I have a very good reason for reviewing this movie slightly later than I should have - I didn't want to watch the movie. I had reached a point where I wasn't willing to go even if someone else paid for my tickets. Seeing the trailer twice had put me off. I knew what to expect - an angry, testosterone charged, righteous man with biceps the size of watermelons beating the living daylights out of a stereotypical goon. But a bunch of Afghani terrorists eventually knocked me out with excessive chloroform, covered my head with a sack that smelled of soiled underwear and before I knew what was happening, I found myself seeing the opening credits to the movie Singham. Was my sceptical self surprised with the film? No. Was my sceptical self proved wrong? Of course not.
Bajirao Singham (no he isn't a Tamil-Muslim-Hindu triple cross) is an honest police officer living in the town of Shivgarh. He is a hardworking vigilante, deserving of all the respect bestowed upon him by his townsfolk. He can be termed as Superman without the underwear; yes, he is that strong. He crosses paths with evil-politician-gang leader- corrupt-man-extortionist-kidnapper Jaykant Shikre. They fight. Physics is raped. End of story.
Ajay Devgn has run a full loop. After experimenting with action, romance, dramas, comedy and even a musical, he is back to where he started from. This time, he has come well prepared to stun the audience with his thoroughly ripped body, leaving not a single muscle that can't kill men if hit with. As Bajirao Singham, he is the cop that you always wanted to see in your neighbourhood. Ajay Devgn suits this image well. There are several allusions to him being a lion, and a lion he is. Anything that gets in between him and what he wants can be considered as good as annihilated; and that includes men, cars and everything else remotely movable. The only grudge I bear against him is his total disregard towards destruction of public property, but that's quickly forgiven as he relentlessly kicks ass in novel, entertaining ways.
Prakash Raj as Jaykant Shikre is the perfect match for this macho-man- with-his-butt-on-fire. He is a vile, wicked and ruthless thug with an ego as big as Singham's bulges. The two form a made-in-Heaven couple, each very well justifying the existence of the other. He also has a caustic sense of humour which is much-appreciated in the tense atmosphere. However, the worst part of him is not that he kidnaps children, tortures men or drives officers to the point of suicide; it is that he is corrupt. Yes, the 'C' word. That is reason alone for all of the audience to join hands against him and cheer Singham as he repeatedly goes Rambo on Shikre's defences.
Somewhere in the middle of the movie, or earlier if you are smart, you may realize that the movie could have as well be shot on the moon. The film probably made Isaac Newton toss in his grave. There is nothing that even remotely obeys the laws of physics in the movie; by that I mean no gravity, no inertia and neither any sense of force. Singham can basically do whatever the hell he wants to, and that includes jump onto people flying in mid-air, uproot light poles cemented onto a surface or kick a chair to Mars. This could have been forgiven if he had been a Superhero with superpowers dressed in a super-costume, but since that's not the case, it just alienates the movie from reality. Though the crowd loved this, with some hardly managing to hold onto their seats due to the excitement, adrenaline or booze, I was just left bewildered.
There are aspects that are unremarkable about the film. The music is crass and boring. Except the lead song there isn't anything of the music that you carry with you outside the theatre, and that thing you do, the lead song that is, gets stuck in your head like a non-terminating loop. There are shots in slo-mo, as you'd expect in any action flick. It also has a retro touch to it, which is currently the new hot, chick of Hindi cinema. Viewers are going to love it. Powerful lead performances, death- defying stunts, old-school action sequences; it's going to sell like hotcakes in famine inflicted Somalia. That is if the Somalians are into bakery products and all that.
But from a critical point of view, the romance is mawkish, with the obligatory girl-by-the-hero's-side, Kajal Agrawal getting onto your nerves. She is loud, boisterous and clearly excited to be in Bollywood. In all honesty, she sucks. Most of the side-cast is just a waste of screen-space. They are like unwanted flab on someone's behind. On a random note, I think I must learn to give better similes.
