TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

silvan-desouza Akshay has been unlucky when he tries to experiment, be it Tasveer or Once Upon A Time recently. This film is something different from Akshay's hammy films, here he plays a crickeeter who wants to join England team but his father is too patriotic.In fact one fails to understand why his father doesn't return to Punjab then? But yet this concept could be better treated but Nikhil Advani resorts to age old melodrama and clichés?Direction by Nikhil Advani is so-so Music is okayAkshay Kumar doesn't look young anymore to pass off as a 20 something but does a good job, Anushka for the first time outside YRF camp does an okay job in a not demanding role, Dimple Kapadia is superb while Rishi too excels in his part rest are okay

Chrysanthepop Nikhil Advani creates yet another melodramatic Bollyflick that is 'Patiala House'. Given the script, it actually had potential of being an engaging film that tackles issues like racism, relationships and the cricket craze but Advani succumbs to Bollywood formula with the usual ingredients such as over-the-top characters, intrusive background score, brightly colourful songs, stereotypical clichés, needlessly lavish sets, sentimental scenes, overt patriotism, predictable conclusion and what not. I felt that the attempt to tackle racism was weak. A more subtle and sincere treatment could have made the difference here. Yet, if only mildly, 'Patiala House' is a tad better than the usual formula films that are churned out these days mostly because it raises some important issues (although it fails to tackle them well). Akshay Kumar takes a break from the usual mindless comedy. His performance does remind one of the work he did in awful movies like 'Ek Rishtaa' and 'Waqt, Rage Against Time' and he proves to be competent. It's high time that he chooses a decent film and a role that suits him for a change. One wonders when that's going to happen- Rishi Kapoor seems to have taken over Amitabh Bachchan's tyrannical dad role and he grossly overdoes it. Dimple Kapadia is brilliantly restrained but an actress of her calibre deserved better. Anushka Sharma is vivacious and has a commanding screen presence. 'Patiala House' is forgettable but it's not among the worst Hindi films of the year.

kunalkhandwala In the aftermath of 'Kal Ho Na Ho', director Nikhil Advani has had to wonder about his films lasting in theaters till the day after their release. Evidently, his challenges have been in script, story, music, performances as well as the hype they generate. Two years after his 'Chandhi Chowk to China' debacle, warning signals were set off with the previews of Patiala House....and rightly so. The issues still persist but what comes as a shocker now, is the lack of originality in story. Patiala House, only decent in some parts, is a dampener of sorts with melodrama etched all over its tired plot.Far too often have we seen an obdurate father curtailing the aspirations of his talented son who eventually, has to break out. When that talent revolves around cricket, comparisons with 'Iqbal' are inevitable and there, the film falls like wickets on a yorker delivery. Gurtej Kahlon (Rishi Kapoor) confronts the unjust discrimination inflicted upon his family by a group of Englishmen with non-violent protests that called for rights and change. Years later, after making lives better for his community in Southall, Kahlon's obdurate attitude towards the English prevents his son Gattu, from realizing his dreams of playing cricket for England's national team. Forced indirectly into a lifestyle as a shopkeeper, Gattu lives on to adhere to every command of his father's by sacrificing his dreams. As a result of his passive nature, he is not a favorite among his family of dreamers and it all looks hopeless till Simran (Anushka Sharma) enters his life, dominating his decisions and pushing him towards the try-outs for the English team selection. Anushka Sharma is perhaps the saving grace of the film. Her outspoken, bubbly attitude serve well to contrast the passive, soft spoken Gattu. She looks beautiful and seems to play such a role naturally, like she did in 'Band baaja baraat'. Rishi Kapoor's character is difficult to like even though, he is the most charming actor out there. Akshay Kumar's passive Gattu lacks intensity or a likable attribute to it. Even his bowling style doesn't have a secret weapon that we can look forward to in every game nor does the game last long enough for us to feel excited. Helplessly, we look back at the brilliance depicted in Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Iqbal' that had all these elements right, with some great performances but alas; Patiala House fails to deliver the excitement, fun, intensity or the emotional connection that can engage you.Kyon main jagoon by Shafaqat Amanat Ali is repeated several times and is the only noteworthy track in the album. Even Hard Kaur fails to create magic in Role pe Gaya while the rest of the tracks are just forgettable. Nikhil Advani has an ensemble cast of cricketers at his disposal with names such as Nasser Hussain, Symonds, Brendon McCullum, Pollard among others. It makes it interesting only in the beginning. Then, when you realize that these cricketers are not really adding any value to the debilitating script through the games, they seem like the rest of the cast. Another big issue with the film is the melodrama that Advani incessantly bowls at us. We are used to cinematic liberty taken by directors but here, we see dramatic liberty to its extreme. Kaali's final over against Australia lasts long enough for his family to make up their minds to go to the stadium, drive through London, buy tickets and then witness the dramatic last ball. Nikhil Advani is really making fun of his audience..... Another disappointment for Akshay Kumar and his fans, another flop in Advani's list and a wake up call to other big names who rely on their past credentials to bring the moolah in. It's not going to work. 6.43 on a scale of 1-10.

