Movie Review : Singham

Rating : 3.8/5
Genre : Action
Year : 2011
Running time : 2 hours 18 minutes
Director : Rohit Shetty
Cast : Ajay Devgn, Prakash Raj, Kajal Aggarwal, Goving Namdeo, Sonali Kulkarni, Ashok Saraf, Sachin Khedekar
Kid rating : PG-13

SINGHAM : WELL-MUSCLED !

I’d heard so many mixed reviews of this film before I saw it, that I was a bit wary of actually seeing it! But see it I did. And I’m sort of surprised, because I liked it. Yes, it is Southie inspired, so it’s over the top with the stunts and the emotion, and it’s overwrought characters seems to live in the Himmatwala era (Kajal’s churidaars reminded me of the ones Sridevi so often sported in her movies) – a throwback to the 80s. Therefore there is some foolishness, but it is mostly relegated to the first half of the film. The second half is cinematic meat – fairly tight and action packed.

Bajirao Singham (Devgan) is a small town policeman, ensconced in his near-Goa hometown where he ensures that all it’s denizens live peacefully. Honest Singham gets into hot water when he refuses to kowtow to slimy Goan politician Jaykant Shikre. Shikre, affronted and eager to get revenge, arranges for Singham to be transferred to Goa, where the police and the bureaucracy are in his pocket. Singham moves to Goa, which is conveniently where his lady-love Kavya Bhosle(Kajal Agarwal) resides. Romance might be blooming on the home front, but on the work front all is rocky. Shikre is a formidable enemy and will stop at nothing to crush Singham. With the deck stacked against him, will our hero be able to fight back ?

This film has characters which are big and bigger. Singham (the name means lion) is all righteous muscle and brawn, displaying a ferociousness not usually seen in Hind film heroes. Ajay gives the film it’s rabid appeal, because he appears powerful and unstoppable. He is fitter than ever – all biceps and chest – and when he beats up ten goondas at once, you kind of believe it. His is an unsmiling character, and since Devgun has the best scowl in all of Bollywood (yes, it can fell trees!) , this character suits him just fine. Singham is a taciturn hero but when he does speak, it is to deliver meaty, over-the-top filmi dialogues to make the bad guys quaver. The bad guy Shikre doesn‘t quaver quite so easily. Played impeccably by Prakash Raj, Shikre is egoistical, evil and oh-so-wily. Both Devgn and Prakash Raj dominate screen space, especially with the camera angles that make them into towering figures. This film belongs to both of them.

The rest of the cast was adequately supportive. Kajal Agarwal is tall and sweet and stuck with an inconsistent character; Kavya seems to vacillate between I-have-no-brain-to-my-name petulant and eminently sensible, with intermittent bouts of being love-smitten. Sonali Kulkari has a small but pivotal role as the widow of an honest police officer Rakesh Kadam (Sudhanshu Pandey). Veterans like Govind Namdeo, Ashok Saraf and Sachin Khedekar have small roles but delineate them with the required overwrought-ness.

The film is an action flick – first and foremost. Yes, there is romance and slapstick, but that’s in the background, mostly frivolous and done with pre-intermission. The action sequences on the other hand, use a lot of slow motion for impact and are almost Matrix-like in their quality, even when they are outlandish and defy the laws of physics. A lot of people have compared this film to Dabangg. Yes, the storyline is similar – good cop against evil villain(s), but this film is differentiated from the rest by the character of Singham – a policeman who is serious, scrupulous and not as given to whimsy/comedy as Chulbul Pandey.

This film may not win awards for realism, but is fairly good paisa-vasool; masala at it’s bombastic best.

Kidwise : Yes, there is cringe-worthy stuff in here, but tolerable enough for the 12+ crowd; I rate it PG-13.