Madhur Bhandarkar's directorial film "Calendar Girls" has opened to mixed reviews at theaters in India. The film is a drama and based on real life stories of models.
For "Calendar Girls", Bhandarkar has roped in five fresh faces -- Akanksha Puri, Kyra Dutt, Avani Modi, Satarupa Pyne and Ruhi Singh.
The trailer of "Calendar Girls" got mixed reactions as several media outlet said that the film replicates Bhandarkar's previous movies, including "Fashion" and "Heroine". Even after the mixed reactions for trailer, there were expectations that movie will impress critics.
But it has failed to impress several critics, who have called "Calendar Girls" an exasperating and a boring film.
Read the reviews below:
Bollywood Hungama in its review said: "CALENDAR GIRLS can be watched for its wholesome entertainment value, hard hitting drama and engaging narrative. Or like Madhur Bhandarkar himself would describe it in one word.... 'Jalwa'!"
Stutee Ghosh of The Quint said: "Madhur Bhandarkar has always tried to make women centric films exposing the ugly underbelly of society. Here too he tries to do the same and as usual fails miserably. What could have been a thought provoking depiction of the dizzying heights of stardom becomes an unimaginative piece of humdrum."
Preeti Kulkarni of BollywoodLife.com said: "Calendar Girls has Madhur Bhandarkar stamped all over it. You will lose the track of girls and their lives. You will fall asleep through most of the first half till one of the female characters say something really regressive and medieval and you are jolted from your reverie!"
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said: "Calendar Girls is only about sex and sleaze presented on the pretext of unravelling the decaying innards of Bollywood and the cricketing world. Take the cue. Give Calendar Girls a miss."
Shubha Shetty Saha of Mid-Day said: "What worked for Bhandarkar in 2005 in 'Page 3' can obviously not work in 2015 because he is unimaginatively and rather cockily serving us the same dish in a different plate."
