Singham Review

Ever since 'Zanjeer' there have been quite a few cop dramas that have been made in Bollywood. Since then every superstar hero starting from Amitabh Bachchan to Vinod Khanna to Jeetendra to Dharmendra to Mithun Chakravorty to Sanjay Dutt to Anil Kapoor was seen in movies that required them to don the uniform. And then started the musical phase of the 90s and the multiplex era of 2000s that such action affairs took the backseat. Well, all of that  can pretty much be expected to change now with 'Singham' where Ajay Devgn and Prakash Raj get one of the most definitive action dramas in place.

In one line, the story is about right versus wrong and it is the constant see-saw between Ajay and Prakash which forms the backbone of the film since there are several sequences where a viewer gets an impression that one is more powerful than the other. (Spoilers ahead) It is Round One for Ajay when he and his village throw Prakash out of the police station. It is back to Prakash calling the shots when Ajay gets transferred to Goa. With Prakash letting loose his goons on Ajay, it continues to be a miserable situation for Ajay. But then when Ajay accepts Prakash's challenge and hits back his goons, the power equation fluctuates back to him.

Despite 'Singham' being an official remake of the namesake Tamil film, Rohit brings how own twist to the tale and changes the entire last 45 minutes. In fact it won't be wrong to say that the pre-climax and the climax, which are entirely different from the original, are in fact the highlights of 'Singham' that makes one try to look far deeper into the ground level issues faced by the cops than just leaving it all on the peripherals.

I must add though that the first 20-25 minutes of the film just about pass muster. Entire goody-goody gestures of Ajay when it comes to defending his villagers just end up making one impatient to watch the real drama. Yes, the sequences are important to further establish Ajay's show of strength but still you are not really hooked on to screen by the second. The romantic track thankfully is abridged though it is nice for those few minutes that it plays. Also, the song 'Maula' (arriving in the second half) is totally unwarranted and this is the only time during the film when one gets a break to check the cellphone.

However as stated earlier, it is the momentum built towards the interval and then the entire second half which is the 'jaan' of the film. Ajay's first interaction with the corrupt politician (Anant Jog) where he is ridiculed to the second where he takes him 'back on', his open challenge to Prakash Raj, the confrontation scene with the senior (Murli Sharma), the scene at the Police party (the best of the lot) and the 'big plan' - all of these are executed with such panache by Rohit that they end up surpassing some very good stunts executed all through the film.

Now all of this wouldn't have been possible had the villain been any lesser. Prakash Jha gives a wonderful account of himself all over again after 'Wanted' and 'Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap' and this indeed is his best performance ever in a Hindi film. Another factor that makes 'Singham' all the more powerful is the background score by Amar Mohile. Ajay of course lives the role and is simply flawless. 'Singham' could well be termed as his modern day homage to 'Ardh Satya'.

Kajal is confident and her experience in films down South shows even though this is her debut film. She has a very good screen presence and can now be expected to be seen more often in Bollywood. Other supporting actors do well to. Right from Ashok Saraf to Ashok Samarth (playing Prakash's right hand man) to Murli Sharma to Anant Jog to the actors playing Ajay's colleagues and super-boss make the characters look right and believable.

Till a day before the release of 'Singham' the common saying was that when it comes to cop dramas, it was 'Wanted' and 'Dabangg' that started it all. However these films were more 'all around star driven entertainers' and relied on Salman's screen presence rather than the written word on paper. And this is where 'Singham' turns out to be more entertaining than the likes of 'Dabangg' since instead of several item sequences driving the show forward, it is a strong story with several twists and a superstar at the helm of affairs that results in a constant escalation in momentum, hence ensuring 'seeti maar' moments that are aplenty. As simple as that, 'Singham' is easily the most adrenalin pumping movie to have hit the screens this year. Go, get entertained!

Rating: ****

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