Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain Movie Reviews
Avg. Critics Rating
Verdict: Cool based on 3 reviews
Avg. User Rating
3.0
Verdict: Cool based on 1 reviews & ratings
4.0
Prasanna Zore | Rediff
…an honest yet haunting film. The images of those who suffered will stay with you for quite some time.Read full review4.0
Subhash K Jha | SKJBollywoodNews
…leaves us with feeling of a deep longing for the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, and for the victims of imperialism anywhere at any time. Come to think of it, while the victims of the tragedy in Bhopal await justice, the only good thing to come out of the tragedy is this haunting dramatic film. Not to be missed.Read full review
3.5
Rohit Khilnani | India Today
Filmmaker Ravi Kumar has captured everything that this drama needed. The feel of Bhopal in the 80s, the slum life, the joy of a man who lands a job at the plant and the disaster, everything if managed well. However the quality of production could have been better.Bhopal – A Prayer for Rain is a story that needed to be told.Read full review3.5
Meeta Kabra | Wogma
The incident itself was of course unfortunate, and Bhopal – A Prayer for Rain brings about the events that led up to the eventual disaster in an engaging format.Read full review3.0
Surabhi Redkar | Koimoi
Do not assume that it is a documentary that will bore you with an informative story. This film is a must watch if you wish to know the plight of Bhopal residents, who are still fighting for justice. It is a dose of reality for both Indians and Americans, to learn how they brought on India’s worst chemical disaster.Read full review3.0
Saibal Chatterjee | NDTV
It has its shares of flaws and lows, but Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain is still a must-see film for the courage of its conviction, if for nothing else.Read full review3.0
Rahul Desai | Mumbai Mirror
This isn’t an easy event to storify, because it is even harder to watch. While much of it merely lends grainy well-cut images to pages we’ve been hesitant to read about, this is a film that shouldn’t be escaped.Read full review3.0
Mayank Shekhar | The W14
This one, directed by a relative newcomer Ravi Kumar, benefits hugely from Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire in its style of presentation—quick camera movements, pacey editing, the screen made vibrant by colourful gunk around unwashed little children… Some of these shots are Third World clichés. But more importantly the film for the most part ends up effectively dramatizing a part fictional, part factual account (reportedly based on Sanjoy Hazarika’s book). It keeps you informed and entertained.Read full review
3.0
Meena Iyer | Times of India
The film revisits the Bhopal gas tragedy of December 1984 that left around 3700 people dead and countless others, incapacitated for life.Read full review3.0
Sonia Chopra | Sify
Despite the cast and solid performances, the film doesn’t quite get it together. As is often the case, there is a yawning gap between the good intentions of a film, and the way it actually pans out!Read full review2.5
Sweta Kaushal | Hindustan Times
Bhopal A Prayer For Rain is a must-watch, for the sheer gravity of the criminal incident that remains unresolved three decades after it occurred. Also, it blames both the American and Indian sides.Sadly, this film does not offer any new insights into the tragedy. It could have been far more touching with a better research. Nonetheless, the performances and a decent screenplay make it worth a watch.Read full review
2.5
Shubhra Gupta | Indian Express
What makes the film worth your time is the way it states, unequivocally, that the gas need not have leaked if Union Carbide and its employees and its votaries had come together to pull the plug in time.Read full review2.5
Bollywood Hungama News Network | Bollywood Hungama
…an average film but surely a onetime watch.Read full review2.5
Shubha Shetty-Saha | Mid Day
The second half is far more gripping and keeps you involved as you witness thousands of our helpless countrymen battling for survival during that dreadful night. We have all heard of the tragedy but watching it unspooling in front of your eyes is bound to disturb you — and also highlights the apathy of the government towards the safety of its citizens.Read full review2.5
Tanaya Ramyani | BookMyShow
…an extraordinary testament of human tragedy. It probes deep into the lives of the victims of the 1984 industrial disaster. Ravi Kumar deftly sheds light on the corruption and negligence of the higher authorities, which led to one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. Watch the film for its dramatic essence and the Rajpal Yadav’s acting prowess.Read full review2.5
Daily Bhaskar | Daily Bhaskar
Watch the film for some good performances by the actors, and for a decent interpretation of what might have happened on the night of disaster.Read full review2.0
Rajeev Masand | IBNLive
There is a sense of drama in the final moments, in the manner that the gas leak is shot: the chaos at the general hospital, the bodies strewn in the slums, on the hospital steps, in the streets. It’s commendable that the film relives the terrible tragedy of the gas leak, but sadly, it has few moments that are extraordinary or even genuinely moving.Read full review1.5
Suhani Singh | India Today
Inspired by real events and characters, Kumar has said that he hopes to inform the newer generation about the tragedy. Unfortunately, this is not the film that does justice to it.Read full review
NR
Suparna Sharma | Deccan Chronicle
Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain tells the story of the worst of times with some needless “cinematic liberties” that make it a lesser movie, but, perhaps, a more palatable one. It begs a sequel a film about how our legal luminaries, led by Fali S. Nariman and Nani Palkiwala, argued in courts for several billable hours paid for by the Union Carbide Corporation, and ensured that Union Carbide had to cough up just $1,000 for every death it caused. It could be titled, Bhopal: A Courtroom Tragedy.Read full reviewNR
Komal Nahta | Komal Nahta's Blog
…an excellent film which moves the viewer. It will come in for a lot of critical acclaim but, unfortunately, its box-office results will not match its merits and the acclaim because of lack of face value and awareness among the public. The film deserves entertainment tax-exemption in every state of India.Read full reviewNR
Sanjukta Sharma | LiveMint
The climactic scenes of mass hysteria and death have some powerful moments and make you wonder why we don’t remind ourselves of this tragedy more often. But apart from the provocative end, Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain is a wasted opportunity.Read full review
NR
Anuj Kumar | The Hindu
There is an attempt to whip up melodrama by intercutting the gas leak with a wedding and there could have been many other angles to the story but the camera doesn’t linger on the desperation to cash the poignancy. Kumar’s approach is neutral as he recreates the sensory experience of that ill-fated night. Unlike Carbide he doesn’t devalue death.Read full review
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3.0
My review of Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain (2014) by bangreaayushi
jyothimathur, 9 years agoA heart touching initative! The title of the movie has the exact thing to convey. The film is taken from the Bhopal gas tragedy that had taken place few years back. The movie has depicted the same thing. Rajpal Yadav’s performance stole hearts of millions. The film has a perfect amalgamation of the incidences and dialogues that are combined together. This is director’s Ravi Kumar’s second movie. Although the movie has heart touching story, but somewhere it failed to find the perfect solution for the problem that encountered while this gas incident. May be the director wanted something short and crisp. Then the film is insane in few scenes. The film’s music has added life to this film. If the writers could have worked a bit, then surely it would be much more pleasing and more intense. Few Hollywood actors have done justice with their roles but rest, the film has many potholes that fail to deliver the message perfectly. Cinematography is magical with good screenplay. The film’s set is also staggering. One last element not to be missed in the movie are those floating bodies which have been shown while the gas tragedy.
