SAMTHEBESTEST
Joined Feb 2014
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges4
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Ratings3.7K
SAMTHEBESTEST's rating
Reviews3K
SAMTHEBESTEST's rating
Love In Vietnam (2025) :
Movie Review -
Rahat Shah Kazmi attempts to make a film based on Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali, but the result feels like something entirely detached from the spirit of the original literature. What unfolds on screen is technically awkward, emotionally hollow, and narratively exhausting. Love In Vietnam is a film that seems to have no sense of rhythm, timing, or storytelling clarity. It becomes a waste of both time and money in almost every sense. The storyline drags endlessly for two hours, but it feels like an unbearable three-hour headache. That imaginative extra hour of frustration lingers in your head, and by the end, you walk out asking yourself-why on earth did I just waste two hours of my life on this cinematic disaster.
The story revolves around Manav (Shantanu Maheshwari), a young man who has never excelled in studies and instead harbors a passion for singing. Under his Dadu's forceful insistence, Manav is sent to Vietnam to study farming. His childhood bestie, Simmi (Avneet Kaur), follows him there, unable to stay away because she has loved him since childhood. Once in Vietnam, Manav stumbles upon a painting of a Vietnamese girl and immediately becomes obsessed. He eventually finds the girl, Lin (Kha Ngan), and falls head over heels in love. But when he briefly returns to India for his sister's wedding, Lin suddenly disappears. From that point on, Manav spirals into an absurd and frustrating quest to find her, ignoring his family, responsibilities, and Simmi's devotion. What follows is his "stupid" journey, which is less of a love story and more of a test of patience for the audience.
Rahat Shah Kazmi and Kritika Rampal's screenplay is a confusing mess that reminds you of bits from Laila Majnu, Saiyaara, Rockstar, and a host of other intense love dramas, only here they are thrown together in the most soapy, unbearable manner possible. The absurdity of the narrative is shocking-Lin disappears for eight years just because of a single phone call and somehow manages to remain hidden from everyone. And then, as if nothing happened, she conveniently shows up as a dancer at Manav's sister's wedding? How ridiculous is that! Meanwhile, Manav spends years searching for her, but neither his body nor his looks reflect the passage of time. He is portrayed as the same boyish college student, with no maturity or physical transformation. The same goes for Simmi, who remains frozen in time despite the supposed eight-year gap.
Speaking of Simmi, her character is written with no depth or dignity. She is rejected again and again by Manav, yet never moves on. She keeps returning to him, clinging to false hope, as if no one else exists in her world. What kind of female character is this? The writing makes her look desperate rather than strong or resilient. On the other hand, Manav himself is a selfish, frustrating lead who forgets about everyone around him-his family, his friends, his responsibilities-while obsessively chasing one girl. The climax, which is supposed to be a twist, instead feels like an insult to the audience's intelligence. Those last five minutes are more torturous than the already unbearable two-hour runtime. You're left wondering how such writing was ever approved for production.
As for the performances, Shantanu Maheshwari and Avneet Kaur are still waiting to deliver their first truly mature outing. Acting in daily soaps or making Instagram reels is one thing, but holding a feature film together is an entirely different game-and they have not figured it out yet. To their credit, they occasionally manage to perform decently in certain scenes, but those scenes are buried under such terrible writing that it hardly matters. Kha Ngan, who came in without the baggage of prior work in India, surprisingly fares better. She delivers a reasonably decent performance, which is refreshing in comparison to her co-stars. Raj Babbar is passable, Farida Jalal is wasted, and Gulshan Grover along with Mir Sarwar fail to leave much of an impression. The supporting cast, overall, contributes little to elevate the film.
Technically, the film could have at least been redeemed by its presentation, but even that falls short. The Vietnamese locations are breathtaking, and Dudley's cinematography occasionally captures their beauty well. In fact, the visuals could have made for a wonderful travelogue. Sadly, when viewed as part of the film's narrative, they carry no weight. Sanjay Sankla's editing is inconsistent, making the film feel even more disjointed and dragging. The music is overbearing and quickly becomes exhausting. Production design is adequate considering the modest budget, while costumes are uneven-some realistic, others laughably out of place. For instance, the idea of a bride showing up to her wedding in an outfit revealing half her cleavage was not just distracting but outright absurd, as if lifted from a glossy fashion photoshoot rather than a heartfelt family moment.
