Singham

The acute problem of limited powers with law and order enforcers has been exposed several times in our films but seldom has it been really effective. Amitabh Bachchan's sincerity in 'Khakee', Sanjay Dutt's battle in 'Kurukshetra' Salman's 'Dabangg' and Abhishek's 'Dumb Maaro Dumb' are among those who defied norms and confronted all adversaries by themselves. Drawing inspiration from 2010's super-hit Tamil film starring Surya, 'Golmaal' series director Rohit Shetty embraces the high-flying, ridiculous action that defines his absurdity but renders a thrilling, gripping tale of injustice and abuse of power that ensues in the Goan town. One determined Police Officer, reminiscent of the angry young man of the 70's will turn the tables of power around while being righteous and astute. Bajirao Singham is Ajay Devgan's most powerful character yet and this lion hearted Officer's battle is among the most thrilling action films in recent times. Incredulous as it may seem, the credit goes to Rohit Shetty.

A sincere Police Officer who was wrongly framed in corruption charges, relinquishes his career, family and life in frustration that is caused by the system's infallible ability to bend to power. The widow seeks justice in the midst of greed, power and indifference until a new Inspector arrives in town..... Heralding from a quaint Maratha village, the local hero enforces law and order through his unique leadership that involves participation. To his roar, the entire village will rise in uproar leaving the Goan goon Jaykant Shikre (Prakash Raj) humiliated when he tries to threaten Singham in his own backyard. As power unmasks its nefarious side, Singham gets transferred to Goa and from here on, the lion walks into the hunting grounds.....

Singham's fast-paced narrative essentially grips you throughout, engaging you into the battle against the malicious gangster while some occasional relief, though in form of a mere distraction, is posed by Kaavya (Kaajal Agarwal – Telugu super duper star). Among the supporting cast, the talented veteran actor Ashok Saraf leaves a heart warming impression as the retiring constable whose belief in the system is only rekindled with the advent of Singham. Sonali Kulkarni lends some seriousness to her tragedy that goes beyond just tears while Sachin Khedekar provides the comic relief that's quite unexpected from him.

Prakash Raj gets to revisit the character he played just last year but his dialogue delivery is flawless and so is his zeal for acting that comes naturally as though he is Jaykant Shikre.... If there was any actor today who could play an angry young man and with his tone, countenance and threatening presence, make the box-office catch fire, it would be Ajay Devgan. In his portrayal as Bajirao Singham, he literally brings his strengths to the table while leaving out his weakness, that is comedy. As he adorns a tight fitting uniform that serves as his super-hero costume, he gains the ability to send cars and people flying through the air in so incredulous a manner that is now a trademark of Rohit Shetty's films. But apart from the ridiculous action sequences, Singham's roar is a powerful one.

The plot is yet another good cop v/s corrupt system battle but Singham's approach, his solutions to harassment, his determined stance on principles and his composed rage are the elements that make this film, a laudable entertainer. Also, when compared with Shetty's prior ventures, this isn't such a mindless film. The banality of the plot is overcome by a screenplay that grips the viewer as it races through Singham's transfer from village to city. What is even more fun to watch is how, against all adversity, Singham's determination roars on screen and outwits, out-punches and outdoes Shikre's each move.

Marathi artists Ajay-Atul have one outstanding track in a mediocre album. The title song with Sukhwinder Singh's superb rendition and the Singham chant that evokes the intensity in the film's important scenes are worth the entire album itself.

Perhaps it is Singham that will partially erase the memory of Rohit Shetty's deplorable works in the past. Apart from bits of 'Golmaal 3', he had nothing on his resume but now, a blockbuster from Chennai has changed all that. Shetty is now the man behind Ajay Devgan's and 2011's biggest hit in the making. For an action film about an angry young Cop, Singham scores with his roars....

8.42 on a scale of 1-10.

"Ajay Devgn , Prakash Raj, Rohit Shetty, Aave Singham, Kajal Aggarwal, Majja Satkeli, Gotya…" These are some phrases that keep rolling onto your mind as soon as you leave the theater. While you are inside the theater, movie never gives you a chance to halt for a second; it's a helluva fun ride.

