Critic Reviews

It helps that this quiet film is stocked with actors who can carry the weight of their long silences, as well as a stellar supporting cast.

What Batra is reaching for here is the fairy tale beguilements of Bollywood romance but without all the hoopla. He wants to tenderize the Bollywood clichés and bring the essence of their ardor into the real, teeming world of Mumbai.

Batra turns a story that sounds tired and goofy into a lovely film with a tone of tender sadness.

A lovely, charming and gently transporting journey.

Photograph is decidedly old-fashioned and the outcome is never in doubt but the craft is impeccable, the performances low-key and likeable plus there is something persuasive about Batra’s gentle worldview, his faith in people and love restorative.

Throughout Photograph, Batra shows a sensitive touch and a patient eye for the subtle rhythms of human connection

What’s consistent about Photograph is the way it maintains the delicacy of a particularly fine short story, complete with some ghostly supporting characters and plenty of ellipses where more conventional movies would amp up the exclamation points.

Siddiqui and Malhotra are well suited to the gentle tone of the film, both quietly expressive in scenes where everything is conveyed through posture and eyes.

For a romantic comedy, Photograph is a little light on romance or comedy, but it makes up for this in thoughtfulness and charm. Photograph is a wistful, old-fashioned romance for those struggling to move forward with one foot in the past.

The Mumbai-set Photograph is a gentle romance cleverly told, and not without humour.