At the end of it all, Rahat Shah Kazmi's direction is the final nail in the coffin. Love In Vietnam is a textbook example of how not to make a romantic drama. It lacks story, depth, and any real emotional impact. Kazmi's inability to grasp poetic nuances or present love in a subtle, meaningful way turns this film into a melodramatic television soap, stretched painfully onto the big screen. The movie has no vision, no heart, and no purpose. In short, Love In Vietnam is an unpleasant, frustrating, and almost insulting cinematic experience. It is the kind of film that tests your patience, squanders your time, and leaves you with nothing but regret.
RATING - 3/10*
Rahat Shah Kazmi attempts to make a film based on Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali, but the result feels like something entirely detached from the spirit of the original literature. What unfolds on screen is technically awkward, emotionally hollow, and narratively exhausting. Love In Vietnam is a film that seems to have no sense of rhythm, timing, or storytelling clarity. It becomes a waste of both time and money in almost every sense. The storyline drags endlessly for two hours, but it feels like an unbearable three-hour headache. That imaginative extra hour of frustration lingers in your head, and by the end, you walk out asking yourself-why on earth did I just waste two hours of my life on this cinematic disaster.
The story revolves around Manav (Shantanu Maheshwari), a young man who has never excelled in studies and instead harbors a passion for singing. Under his Dadu's forceful insistence, Manav is sent to Vietnam to study farming. His childhood bestie, Simmi (Avneet Kaur), follows him there, unable to stay away because she has loved him since childhood. Once in Vietnam, Manav stumbles upon a painting of a Vietnamese girl and immediately becomes obsessed. He eventually finds the girl, Lin (Kha Ngan), and falls head over heels in love. But when he briefly returns to India for his sister's wedding, Lin suddenly disappears. From that point on, Manav spirals into an absurd and frustrating quest to find her, ignoring his family, responsibilities, and Simmi's devotion. What follows is his "stupid" journey, which is less of a love story and more of a test of patience for the audience.
Rahat Shah Kazmi and Kritika Rampal's screenplay is a confusing mess that reminds you of bits from Laila Majnu, Saiyaara, Rockstar, and a host of other intense love dramas, only here they are thrown together in the most soapy, unbearable manner possible. The absurdity of the narrative is shocking-Lin disappears for eight years just because of a single phone call and somehow manages to remain hidden from everyone. And then, as if nothing happened, she conveniently shows up as a dancer at Manav's sister's wedding? How ridiculous is that! Meanwhile, Manav spends years searching for her, but neither his body nor his looks reflect the passage of time. He is portrayed as the same boyish college student, with no maturity or physical transformation. The same goes for Simmi, who remains frozen in time despite the supposed eight-year gap.
Speaking of Simmi, her character is written with no depth or dignity. She is rejected again and again by Manav, yet never moves on. She keeps returning to him, clinging to false hope, as if no one else exists in her world. What kind of female character is this? The writing makes her look desperate rather than strong or resilient. On the other hand, Manav himself is a selfish, frustrating lead who forgets about everyone around him-his family, his friends, his responsibilities-while obsessively chasing one girl. The climax, which is supposed to be a twist, instead feels like an insult to the audience's intelligence. Those last five minutes are more torturous than the already unbearable two-hour runtime. You're left wondering how such writing was ever approved for production.
As for the performances, Shantanu Maheshwari and Avneet Kaur are still waiting to deliver their first truly mature outing. Acting in daily soaps or making Instagram reels is one thing, but holding a feature film together is an entirely different game-and they have not figured it out yet. To their credit, they occasionally manage to perform decently in certain scenes, but those scenes are buried under such terrible writing that it hardly matters. Kha Ngan, who came in without the baggage of prior work in India, surprisingly fares better. She delivers a reasonably decent performance, which is refreshing in comparison to her co-stars. Raj Babbar is passable, Farida Jalal is wasted, and Gulshan Grover along with Mir Sarwar fail to leave much of an impression. The supporting cast, overall, contributes little to elevate the film.
Technically, the film could have at least been redeemed by its presentation, but even that falls short. The Vietnamese locations are breathtaking, and Dudley's cinematography occasionally captures their beauty well. In fact, the visuals could have made for a wonderful travelogue. Sadly, when viewed as part of the film's narrative, they carry no weight. Sanjay Sankla's editing is inconsistent, making the film feel even more disjointed and dragging. The music is overbearing and quickly becomes exhausting. Production design is adequate considering the modest budget, while costumes are uneven-some realistic, others laughably out of place. For instance, the idea of a bride showing up to her wedding in an outfit revealing half her cleavage was not just distracting but outright absurd, as if lifted from a glossy fashion photoshoot rather than a heartfelt family moment.
