F

I was expecting this movie to be bombed. Trailer was disaster. Acting: aamir and mr bacchan was as usual good, Katrina Kaif still can't act, and that's it. look like people need mrs kaif only as an item girl. Music: just ignore. Action: meh. Desi POTC. And garibo ka Johnny depp jumping from here and there, try to do some impossible stunts. Thank god my cousin paid for my ticket.

Indian audience have never been kind to an ambitious period drama ever since Mughal e Azam. TOH could have been way better but considering it was made to lure the masses, it did not lack the content as advertised by many negative views. This project had great detail to production design and background score was gripping. Fatima could have done better and dialogues could have been more impactful. Even with these shortfalls the movie is worth a decent watch and should not have been penned so horribly.

Plz dont watch this movie and save your money on this diwali.

Typical Hindi movie.if people go for those salman and sharukh khan movies...this one is much better that those

Aamir Khan's acting is all that's worth watching this film. This film could have been ended just in 1 and half hour, but the directors extended the film I think just for audience. CGI was a bit low over all, Amitabh was not suitable for the role he played. Katrina Should learn how to deliver dialogue. Fatima can become a good acting sensation just not yet. Her role in Dangal and then watching her like this is not helping just yet.

Personally didn't go in to the movie expecting much and unfortunately that turned out to be a true. This movie has tried to insert the feel of Pirates of the Caribbean and the style of Assasin's Creed Black flag but failed to produce a good movie due weak character motivations and predictable story and also drags a bit too long. Aamir Khan's character is the Indian version of Jack Sparrow and he has put in effort for it but due to bad writing or direction, his character tries to be unpredictable but end up predictable. Rest of the characters are the stereotypical mentor(Amitabh Bachchan), Vengeful Daughter (Fatima Shaikh), Comedy relief sidekick, and Katrina Kaif is just there. The movie may pass as entertaining for many( And it does have some moments) but for people who are only going to watch this movie on Aamir Khan's previous body of work may not enjoy this movie. As some one who has seen Pirates of the Caribbean and the much better movies of Aamir Khan I did not enjoy this movie and have wasted my money on it. So I do not recommend this movie for theater, you can watch on TV and judge for yourself then and save that money for other better movies. Also on a last side note the CGI could have been way better with the money they spent making this one.

In the movie some people could have been kept alive and not killed which would have given people to connect with them.........

Weird movie, has a lot of things to go for it - great budget, incredible actors, a story with a lot of potential - but fails to hold your attention for more than 10 minutes. I had to stop at 55 minutes because I couldn't just take it anymore.

Poor writing & direction turned the movie into a very expensive stock video. And thanks to awfully generic musical score and skill-less camera work, not a very good one.

Didn't (couldn't) watch the whole movie, but I can't remember the last time where I thought Aamir Khan was difficult to watch. Amitabh Bachchan's role could have literally been replaced with a cardboard cutout. Ronit Roy's performance felt a little better, but still nothing compared to what he's capable of.

In short, it didn't seem like anyone put any heart into the movie.

And the rest of the movie is completely torturous to watch. Overall - Don't waste your time on this or watch the 1st half only and stop, as the movie is mostly predictable anyways.

It's the first time that two of the strongest actors in Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan & Aamir Khan came together for a project but what you get in return is almost 3 hrs of total disappointment. To start with, the movie is extremely long, slow, boring & lacks a good storyline. The cinematography looks like a cheap copy of Pirates of the Caribbean. Aamir Khan's himself looks like trying to pull off a Johnny Depp from the Hollywood hit. Amitabh Bachchan performance is dull and nothing you would remember the next day. Fatima Sana Shaikh is bad & I have no clue what was Katrina Kaif doing in the movie. Even her dance numbers look like a copy of the moves she had in the song Kamli. The performance of the support cast is not worth mentioning. Direction is absolutely ordinary. Songs are horrible! The only decent thing about the movie are the last 30 minutes. The twist & turns are interesting but slowly becomes predictable. Certain dialogues are also funny. However, the bottom line is, give this one a skip. No point spending your money on this one. Tips for the director: India is not an Island nation! What are so many ships doing in the movie 🤔? Whatever it is, boats & ships are not & was never the primary mode of transportation within our country. Crazy!!!

To be really frank I went for the movie even after going through all negativity coming up since morning was I dreamed of the movie where Aamir dialoged in his same avatar. The other things that kept me motivated were the visuals and acting mainly from mentioned hero itself. Now since morning I was ready for the worst but it was not that disappointing.

If you watch some movie and get a glimpse of what is about to happen just because of some spoiler or your experience you don't enjoy it that much. For me that was case. Further I don't why I dint enjoy the visuals as per my expectations but yes they were good.

Tone, Script & Story: It is story of a sultanate against English Empire.

Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: Good work done with available script. I have already praised the followed areas. Music: Music is good. My favorite track is 'Suraiyya'. Acting: Justified.

Final Verdict: It is a visual experience, thus u enjoy it more depending on type of screen, If you are looking for that go ahead. It is first of its kind in Bollywood.

It's a disaster .I hope amir khan don't make this type of movie in future. This movie is torture for movie fans . It's a copy of pirates of carebian.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a good film be any measure. But it's not nearly as bad as the reviews and press makes out to be. There are far Worse movies out there that deserve the 3/10 score much more than this one. Aamir Khans acting for one was very refreshing. It was a difficult role to play, and despite some really lousy direction and dialogue, he did a fantastic job. I thought the overall story wasn't bad, the period/pirate setting was good as well (could've done without the Jack Sparrow inspiration and slaps though). But it was the direction and execution that just was of very very low quality. On top of that they were way too ambitious with CGI and action sequences given their skills, and that backfired.

Overall a decent story line, fantastic acting by Aamir, but let down by terrible direction and dialogue. Aamir and the audience should probably stay away from this director as a general rule.

This is a disaster that will make you kill yourself.

Other reviewers are saying that it is not a good movie but it was a good one. You should go and watch and then deside that it was a good one or not. Believe me that it was a good movie.

The movie has attracted extreme reviews because of emotions and expectations. The movie delivers mildly on action, drama and suspense with plot twists you won't see coming. If you compare this movie with pirates of Caribbean series, you will be dissappointed. Enjoy it like any other average Bollywood movie.

Same third class copy of pirates of grill please don't waste your money instead watch badhai ho tumbat or andhadhun

If Amir Khan is inside of this movie it would not be bad.