Critic'al talk: What goes on in the mind of a film reviewer? Here it from one

As a critic, it is important to understand that our job is one of integrity, and that is what matters more than our equation with film personalities. You don’t have to suck up to them and you need to be able to write what is right. That might seem tough, considering most of us are film writers and journalists who meet with the same people for interviews and other conversations often.

But most people don’'t take such things to heart and understand that you are doing your job. Also, when a film is bad, you can never blame an individual. I am critical but do not blame a single person and talk about my experience of the film as a whole.

However, critics don’t really matter in the bigger picture, because all they are trying to do is build a narrative around a film. When I write a review it’s never about people at all, and is instead about me and what I feel about a film. It’s a tough job to bring objectivity into what you write, but that’s what you got to do.

And in the end, there are innumerable times when a film you rave about doesn't fare well at the box office, while a movie you didn’t quite connect to becomes a blockbuster.
C.R. Hemanth Kumar,
renowned critic and film writer