Thumbs up, by Aakash Barvalia, MoviezADDA : ...Written and Directed by Ashok Kohli, the story of the movie is based on a social-dramatic issue, and thus the makers have successfully conveyed their message through their film, which is more than enough to impress the moviegoers.... full review

Thumbs up, by SpiceZee Bureau, Zee News : ...There’s also the promiscuous Bollywood-aspiring, morally-unsound item-number performing Sunita, played by the unconvincing Puja Bose. ... full review

So-So, by Mohar Basu, koimoi : ...While all eyes are on Leander Paes, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he doesn’t really disappoint you. For a first film and absolutely no background of acting, at places he does manage to make you forget that he is a Wimbledon winning tennis ace. His dialogue delivery would however need some improvement and mostly being an actor, his eyes fail to speak the pain and the thrill that his character was feeling. ... full review

So-So, by Sudhish Kamath, The Hindu : ...Every character here is grey and unlike mainstream populist films where trial by media results in people coming together in support of the innocent, here the filmmaker dares to say it as it is. That people don’t care. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...Instead of sharp confrontations, verbal showdowns and surprising twists, what's offered is the standard and customary drama that doesn't pack a punch after a point.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nikhil Arora, Desi Martini : ...To make matters worse there is a brief song, which is a mash-up of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Raghupati Raja Ram. No, I am not making this up.... full review

Thumbs down, by Ravina Rawal, FirstPost : ...the story, dialogues and execution are also all wrong, and the final plot is riddled with loopholes and loose ends.... full review

Thumbs down, Free Press Journal : ...The loosely non-linear pattern of the narrative that incorporates flashbacks of the past have little of interest and appear as speed breakers just when you expect the momentum to go a notch up further... full review

Thumbs down, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...There's lots of stupidity happening on-screen in the name of acting and in one instance, Priyanshu Chatterjee tells Leander to stop overacting. There you go, that itself tells you the pathetic state of the movie... full review

Thumbs down, by Divya Solgama, Gomolo.in : ...Jimmy Shergil, Sudhanshu Pandey, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Gulshan Grover and Mukesh Rishi try to do their best but fail to save the film. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Swati Deogire, In.com : ...Do NOT watch ‘Rajdhani Express’. It will destroy your memories of a once-hero called Leander Paes. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Fatema H Kagalwala, India Entertainment : ...acky sets and costumes, very poor editing and equally banal acting become the prime culprits in an already half-heartedly thought-out story... full review

Thumbs down, by Vinayak Chakravorty, india today : ...Leander just served a double fault. He has made a wrong career move, that too with the wrong debut vehicle.... full review

Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...The only one I felt a twinge for is Priyanshu Chatterjee, the Bengali idea-stealer of a script-writer, who puts in serious effort in order to pull off his exaggerated part. This is a good actor in a terrible film. Why can’t he get better roles? ... full review

Thumbs down, by Arun Janardhan, Live Mint : ...One of India’s most accomplished tennis players, known for his many emotional outbursts on court, he keeps a straight face through this mayhem.... full review

Thumbs down, by Shakti Shetty, MiD DAY : ...Priyanshu Chatterjee’s Bong act is almost convincing while Sudhanshu Pandey passes off as a fashion designer with a confusing sexual orientation. Jimmy Shergill comfortably continued with his A Wednesday cop persona. ... full review

Thumbs down, Movie Talkies : ...The dialogues, the characterization and the screenplay is amateurish, to put it mildly. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Karan Anshuman, Mumbai Mirror : ... Rajdhani Express may be the year’s first release but it is already in the running for the worst film of the year. Or ever. The film is a launch vehicle for Leander Paes - the defending champion who lost in the first round of the Chennai Open (out of nervousness as he kicks off his showbiz career?) - but surely hitching a ride on a Chennai auto rickshaw might’ve been a better choice than to get aboard this ridiculous romp called Rajdhani Express. It even makes Vinod Kambli’s Annarth (2002) and Ajay Jadeja’s Khel (2003) look like masterworks. What is going on this sham of a film? To start with, at a technical level, it is worse than the worst, most amateur student production. Most of the footage is out of focus and all of it has a fuzzy, grainy texture (awful reverse telecine of digitally shot footage?) Its production values are an insult to the term ‘production value’. Random outof-focus shots fill-in gaps with dialogue voiceovers. Plus I spotted at least three zoom-ins, and that’s the most you’re going to see in all movies this year put together because, well, that’s a retro aesthetic you simply don’t use anymore. Like wearing bell-bottoms to a corporate office. Tacky beyond redemption. Four passengers are in a booth in a train. One of them is Leander Paes and the others - a hooker, a tailor, and a communist - are classist and look down upon him as if he’s filth. Jimmy Sheirgill is a cop preventing a bomb from exploding that has been apparently put on the train by Paes (except he himself doesn’t know it) and makes many intense faces with a tinge of regret that clearly spells “why did I agree to this?” That’s really all I got of the story and I’m sure no one, including the writer, can fully explain the plot. The director seems to want to express his myriad personal views on life and disconnectedly mentions everything from Animal Farm to Marx to Godhra. Some of the scenes are simply too ludicrous to be seen on a big screen. Let me point out the ones that take place in the train’s bathroom: the hooker and tailor hook up here, a member of the bomb squad checks an open dustbin with a beeping instrument, and creepiest of all: Paes retreats here to stare at a photo of a child. There is some ridiculously overthe-top acting (what is Gulshan Grover doing in this movie?) overall and Paes follows the director’s dreadful instructions and comes across as foolish and pathetic. The once-upon-a-time toast of India, winner of 13 Grand Slam tennis titles, takes a shot at Bollywood and serves every opponent he’s ever had, an automatic advantage with this single stroke.... full review

Thumbs down, by Mansha Rastogi, Now Running.com : ...Music by Lahu Madhav and Ritesh Nalini is lackluster. Some of the songs are pointlessly placed and sound really horrid.... full review

Thumbs down, by Ankur Pathak, Rediff : ...it probably is beyond the realm of human comprehension to understand the rationale that goes behind funding these kinds of films. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters : ...Some dialogues are unintentionally funny and the acting is so bad, it’s good.... full review

Thumbs down, by Narendra Gupta, Star Blockbuster : ...To preachy a pill to be swallowed.... full review

Thumbs down, by Swati Rohatgi, STARDUST : ...Almost every actor falters in his/her performance. Right from Priyanshu Chatterjee who bugs you with his caricaturish Bengali twang to Sudhanshu Pandey who tries really hard to keep a serious face all fall flat courtesy the lackluster character sketch.... full review

Thumbs down, by Renuka Vyavahare, Times of India : ... Gulshan Grover as Rajdhani's shudh Hindi-speaking ticket collector and Priyanshu Chatterjee are the only actors who manage to keep you engaged on this otherwise derailed express.... full review

Thumbs down, by Reel Reptile, Upper Stall : .... The team behind this effort is no regular team. Down the ages, they will be remembered for successfully wiping out every trace of filmmaking that existed before 2013.... full review