Say it a Masala Movie, Family Entertainer, Paisa Vasool Movie or South Indian remake, I absolutely love this movie. I saw the portrayal of Pure India, Young India and Beautiful India in this movie unlike some movies which tend to show harsh realities and stuff.

Ajay Devgn ( People say Salman is a Mass Actor, But I have never seen people in PVR Cinema cheering and clapping so much in any Salman Khan movie like they did for Singham ). He is undoubtedly a Hero. And Singham is all about his heroic portrayal done brilliantly by Rohit Shetty. Prakash Raj is one of the best (apart from remakes) that we have imported from Tollywood. He is a perfect goon, the tag which I would give to Amrish Puri or Amjad Khan or Prem Chopra.

Direction by Rohit Shetty is awesome! Cinematography by Dudely is breezy and spirited (thanks to brilliantly shot action sequences.Who cares even if it is larger than life!) Screenplay by Yunus Sajawal is zippy. If these aspects would not have been better, than movie would have been high on style and low on content; which I am glad is not the case with Singham.

Bunch of Marathi Actors and Kajal Aggarwal are takeaways too. The later looks as sweet as candy floss. Background Score (mostly made up from its title track) is up roaring and plays a major role behind Singham's coolness.

The movie is made to make you feel good. And does it? Hell yeah!!

Remember those films where one Hero, had the power & guts to bash up a dozen of baddies. Remember those films where the Hero was able to pull off any god damn thing to get justice? I am talking about the Cinema of the 1970's & 1980's. The time When Action Films ruled, when Escapisim ruled Hindi Cinema.

'Singham' is old wine, in a new bottle. Directed by popular filmmaker Rohit Shetty, this action-flick/remake offers nothing new, in terms of story. But what it packs in efficiently, are the Performances by it's Screen-Hero Ajay Devgn & it's Screen-Villain Prakash Raj, who hold your attention, with their impeccable performances.

'Singham' is the same old-story of how the GOOD tries his best to defeat the Evil. As said, in terms of story, there is no novelty, whatsoever! But, the Screenplay offers some really interesting moments, especially in the second hour, which is quite gripping. Plus, the confrontation scenes between the Good and the Evil, are arresting & effective. And even the Dialogue are clap-worthy and act as a major trump card for the enterprise.

But, I would like to point out, that, the romantic-track, between the Hero & Heronie, is not up-to the mark and fails to leave an impact. The Drama works, the Romance doesn't.

Rohit Shetty's Direction relies mainly on Stunts, and I must day, that, the Stunts/Action-Sequences, are well-done. Cinematography by Dudley is fine. Editing is fair. Music by Ajay-Atul, is decent.

Performance-Wise: National-Award-Wininng Actors Ajay Devgn & Prakash Raj, play their parts impeccably. Devgn plays the Hero, superbly & looks the part to the T. Raj, on the other-hand, is nearly mesmerizing as the Villain. Plus, the chemistry between the two, is something to watch. Kajal Aggarwal is fairly nice. Ashok Saraf is first-rate. Sonali Kulkarni scores. Murli Sharma leaves a mark. Sachin Khedekar, Govind Namdeo & Sudhanshu Pandey lend able support.

On the whole, 'Singham' is an entertainer, that doesn't disappoint, thanks to it's arresting second hour, clap-worthy scenes & above all, the performances by Devgn & Raj.

When you think of a bollywood action flick , you expect a fair amount of dramatic rush going down your spine. But unlike other action movies, Singham is indeed a different film because it's main focus is it's action which packs nothing in excess.

After the huge success of action films like dabanng and wanted, Singham also was aimed at full-blown action fun with some decent and convincing fighting sequences. The storyline features Bajirao singham (Ajay devgan) an honest police cop, a good friend and a dark cloud for the wrong doers. when away from his village he is transferred to the city, he walks into an face to face battle with the criminal and his empire. Aprt from the story Ajay devgan is a treat to watch because he has forever been a part of action genre for the cop movies like wanted, dabanng and his very own gangaajal. Also the film did well because of it's great supporting cast and performances.

