Actor: Ajay Devgn, Anupam Kher, Zakir Hussain

Actress: Kareena Kapoor

Director: Rohit Shetty

Genre: Action

Release Date: 15th August, 2014

Rating: 2.5/5 

Director: Rohit Shetty

Plot: Following the 2011 super hit movie Singham, the honest & fearless Bajirao Singham returns to Mumbai being a DCP Mumbai Police.

Can we do something about it? Yes we can. There is one man who can save us all: ‘fukta’ Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn), the Maratha warrior (‘fukta’ being Marathi for ‘only’). As a sub-altern hero, he possesses swagger that is hard to match. Films that deliver poetic justice in under three hours with a hero who personifies cathartic, violent fantasies of its helpless audience against “bhrasht netas” in particular have been around forever. Even in the mid to late ‘90s, while so many Bollywood films were busy exploring lives of posh non-resident Indians in London or New York, shooting songs in Switzerland, Devgn would draw in masses in small town cinemas with films like Jung and Gundaraaj.

What’s Good: Ajay Devgn and the thrills his punches manage to evoke.

What’s Bad: The wafer thin plotline, hammy acting, predictable narrative and the lack of fun and excitement that drives a Rohit Shetty film.

Loo break: One every now and then depending on your ability to digest such films.

Star Performances

Ajay Devgn is better in terms of performance since his last stint at playing Singham. He is marvelous and keeps the film flowing thick despite visible discrepancies. Even the faults you buy because of his conviction on the character. Probably his most memorable screen appearance, Ajay does justice to a character in a film that doesn’t quite live up to his potential.

Kareena Kapoor is used as a mere distraction in the film. Her comedy isn’t very funny. Her action seems forced and her emotions seem fake. She is pleasant face on screen who offers some respite sometimes but the actress doesn’t grab noteworthy attention in the film.

Anupam Kher does a good job. So does Mahesh Manjrekar, who quite slips well in the roles of political stalwart and state CM.

Script Analysis

There is no new script in place and I quite assure you that because the film hardly differs from the previous one. If it’s anything, it is a step backwards in terms of action, romance, drama and story. Given that it is a Rohit Shetty film, the action was memorable only in parts. It all seems walked through, offering nothing new. Infact, that statement stands true for the whole film. Except introducing a few new plots, Singham Returnsgives you nothing new to savor. The few laughs seem deliberately induced and more unintentionally created. In a high voltage drama scene, where a woman who was paid off by a political party to vote for them, performs an overdramatic scene, I found it hard to control my laughter.

Coming to the villains, they were two very poorly cast actors. If you expect me to be petrified or intimidated by a sugar coated, religious leader who is caricaturish version of some ‘Bapu’, then it fails to work. The same goes for Zakir Hussain who is more of a comedian than villain.

BY HARSHVARDHAN SINGH.