Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

samitbabu I watched "Shanghai" yesterday and it is a decent Indianized adaptation of "Z" by Costa Gavraswhich had far reaching consequences in the real world. You can read the real life implications in my other review of the classic itself.Good acting from Deol and Emraan Haashmi carried the movie all over. There were some dramatics hrown in for Indianing the story but that goes with our taste and spirit. Same for a couple of songs and an Item number, to make it commercially viable.Mr Banerjee adapting from the Costa Gavras movie after 40 long years probably proves once again that a classic is "timeless". It is good that he did pay homage to the original during the name casting which some very well known directors sometimes miss so sorely ; example SLB when he made "Black" from "The Miracle"..

Himanshu Mishra Shanghai is a level up for Dibaker Banerjee as well as Indian Cinema for so many reasons:1. I don't remember if there has ever been a director after Kundan Shah(Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron) who has braved a quality satire on Indian socio-political system.2. Shanghai shows nothing more than what you already know but still keeps you engrossed because the intensity never dies down.3. It is full of instances where ironical moments have been juxtaposed in the time line and that definitely is one of the core strengths of the movie. 4. Another facet of Abhay Deol is unveiled in Shanghai.He perfectly portrays the characters without overdoing the accent which even a seasoned actor could have ended up with.5. Emran Hashmi never lacked talent but Banerjee's Shanghai provides him of the right opportunity and Hasmi makes full of it by delivering a career defining performance.6. Kalki is her usual best displaying plethora of emotions with aplomb ease.7. The research done to show how the government machinery works is worthy of praise considering how most other movie makers don't even care to research.8. Above all these what makes this movie a grand success is the stupendous casting of all the secondary characters.Kudos!

Jeet Srivastava Shanghai is a movie far higher the standards of regular Bollywood and Indian cinema. Yet it has a slow first half and quite predictable yet interesting plot. Abhay Deol has surpassed any member of Deol family in terms of his acting talent, while Emraan is consistently getting better. We have too thank Dibakar Banerjee for making such movies which are catering to the vast Indian audience who want to see quality movies with little non sense. His direction is ultimate while his ground research just like in his previous movies has portrayed all his characters in originality, the best being Indian bureaucrats(IAS). Music is good and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jay', rocks. Movie may not show its Box office performance, which it deserved and Rowdy Rathore eating away its revenue but then Indian audience too amateur to appreciate such cinema. It really deserves to be watched to know Indian politics, bureaucracy while enjoying quality

Rick Barni Its really comforting to see recent Bollywood is been blessed with a bunch of talented and eager film makers who are honest with their frame and don't seem to compromise the portrayal against Box Office success. Dibakar Banerjee is surely the front liner amongst the elite.The story telling, characterization, brilliant drama and clinching suspense along with a superb performance from the entire cast was good enough to lift up this movie, but what made it a masterpiece was the perfectly delivered 'Real' ending. I wont spoil any, but the last 10 mins just blew me away. I have seen many movies plotted on socio-economic crisis/ issues and they wind up with a conventional ending of good sprouting over evil. One has to consider his film acceptance among the audience before delivering. And I'm sure majority of the happy go like audience will turn back on Shanghai just because the way it ended. Kudos to Dibakar for his guts to stay in real ground till the very finish line.The film has inherent honesty so one can relate the agony and absolute hopeless situation, the frustration of characters for their incapability. Symbolic use and character development is not an easy task for such a fast paced thriller, yet done in almost flawless manner. The disturbed girl, emotional attachment of a tyro videographer, blunt innocence of a criminal were painted beautifully. The song 'Bharat Mata ki' was so ironic. The movie forces you to realize in a Power backed corrupt country like India, best living policy is to play the 3 monkeys role of Gandhi. Don't hear Wrong, don't see all the wrong doings (keep your eyes shut to it) and don't talk about Evil or against it. Keep a safe distance from all these and you may be able to live an earnest life with daal-roti.This movie entirely belongs to the Directer who didn't show us cure or hope, but has thrashed us over the solidity and deed of our society, country and future as well.