Dabangg 2
Year: 2012
Director: Arbaaz Khan
Cast: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Prakash Raj

Of late, Hindi cinema has been happily churning out new editions of popular film franchises. Golmaal, Dhamaal, Malaamal, Hera Pheri, Don, Sarkar, House Full, Bheja Fry, Bhoot, Raaz, Murder, Jism, Jannat…so many films have come up with second and even third follow-up installments to cash in on the success of the original. Of course, not every such attempt has succeeded at the box-office. So when producer Arbaaz Khan decided to take directorial reins in own hands (by displacing Abhinav Kashyap) for the second coming of Dabangg, everyone waited and watched with great interest.

Now that the wait is over, what’s there in store for the audience? Does Arbaaz manage to recapture the magic of the 2010- original? Does Salman have it in him to deliver yet another blockbuster?

What’s the plot?

The fearless super-cop Chulbul alias Robin Hood Pande (Salman Khan) has come to be posted in Kanpur. Now happily married to his sweetheart Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) and cozily comfortable with his step-father (Vinod Khanna) and step-brother (Arbaaz Khan); Chulbul brings his famed ‘Rob the rich, help the poor’, rough and tough act to the city. Soon he rubs the local MP-cum-Mafia don (Prakash Raj) and his lawless brothers the wrong way. Now the crime-lord and his cronies have this daredevil do-gooder cop and his family on their radar. How will this no-holds barred fight pan out?

What’s hot?

·         Salman Khan is in his elements while bringing to life his most popular character to date. His Chulbul Pande is the perfect all-in-one hero, seamlessly mixing up action, romance and comedy.  The ease with which he essays the role and the fun, joy and cool conviction he brings to the proceedings is something to be enjoyed on big screen.

·         The supporting cast performs brilliantly. Sonakshi Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Arbaaz and Prakash Raj leave their mark and so do the actors playing cops in Chulbul’s team.

·         The film is fast-paced and lavishly mounted.

·         Arbaaz Khan’s direction is quite assured.

·         Sajid-Wajid compose a catchy score.

What’s not?

·         By turning Chulbul into a contented family-man, the plot becomes a bit mushy and loses the edgy complexity of the original film.

·         Prakash Raj doesn’t get much to do in his bad guy act. The real hero versus villain tussle begins too late and ends too fast.

·         Perhaps one song too many.

Verdict

Even though Dabangg 2 lacks the emotional complexity and the raw, earthy feel of the original, it still has enough enticing potboiler elements to connect to the masses. Salman Khan’s towering presence and crackerjack performance ensures that the film would add to his ever-growing list of 100 crore-plus blockbusters.

 He just proves that he is the hottest Khan of Bollywood today!

Rating

3 out of 5 stars