DICK STEEL While I deem Akshay Kumar as one of the most hardworking of the Bollywood stars in recent years, he didn't have much luck with most of his feature releases from last year, with heavy expectations in Action Replayy and Tees Maar Khan, the latter which I enjoyed, that didn't fare too well at the box office. While he's adept at playing comical roles or as the action hero, he throws all that away in Patiala House, playing a meek character who's under the thumb of an overbearing dad, the patriarch of an Indian family living in the Southall district in London, England.The film deals with the issue of racism, or being prejudiced against, and I suppose the Indian community would likely feel the effects of this, as racism has always reared its ugly head around the world, the most recent I can recall against the community was in Australia. In this film we go back in time to establish the circumstances of how Akshay Kumar's Parghat Singh Kahlon aka Gattu became the man he is, whose father Gurtej Kahlon (Rishi Kapoor) and his generation had suffered from racism in their community, and take it upon themselves to strike back in all manners. Gurtej becomes a successful activist in championing their rights, and in doing so grew in stature and influence, but unfortunately as society progressed, he got stuck in the same old mindset, and failed to keep up.Worse, he imposes his iron will on his children, dictating the types of jobs they could do, and the people they can interact with. For Gattu, it seemed that he got the shortest end of the stick, where his world class cricket skills got clipped just because his father is dead set against his joining the English national team, and thus condemning his son from exploiting his full potential. Gattu becomes the ordinary provision shopkeeper, rather than the luminous sportsperson he was destined to be.On one hand the film tackles how battles are fought against inequality, and on the other take it into a micro environment with the dealing and living with an overbearing father, the patriarch of his extended family where no one dare cross him, though it doesn't mean that rebellious streaks fail to exist as undertones in the family members, especially Gattu's generation. Akshay Kumar ditches his comedic roles, and opts for a very serious, dramatic persona in his portrayal of Gattu, who now has the chance to realize his past dream when he an unexpected door of opportunity opens.This of course also opens the film up a little to deal with the many comedic moments from the respective family members, pinning their hopes on Gattu to become that beacon of rebellion and to serve his country, crossing the line that their father has set. Thus is the weight on Gattu's shoulders, that he has to prove his worth to the rest of the world, and perhaps so their father will finally listen and realize that his children have more to contribute rather than being held back through prejudiced thoughts and views. Their cooking up of various, sometimes stretched, methods to prevent their father from learning of Gattu's joining the national cricket team brings forth plenty of laughs, as we know how difficult it is to control information in this connected age, and more so when you have hundreds of family, relatives and friends all on the cusp of revealing their sense of pride.There's also Anuska Sharma in her first role outside her three picture deal with Yash Raj, and while her scenes are limited to being the mastermind and requisite girlfriend who inspires the hero, she inevitably brings about some sunshine in what I thought was her first comedic role. Check out her opening scene if you have doubts about that proclamation, but I suppose in a film with plenty of female co-stars as opposed to being THE item girl in a Hindi film, she does enough and not go overboard with her character's antics.For cricket fans, there are ample scenes here that will appeal to you, though for the cricket idiot like myself, I can only take each bat, throw, catch at face value, try as I may in comprehending the rules of the game. But this is not just a cricket film, but has a powerful drama I'm sure many caught up in similar situations of having parents who don't quite comprehend the whats and the whys of your personal quests, could come to identify. It's been a relative slow start on the Hindi movie front this year, so I'm hoping the momentum builds up from this offering.