Cast: Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Naman Jain, Ranvir Shorey, Vineet Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan (cameo), Katrina Kaif (cameo) Director: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap Genre: Short Stories, Drama Rating: 3.5/5

When some of the best directors come together and take a challenge to make a movie with 4 short stories in a budget of just Rs. 1.5 crore each, what do you get? An unusual Hindi movie with some of the finest displays of acting and an amazing way of storytelling. That’s what Bombay Talkies is.

The movie starts with a story unexpected from Karan Johar, and moves on with the artistry by Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. Each director did justice to his work, story and actors.

About the stories, there are no antagonists or protagonists; they are simple feelings, emotions and situations in life of a variety of people; and they are open-ended. Each one leaves you thinking and guessing. Overall, the movie is meant for those who enjoy variety and wish to watch a movie with a difference.

Keeping everything aside, the worst thing about Bombay Talkies was the song in the end that is supposed to take you to the journey through 100 years of Hindi Cinema and features all the stars. It is not only unremarkable but utterly boring also.

Who should NOT watch it? If you are looking for regular group entertainment that you expect from bollywood, if you expect masala, if you are a diehard Khan or Kumar Fan, if you like to be spoon-fed with proper ending and dumb background music (which vary with emotions in the scenes), then this movie is not meant for you. It is not meant for the crowd. It is not a 100 crore movie.