The film has a historical baggage of its own - it is a remake of a Tamil movie titled Singam (notice the missing 'h'; that's the creativity). It is about time Indian directors learnt that remaking Tamil films isn't entirely a smart thing to do. Add to it dialogues in Marathi. The crowd gets turned on. Hoots, cheers, wolf-howls. Ringing cash counters. Disgusted critic.
It only proves once again that Bollywood still hasn't grown up.
Bajirao Singham (no he isn't a Tamil-Muslim-Hindu triple cross) is an honest police officer living in the town of Shivgarh. He is a hardworking vigilante, deserving of all the respect bestowed upon him by his townsfolk. He can be termed as Superman without the underwear; yes, he is that strong. He crosses paths with evil-politician-gang leader- corrupt-man-extortionist-kidnapper Jaykant Shikre. They fight. Physics is raped. End of story.
Ajay Devgn has run a full loop. After experimenting with action, romance, dramas, comedy and even a musical, he is back to where he started from. This time, he has come well prepared to stun the audience with his thoroughly ripped body, leaving not a single muscle that can't kill men if hit with. As Bajirao Singham, he is the cop that you always wanted to see in your neighbourhood. Ajay Devgn suits this image well. There are several allusions to him being a lion, and a lion he is. Anything that gets in between him and what he wants can be considered as good as annihilated; and that includes men, cars and everything else remotely movable. The only grudge I bear against him is his total disregard towards destruction of public property, but that's quickly forgiven as he relentlessly kicks ass in novel, entertaining ways.
Prakash Raj as Jaykant Shikre is the perfect match for this macho-man- with-his-butt-on-fire. He is a vile, wicked and ruthless thug with an ego as big as Singham's bulges. The two form a made-in-Heaven couple, each very well justifying the existence of the other. He also has a caustic sense of humour which is much-appreciated in the tense atmosphere. However, the worst part of him is not that he kidnaps children, tortures men or drives officers to the point of suicide; it is that he is corrupt. Yes, the 'C' word. That is reason alone for all of the audience to join hands against him and cheer Singham as he repeatedly goes Rambo on Shikre's defences.
Somewhere in the middle of the movie, or earlier if you are smart, you may realize that the movie could have as well be shot on the moon. The film probably made Isaac Newton toss in his grave. There is nothing that even remotely obeys the laws of physics in the movie; by that I mean no gravity, no inertia and neither any sense of force. Singham can basically do whatever the hell he wants to, and that includes jump onto people flying in mid-air, uproot light poles cemented onto a surface or kick a chair to Mars. This could have been forgiven if he had been a Superhero with superpowers dressed in a super-costume, but since that's not the case, it just alienates the movie from reality. Though the crowd loved this, with some hardly managing to hold onto their seats due to the excitement, adrenaline or booze, I was just left bewildered.
There are aspects that are unremarkable about the film. The music is crass and boring. Except the lead song there isn't anything of the music that you carry with you outside the theatre, and that thing you do, the lead song that is, gets stuck in your head like a non-terminating loop. There are shots in slo-mo, as you'd expect in any action flick. It also has a retro touch to it, which is currently the new hot, chick of Hindi cinema. Viewers are going to love it. Powerful lead performances, death- defying stunts, old-school action sequences; it's going to sell like hotcakes in famine inflicted Somalia. That is if the Somalians are into bakery products and all that.
But from a critical point of view, the romance is mawkish, with the obligatory girl-by-the-hero's-side, Kajal Agrawal getting onto your nerves. She is loud, boisterous and clearly excited to be in Bollywood. In all honesty, she sucks. Most of the side-cast is just a waste of screen-space. They are like unwanted flab on someone's behind. On a random note, I think I must learn to give better similes.
The film has a historical baggage of its own - it is a remake of a Tamil movie titled Singam (notice the missing 'h'; that's the creativity). It is about time Indian directors learnt that remaking Tamil films isn't entirely a smart thing to do. Add to it dialogues in Marathi. The crowd gets turned on. Hoots, cheers, wolf-howls. Ringing cash counters. Disgusted critic.
It only proves once again that Bollywood still hasn't grown up.