Film Review - Bajrangi Bhaijaan

All You Need Is Love

 

Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Cast: Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddique, Harshaali Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor

Directed by: Kabir Khan

Duration: 2 hrs 28 mins

Rating:  * * * 1 / 2

To put it plainly, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is the best Salman Khan film by light years. Or conversely, it is an above average film in which Salman Khan happens to participate. Be that as it may, the film scores highly on the emotional quotient in good old Bollywood fashion. Full credit goes to director Kabir Khan who pulls off a rabbit from the hat. While Kabul Express and Ek Tha Tiger were action oriented films, this time he has opted to pull the heart strings. Fair to say, he succeeds in doing and that too in style and when you leave the theatre in admiration of what the filmmakers had to offer. 

Call it prejudice, but the fact is very few walk into a Salman Khan film expecting something off the beaten path.  And a film that has some layers to it and offers more than just entertainment is like asking for the moon. Hence, Bajrangi Bhaijan comes as a pleasant surprise. 

Indo-Pak stories usually are about rhetoric like Gadar or the Heena, Veer Zaara kind of love stories. Kabir Khan looks at the larger canvas. There is no love struck man and woman on the either side of the border, although this is more about love, caring as is taught in moral science.  Barring a couple of state actors there are no villains in it either and yes, this is an India Pakistan story.

Somewhere along the most picturesque side of the Pakistan border lives a little girl named Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra, incredibly expressive). She can’t speak hence her mother brings her to Nizamuddin dargah in Delhi but in a twist of fate she is left behind. Her parents lament “Hindustan mein koi to khuda ka ek nek bandah hoga jo hamari beti ka khayal rakhega” The nek bandah, is Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi aka Bajrangi (Salman Khan), the biggest bhakt of Lord Hanuman and someone who will never ever tell a lie. Such characters are likable, even if they exist in films because you know in real life they are hard to come by.   

Pawan takes her under her wings not knowing anything about her background or parents. As is mandatory in Bollywood and most certainly in a Salman film, romance is also the order of the day and the glamour quotient is fulfilled by Rasika (Kareena Kapoor). In a progressive tilt, her father (Sharat Saxena) bluntly refuses a marriage proposal for her because she is not inclined to it.  These subtle touches are what make the movie rise above the ordinary.  

The story gets going when Bajrangi crosses the border in search of the little girl’s parents. Nawazuddin Siddique plays a news reporter who lends them a helping hand and he steals the show with his wisecracks and terrific sense of timing. The finale will bring a lump to your throat and if your lacrimal glands are stirred easily, then a tissue box will come in handy – even Manmohan Desai would have been proud of the climax. In fact the last ten minutes is perhaps the only time when Salman Khan actually plays a character and not himself.

It is the overall conscious effort of portraying optimism and heart warming characters that strike a chord. Good guys still finish first seems to be the message and it is narrated with conviction. After Rajkumar Hirani, this seems to be the first attempt to entertain and yet tell a story that talks about values, even though on a relatively smaller scale.

Of the cast, Kareena Kapoor has an insignificant role to play. The little Harshaali Malhotra charms you with her cute looks but more importantly, she can act. Salman’s character is such that he gets to play his usual self and to be fair to him, he is sincere and earnest in some of the key scenes. Nawazuddin is first rate, as he usually is.

So, believe it or faint, this Salman Khan film deserves a strong recommendation.  

Published in The Navhind Times on 19th July 2015

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Film Review- Singham Returns

 

Police Story

Film: Singham Returns

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Amole Gupte

Directed by: Rohit Shetty

Duration: 2 hrs 22 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

Basking on the success of Singham, Rohit Shetty returns with the sequel that is solely aimed at pleasing the masses. There is action, romance, at times it is preachy but above all, it gives the audience what they've come to see - the hero kicking the baddies ass. In one scene, bullets are fired literally on the either buttock of the villains. The crowd is happy, it is their moment of catharsis.

Hopefully one day, Rohit Shetty will make a film with a screenplay that doesn’t play to the gallery all the way. He has the talent and flair to make a taut action thriller but why bother with all that when the cash register keeps ringing and rings so loud with stories that cater to the lowest common denominator?

The film is a tribute to the police force, we are told how such few number of policemen looks after millions of citizens in Mumbai, where the story is situated. Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn) is now a senior police officer working with a thoroughly dedicated team, including inspector Daya. A scene involving the inspector in the climax is a hoot.

When he is not catching the bad guys or shooting them with an aim that will make our Common Wealth Games shooters proud, he spends time with Avni (Kareena Kapoor), they don't want to get married to each other but there is parental pressure. You know the drill. Avni's character is purely to fulfill the glamour quotient.

The villain here is a godman (Amole Gupte, over the top but highly effective) who is also a conman and his dirty deeds are done dirt cheap. He is hand in glove with a politician (Zakir Hussain) who is trying to counter the principled and noble Guruji (Anupam Kher).  

      

The stage is set for jeeps and cars to be blown, tankers to be rammed and bullets to be sprayed in this no expense barred enterprise. In between, Shetty also evokes some emotions - the plight of the widows of police constables or the scene where a mother from a slum challenges talks about their plight and challenges Singham.

The film is not devoid of humor either, in fact it is fun when it doesn’t take itself seriously. The problem lies with the basic story and screenplay writer Yunus Sajawal's filmography with endless duds boggles the mind yet he continues to find favor. 

Shetty knows how the manipulate the feelings of the viewer, given the grievances with regards to corruption and apathy to problems, the audience is more than happy to see a revolt on the screen. For good measure, an episode of communal harmony is also thrown in.  

The action is always something to look forward to in a Rohit Shetty's film, it is in genes after all (his father was the legendary fight master Shetty). While there is no money shot action in the climax, a shoot-out near the railway track is well executed. 

While Kareena does her best to infuse life in her otherwise dull character, Ajay Devgn plays his role with conviction. On the whole Singham Returns has its moment and those who know what to expect from it won't be disappointed.       

Published in The Navhind Times on 17th August 2014

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