At the end of it all, Rahat Shah Kazmi's direction is the final nail in the coffin. Love In Vietnam is a textbook example of how not to make a romantic drama. It lacks story, depth, and any real emotional impact. Kazmi's inability to grasp poetic nuances or present love in a subtle, meaningful way turns this film into a melodramatic television soap, stretched painfully onto the big screen. The movie has no vision, no heart, and no purpose. In short, Love In Vietnam is an unpleasant, frustrating, and almost insulting cinematic experience. It is the kind of film that tests your patience, squanders your time, and leaves you with nothing but regret.
RATING - 3/10*
Heer Express (2025) :
Movie Review -
Umesh Shukla seems completely lost and rather uninterested in filmmaking nowadays. The man who once gave us films like Oh My God! (2012) and 102 Not Out (2018)-both remakes but still memorable-has now come down to making low-budget, outdated dramas that lack soul. Heer Express is far from what audiences expect from Umesh Shukla and feels like a delayed, half-hearted, and forced project. Everything here looks outdated, exhausting, and stretched to the point that sitting through its 135-minute runtime becomes an ordeal. The last 30 minutes are particularly unbearable, where both writer and director seem clueless about how to end the film. The climax is laughably illogical, showing a drugged girl suddenly regaining her senses upon hearing about her past. Medically, physically, emotionally, and logically, this makes no sense. Yet, the film tries to make this senseless twist its emotional selling point. Worse, it is so predictable that the audience can foresee it right after the intermission. The obvious question-why would one bother sitting through the next hour and a half?
Heer Express centres on Heer (Divita Juneja), a young girl from Punjab who lives with her uncles (Gulshan Grover and Sanjay Mishra). Her mother is no more, and her father is presumed dead. She runs a restaurant in her mother's name, which enjoys immense popularity among locals. One day, two women from London arrive at her dhaba and offer her an opportunity to work London. Heer initially rejects the offer, but when they propose that she can relaunch and manage a restaurant under her mother's name in London, she agrees. Her new life begins in the city, where she unexpectedly meets her father, though he hides his true identity and the reasons behind his disappearance. Along the way, Heer falls in love with a young man, and things seem to be going smoothly. However, her uncles soon arrive in London and recognize the man who once betrayed their sister-Heer's mother. This revelation threatens to shatter Heer's new world, raising the central conflict of whether she can accept the truth and forgive the lies that shaped her life.
While the premise could have worked as an emotional family drama, the execution is clumsy and uninspiring. Written by Sanjay Grover, Heer Express suffers from a dull and uninventive script. There is no novelty, no emotional weight, and certainly no excitement in the storytelling. Each scene is painfully predictable and feels like a weak imitation of old Bollywood dramas from the 1980s and 2000s. For example, the restaurant relaunch sequence instantly reminds you of Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), while the estranged father-daughter storyline has been recycled far too often in Hindi cinema. Even the love story feels underdeveloped, lacking both charm and conviction. Strangely, the film never features the traditional "I love you" moment between its lead pair, yet tries to market itself as a romance. Much of the writing is half-baked, leaving story arcs incomplete and emotional beats unexplored. Instead of giving audiences an engaging or fresh perspective, the film falls back on melodrama and clichés, especially in its climax, where logic takes a complete backseat. In today's time, when audiences are exposed to better and bolder storytelling across platforms, delivering such a shallow script feels like a step backwards.
Performance-wise, Divita Juneja makes a promising debut in terms of screen presence, but her acting skills still need considerable polishing. She looks beautiful and delivers her dialogues with surprising confidence, yet her expressions often fall flat, failing to evoke the necessary emotions. Prit Kamani plays her love interest with sincerity and looks the part of a loyal, supportive boyfriend, but the chemistry between him and Divita simply doesn't click. Ashutosh Rana does what he can with his limited role, relying on years of experience to carry himself with dignity. Gulshan Grover and Sanjay Mishra attempt to bring weight to their characters, but their efforts feel forced and rarely make an impact. Sarah Lockett struggles with her Hindi lines in the beginning but improves as the film progresses. Meghna Malik is adequate in her role, while the rest of the supporting cast adds very little value to the narrative. Overall, the performances fail to elevate an already uninspired script.
The music is another weak link in Heer Express. Instead of adding energy or emotional depth, the songs make the film drag further, testing the audience's patience. Being forced to sit through dull songs while already enduring a predictable drama feels like being punished twice. On the technical front, the film clearly suffers from budgetary limitations and delay in making. The production values appear low-grade, with nothing memorable in terms of cinematography, editing, or overall presentation. The only saving grace is Umesh Shukla's experience, which prevents the film from completely collapsing into a headache-inducing mess. Yet even his skills cannot save it from mediocrity. In the end, Heer Express is simply an outdated, exhausting, and uninspired film that offers very little entertainment. A handful of scenes may pass off as decent, but as a whole, the film fails to engage. Watch it only if you are ready to waste 135 minutes of your weekend on a drama that goes nowhere.
