Movie Review : Simmba (2018)

Rating : 2/5
Genre : Drama/Action
Year : 2018
Running time : 2 hours 45 minutes
Director : Rohit Shetty
Cast : Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Ajay Devgun, Sonu Sood
Kid rating : PG-13

If you’ve watched the Trailer you wouldn’t be in any doubt that Simmba was going to be a masala movie, and not necessarily a bad one. I did like Singham, and hoped that this would be similar or better. However Simmba by comparison is so very, very OTT – it’s like kuch bhi! I’m dissapointed.

Anyway, formalities first, so here’s the gist : Sangram Bhalerao (aka Simmba) is a corrupt police officer who has only one objective – how to make the most of his job and line his pockets. However, when his muh-boli behen, a girl he considers to be his sister, is brutally raped, Simmba decides to alter course. Experienced officer Singham comes in to lend a hand.

Given that Simmba is a Rohit Shetty film, I had no expectations of any nuanced emotions. The characters are all either black or white, don’t think too much, make impetuous, illogical decisions and all emotion and drama is milked to the T. There are lots of colorful songs, gaana bajaana, with lavish sets, a ton of extras and our hero is resplendent slo-mo. It’s like Salman’s song sequences in Dabangg but even more OTT.

Simmba’s every move is stylized beautifully in slo-mo, from the time he makes his first appearance to when he really gets into it with the action scenes. Of course there could be no better hero than Ranveer to make the most of this, because he is such an entertainer. He hams with panache, dances with swagger, and delivers even the most inane dialogues with such aplomb that it is a pleasure to see him on screen. This is his film truly – he is in literally every frame.

Sara Ali Khan is the heroine and her role is more like a guest appearance. She is in like 5 scenes, relegated to the songs, and some romancing. Sonu Sood as the villain has a chunkier role than Khan. He does well too, flexing his massive biceps and spewing out cuss-laden lines with menace. Ajay Devgun makes a late (slo-mo) entry in the film, and there was actual clapping in my packed theater when he did!

If you are in the mood for a brainless, masala entertainer, Simmba is perfect. Me, I preferred Singham – Ranveer while entertaining is a little too flighty and frisky to be taken seriously, a problem brooding Ajay Devgun does not have. Consequentially Singham had more heft. Simmba also felt regressive, a step backwards in the direction of 80’s hindi potboilers, which hinged upon the macho male avenging the highly prized aurat-ki-izzat. Also, I’m put-off by the film’s oblique reference to the Nirbhaya rape; Nirbhaya’s injuries are not meant to be used as cheap plot-points/details in masala entertainers.

Kidwise : Suggestive dialogs and dance moves. While there is a rape in the film, nothing is actually shown.