There are moments in Imtiaz Alis Tamasha that are so powerful they pierce you straight in the heart. Tamasha is an uneven film; it oscillates between inventive and indulgent, never quite striking a consistent tone.In the end, Tamasha doesnt come together satisfactorily, but its not for a lack of trying. Im going with two-and-a-half out of five. Theres a lot to appreciate here, and more than a few moments thatll break your heart.

On the whole, Tamasha is a disapp­ointing fare for a large chunk of the audience. It will find favour with a section of the city youth and class audiences but that will be grossly insufficient to recover the investment in the film. It will, therefore, entail heavy losses to all concerned.

The philosophy of the film is simple. If you conform in life, you will exist. However, if you indulge, even from time to time, you can actually live. Like the protagonists, all of us know what it is to be tied down and not do what our hearts long. But the route Tamasha takes is long-winded and plain boring at times. Deepika and Ranbir convey their angst and passion so convincingly that you’re hooked. Except for the curiosity about them, the rest of the drama is `oh,never-mind’.

I have never quite understood the worship thats showered on Jab We Met (though some scenes do have a buzz) or any of other Imtiaz Ali movies. Like its the case with all his movies, there are no real people in Tamasha — there are only character-types written in little pink balloon-letters, all floating in cloudland. But between all that templatisation, here, Ali, very briefly tries to document darkness without trying to verbalise it. Very briefly, we see an honest film and some three-dimensional characters. The dread in Imtiaz Alis Tamasha feels real. The silliness, however, comes across as too orchestrated.

An off-the beaten track love story that does not go far enough with its surprises, Imtiaz Alis Tamasha is a film that flatters to deceive. It rolls along smoothly, but so facile are its placid twists and pat resolutions that they cause nary an emotional ripple. Its overly simplistic fairy-tale construct creative and free-spirited son versus pragmatic and domineering dad is given a gender-reversal spin.Tamasha is at best a one-time watch because of the sparkle the leads lend to it. It could have been so much more.

This is not a film telling us a trite, oft repeated story of longings and ecstasies of a man and woman in love. This unique love story talks of self love. It jolts you out of your safe cocoon of social conditioning to pointedly ask you if you love yourself enough to be able to throw up the rules of society and live the way you really want to. But watch this one. You might come out loving yourself a little more than you do.

I really liked a lot of the second half. Theres so much good stuff going on, including the pair which strays, and then journeys towards each other. Despite its flaws, this is Alis most complex story, teeming with ideas, and gives us Ranbir back again, along with the lovely Deepika, even if the plot keeps losing sight of her : there are tracts when she goes missing.

The sad part is that with TAMASHA, Imtiaz Ali fails to live upto the expectations and falls flat with the film. The movie suffers from a plot that appears confusing and is convoluted for an avid cinegoer. On the whole, TAMASHA comes across as a colossal disappointment in spite of towering performances and chemistry between the lead stars. At the box-office, the film will find it difficult to sustain and negative word of mouth will further erode its business capacity to a great extent.

In spite of the caption Why Always The Same Story, Imtiaz repeats himself and digs deeper into his style of storytelling. In certain portions, Tamasha is like Jab We Met meets Rockstar and thats what disappoints as we the film does not elevate itself from his previous works. Tamasha is certainly a one time watch! It is a typical Imtiaz Ali film and hence you cannot go with an expectation of watching a frothy romance. Dealing with the concept of love in a cryptic form, this film will not appeal to everyone.

Overall, ‘Tamasha’ is a definite watch for all those who believe in love and the fact that people change, but not always for reasons of their own, but because of the world they live in. A clear picture of how twisted your life can become, under the painful currents of life. But, the clear winners in this ‘drama’ are the protagonists, more than the story itself.

I like Tamasha because it talks about freedom that comes with solo travelling.The final verdict? Should we go and watch? Umm yes! I feel Shagun Batra dealt with the same issue in Ek Main Aur Ek Tu a shade better, devoid of any dramatics, real and urbane. But Tamasha, despite bringing in a touch of tamasha, is a one-time watch for sure. 3 stars. Okay 0.5 extra for Deepika = 3.5 stars!

Tamasha may have its heart in the right place, but the conflict in Ved and Taras lives will not get your pulse racing. The lead actors and Corsica look picture-perfect, but the movie isnt free of blemishes. Kapoor does a decent job of bringing out the anguish in Ved, but its Padukone whos riveting