Singham Returns, Hindi Bollywood Film Movie review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * *

Singham Returns, Hindi Bollywood Film Movie review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: *  *

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#SinghamReturns(Hindi) Rating: *  * The sequel to #RohitShetty’s hit film, toplines #AjayDevgn with #KareenaKapoorKhan and rehashes the same old archaic drama in the guise of new-age. The action is typically ridiculous, the stunts miss out on realism, the narrative jerks around like a boat in troubled waters. Songs are forgettable and performances regrettable. Kareena’s sparkle is as out of place as a diamond in a haystack. To top it the film ,dedicated to the Mumbai Police, peddles fake sentiment. The catchy refrain from the first only makes it more untenable. There’s only so much grandstanding anyone can suffer through! #Reliance #UniversalPR #ParagDesai 

#TheGiver(English) Rating: * * 1/2

#Rege(Marathi) Rating: * * * 1/2 

Hindi Film Review   

Johnson Thomas

A formula gone sour!

Film: Singham Returns

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Amole Gupte, Dayanand Shetty, Anupam Kher

Director: Robit Shetty

Rating: *  *

 

Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgan’s effort to galvanise the audience on the basis of shared memories of a so-called glorious cinematic experience, is severely compromised. And that’s so because there’s very little newness in this enterprise- save for the add-on half moniker and a few imminently forgettable songs. Even the overuse of the ‘Singham’ motif ‘Aata Maaji Satakli’ gets on your nerves. So there’s really no silver lining in this dark, dismal and dank cloud.

When the first edition ‘Singham’ did well at the Box-office, both Rohit and Ajay wanted to take the successful brand forward. Unfortunately they did not bother to pick a revitalizing story to make the experience worthwhile. Picking out bits and pieces from all over the mainstream cinema space, meshing them together in a sort of jumbled conformity with spaced-out action doesn’t make for a coherent, engaging or plausible narrative even for a genre (action) that doesn’t require much cohesiveness. Archaic modeling of a stale formula, tiresome un-livening dramatic confrontations, stupid action, sudden inexplicable spurts of hyperactivity, highly overdone emotional arcs  have you wondering whether this exercise in futility (at a cost of Rs 110 crores approx) was even  justified?

Kareena Kapoor Khan tries doubly hard to justify her presence in the film by looking ravishing in every frame and stamping her own brand of vitality and effervescence on scenes even when not required. Ajay Devgan basically reprises his ‘Singham’ avatar- a rampaging cop who justifies his dysfunctional behavior (going against all tenets of the Police manual) in the name of justice! It’s a value system that stretches  beyond disbelief to encompass all manner of crime and criminality. Dirty politics is part of the game played out while a fledgeling party founded on new blood and ideals strives to make a clean break – away from the norm. A leader, Guruji(Anupam Kher) is murdered, the CM(Mahesh Manjrekar) sets his hope on his Abhimanyu a.k.a Singham to root out the villains. But Swamiji(Amole Gupte) and Rao(Zakir Hussain), co-conspirators , are not going to let the inevitable happen.

It’s old hat so-to-speak. Putrid gravy that is devoid of taste or essence. At  2 hours and 22 odd minutes, it’s also far too much of a stretch to be enjoyable. The action appears to be spurred by a gravity that defies nature. The sloppily designed thrills also pile on the misery. Steven Bernard’s editing fails to ramp-up the velocity. Sajid-Farhad’s dialogues and Yunus Sajawal’s script lack originality. Even Dudley’s camerawork which was the Hallmark of the first, appears clueless. The aerial shots of Mumbai look breathtaking but the rest of the film looks disinclined to make it real. The only moment in levity is obtained when fellow inspector Daya is instructed to break open a door, a la C.I.D(super successful action crime series on TV). Everything else was just tiresome and exhausting to say the least. Ajay Devgan in slo-mo is really not a sight anyone would be rapturous about. Doesn’t seem like any great meeting of minds took place to fashion this   monstrous ego boosting extravagance!

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