Singham Returns
Year: 2014
Director: Rohit Shetty
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Amole Gupte, Anupam Kher, Zakir Hussain

When it comes to hard-core commercial Hindi cinema, or let’s just say when it comes to Bollywood Masala movies, there is no better contemporary director than Rohit Shetty. Madcap comedies (Golmaal franchise, All The Best, Bol Bachchan), romantic comedies (Chennai Express), action flicks (Singham)…Shetty has successfully handled many movie genres with aplomb and that too with different stars. But his equation with Ajay Devgn is something special. In terms of pure box-office impact, it is almost reaching the epic status once enjoyed by the mighty Big B- Manmohan Desai combine.

The first installment of Singham (2011) was a racy entertainer set on a rural backdrop where an incorruptible cop Bajirao Singham took on a political heavyweight villain and in the process shook up the whole police force. It had loads of action, dollops of fun and a crackerjack one-liner (Aata maajhi satakali!). It was almost a perfect masala movie.

Naturally the expectations are high when Shetty once again teams up with Devgn to dish out Singham Returns. Is it a perfect reprise?

What’s the plot?

The scene has shifted from village to city. Inspector Bajirao Singham is now posted in Mumbai and continuing with his no-nonsense policing. The election season is on. The ruling party, long frustrated by its dishonorable coalition partner party, has decided to go solo and it has fielded young, honest candidates. This decision has been taken at the behest of the ruling party’s senior upright leader (Anupam Kher), who is by the way Singham’s ex-school-teacher. But the decision to part ways has not gone well with the coalition party. So its phony spiritual spearhead ‘Baba’ (Amole Gupte) and corrupt leader (Zakir Hussain) start plotting to bump off their adversaries. How will Singham thwart their evil schemes?

What’s hot?

·        Rohit Shetty deftly embeds a lot of real life sociopolitical incidents and characters into his script.

·        The film moves at a fast clip and provides many high octane action scenes.

·        Ajay Devgn coolly carries on with the simmering Singham persona.

·        Dayanand Shetty (Daya of the CID-fame) shines in his bit role.

What’s not?

·        The film takes itself too seriously. There is a definite political agenda in the way the characters are portrayed.

·        The story doesn’t hold any surprises.

·        Kareena Kapoor as Singham’s firebrand fiancée goes overboard in her portrayal and her attempts to be funny are irritating at times.

·        Prakash Raj as the villain of original Singham was a treat to watch. In comparison, the duo of Amole Gupte and Zakir Hussain do not manage to lend conviction to their negative leads.

·        The music is forgettable.

Verdict

Just as Dabangg 2 lost its edge in its rural to urban makeover, Singham Returns too loses out in its city transformation. By taking its rather overt socio-political agenda too seriously, Singham Returns almost forgets its fun aspect. The original Singham had many memorable light moments; here we hardly get any and the few randomly planted comic scenes lack flair. The new (much more accomplished!) heroine overacts and the new villains lack teeth. Still the contemporary storyline, pacy action-packed presentation and Devgn’s convincing central character offer enough to keep you engaged. Yes, it is enough to make it a box-office winner but I had expected much more from it!

Rating

2.5 stars