RATING - 4/10*
Umesh Shukla seems completely lost and rather uninterested in filmmaking nowadays. The man who once gave us films like Oh My God! (2012) and 102 Not Out (2018)-both remakes but still memorable-has now come down to making low-budget, outdated dramas that lack soul. Heer Express is far from what audiences expect from Umesh Shukla and feels like a delayed, half-hearted, and forced project. Everything here looks outdated, exhausting, and stretched to the point that sitting through its 135-minute runtime becomes an ordeal. The last 30 minutes are particularly unbearable, where both writer and director seem clueless about how to end the film. The climax is laughably illogical, showing a drugged girl suddenly regaining her senses upon hearing about her past. Medically, physically, emotionally, and logically, this makes no sense. Yet, the film tries to make this senseless twist its emotional selling point. Worse, it is so predictable that the audience can foresee it right after the intermission. The obvious question-why would one bother sitting through the next hour and a half?
Heer Express centres on Heer (Divita Juneja), a young girl from Punjab who lives with her uncles (Gulshan Grover and Sanjay Mishra). Her mother is no more, and her father is presumed dead. She runs a restaurant in her mother's name, which enjoys immense popularity among locals. One day, two women from London arrive at her dhaba and offer her an opportunity to work London. Heer initially rejects the offer, but when they propose that she can relaunch and manage a restaurant under her mother's name in London, she agrees. Her new life begins in the city, where she unexpectedly meets her father, though he hides his true identity and the reasons behind his disappearance. Along the way, Heer falls in love with a young man, and things seem to be going smoothly. However, her uncles soon arrive in London and recognize the man who once betrayed their sister-Heer's mother. This revelation threatens to shatter Heer's new world, raising the central conflict of whether she can accept the truth and forgive the lies that shaped her life.
While the premise could have worked as an emotional family drama, the execution is clumsy and uninspiring. Written by Sanjay Grover, Heer Express suffers from a dull and uninventive script. There is no novelty, no emotional weight, and certainly no excitement in the storytelling. Each scene is painfully predictable and feels like a weak imitation of old Bollywood dramas from the 1980s and 2000s. For example, the restaurant relaunch sequence instantly reminds you of Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), while the estranged father-daughter storyline has been recycled far too often in Hindi cinema. Even the love story feels underdeveloped, lacking both charm and conviction. Strangely, the film never features the traditional "I love you" moment between its lead pair, yet tries to market itself as a romance. Much of the writing is half-baked, leaving story arcs incomplete and emotional beats unexplored. Instead of giving audiences an engaging or fresh perspective, the film falls back on melodrama and clichés, especially in its climax, where logic takes a complete backseat. In today's time, when audiences are exposed to better and bolder storytelling across platforms, delivering such a shallow script feels like a step backwards.
Performance-wise, Divita Juneja makes a promising debut in terms of screen presence, but her acting skills still need considerable polishing. She looks beautiful and delivers her dialogues with surprising confidence, yet her expressions often fall flat, failing to evoke the necessary emotions. Prit Kamani plays her love interest with sincerity and looks the part of a loyal, supportive boyfriend, but the chemistry between him and Divita simply doesn't click. Ashutosh Rana does what he can with his limited role, relying on years of experience to carry himself with dignity. Gulshan Grover and Sanjay Mishra attempt to bring weight to their characters, but their efforts feel forced and rarely make an impact. Sarah Lockett struggles with her Hindi lines in the beginning but improves as the film progresses. Meghna Malik is adequate in her role, while the rest of the supporting cast adds very little value to the narrative. Overall, the performances fail to elevate an already uninspired script.
The music is another weak link in Heer Express. Instead of adding energy or emotional depth, the songs make the film drag further, testing the audience's patience. Being forced to sit through dull songs while already enduring a predictable drama feels like being punished twice. On the technical front, the film clearly suffers from budgetary limitations and delay in making. The production values appear low-grade, with nothing memorable in terms of cinematography, editing, or overall presentation. The only saving grace is Umesh Shukla's experience, which prevents the film from completely collapsing into a headache-inducing mess. Yet even his skills cannot save it from mediocrity. In the end, Heer Express is simply an outdated, exhausting, and uninspired film that offers very little entertainment. A handful of scenes may pass off as decent, but as a whole, the film fails to engage. Watch it only if you are ready to waste 135 minutes of your weekend on a drama that goes nowhere.
RATING - 4/10*
