Movie Review: Singham Returns

Director: Rohit Shetty

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anupam Kher, Amole Gupte, Dayanand Shetty and Zakir Hussain

Rohit Shetty must firmly believe in the idiom, God is in the detail. He has an eye for intricate design. He pays attention to crafting scenes and characters. Couple that with Ajay Devgn's unfailing intensity and you have the tour de force Singham Returns. It's only major flaw, a tired story, is well overshadowed by its larger than life presentation. This is one is a text book crowd pleaser.

The weakest part of the movie is its story. It's been done a million times before. Singham is now a part of the Mumbai Police. At his wrong end are a bunch of corrupt politicians and fake godmen. There's the usual family and romantic angles involving the beautiful Kareena Kapoor Khan. But the one part of Rohit's writing that scores in the film is his stance towards portraying the good side of the police. While everything else may move on a predictable track, the films leaning towards the humane side of Mumbai Police is certainly novel. The scene where an emotional Ajay Devgn takes his frustrations out on a young but poor adult is fascinating. It's a rarity to see a Hindi film showing it's hero in bad light albeit for just a few minutes. Kudos to some brave ideas.

The plot development may be predictable. But the action on this film is pleasantly surprising. It's here where you first see Rohit's eye for details. There are two exhilarating gun fights in the film. Yes there is also the usual high flying fighting sequences but it's the gun fights that take the cake. The hero isn't picking up an automatic rifle and going berserk on the bad guys. He's shooting like an actual trained arms specialist. Technicalities aside, Singham Returns with its intricately designed action is pure entertainment. Certainly leagues ahead of the usual South Indian style fights seen in our films nowadays.

But the reason you'd want to believe in any of this is thanks to Ajay Devgn. His grit, his demeanor and his onscreen disposition lend themselves to Bajirao Singham's edgy bravado. He maintains that crucial balance between under play and histrionics. The aata majhi satakli portions of his performance are fun. The beautiful Kareena Kapoor Khan takes care of the comedy and romance with great effect. And it's fun to watch Daya from CID (the very popular TV series) play the perfect side kick. Amole Gupte as the bad guy (with some funny costumes) is good too.

Rohit Shetty has latched on to the craft of filmmaking and given us a great entertainer. The climax of the film is never-seen-before. It's good to see a young filmmaker trying to innovate and make films as much with the head as with the heart. For once a film deserves to be a blockbuster.