But apart from the engrossing action fun the film lacks humor. Also the idea is not innovative and is kinda old-fashioned. But the plot is interesting enough to grab your attention quickly and pretty early. Ajay Devgan's girlfriend (Kajal aggarwal) did well on part of her acting but was offered little scope to leave a mark of minds of audience. To be honest the movie offers nothing original but is interestingly crisp and fresh stuff for the movie goers. Overall, an entertaining film for the action lovers and if you want a dose of it then Singham is the one for you.

With SINGHAM sons of two famous action masters of Bollywood return to their original genre in style. Veeru Devgun (Ajay's father) and Shetty (Rohit's father) were known for their own class in the Industry few decades before and now their proud sons return to the same genre, with which they had started.

But sadly the attempt remains a visibly polished product only having few weak associations in the narrative which don't really give you a DABANGIAN kind of entertainment on the whole. Still it cannot be called a bad film for sure because it does have some great moments to offer and a winner climax which scores a clear six at the end, acting as its big savior.

It's an Official remake of Tamil Hit Movie SINGAM and is all about an honest cop fighting against a mafia don and his empire based on strong political connections. Being a remake it has got all the ingredients of a typical south masala film which are just there to add some extra flavors into the film and nothing else. For instance, there is a love affair track going along with the Cop's fight which has no value of its own in the script, as usual there is a deliberately created comedy track around the pet name of a character which successfully generates some laughs in the start but later on becomes annoying. And as seen before, there exists the same eccentric kind of villain working against the Cop, whose dialogues become comical towards the end, played once again by the one & only Prakash Raj.

The film starts off well with an impressive sequence revolving around the expressive eyes of a small child. But post that for about 1 long hour, it offers nothing as per the expectations raised, until the scene where Ajay and Prakash meet for the first time. The LION actually starts roaring at this very moment and then keeps roaring post interval till the climax in gaps.

Hence the first half is not that effective as compared to the second one since it keeps focusing on various other subplots in the script, which do not register at all. The romance track falls flat and so does the family comedy angle forced into the proceedings to provide some relief moments. Though SINGHAM scores high in its technical department such as Cinematography and Action, but it fails completely in its soundtrack. Ajay-Atul's music works just as a filler with nothing worth listening. And its really annoying to hear another title song inspired from the cult Vishal Bhardwaj's track "Omkara", sung by Sukhwinder. Moreover the Background Score is both effective as well as noisy at times with excess of loud arrangements in all those slow motion sequences.

Apart from Ajay Devgan and Prakash Raj, only Sudhanshu Pandey and Sonali Kulkarni are able to make an impact on the viewer and rest all work under the shadow of its two main giants. The debutant Kaajal looks fresh and bubbly but in absence of anything special written for her, she is not able to prove her talent in any of her scenes. Ajay Devgan once again proves his versatility, returning to the action genre after a string of comical hits. His body language, specifically his eyes seem to be just perfect for such roles and he comes up like a winner all through the film. Prakash Raj though is splendid in his typical negative role but this time it looked like repetitive to me towards the climax. Yet he is immensely watchable with Ajay on the screen. In short the film completely belongs to Ajay and Prakash Raj who generate such kind of mighty impact in their scenes together that the single screen theaters are bound to go full of whistles, claps and thundering applause.

In fact, the main reason behind the probable success of this film has to be these particular scenes (including the one with the Neta Ji) where Ajay answers his powerful enemies with fiery dialogues and strong punches along with its worth watching action sequences which have been shot with élan. However, at times the action also seems to be too unbelievable with some impossible kind of stunts. In the writing department, I particularly liked the thought of the National Emblem being given to the cops to wear it in their caps but not to the Country's top political leaders to use it in their dresses. Plus the icing on the cake, for all the viewers loving such kind of over the top, masala cinema, should be its well written climax which really needs to be applauded for its thoughtful idea and brilliant execution.

So, overall SINGHAM does have its merits in the form of some worth watching confrontation sequences and superb action. But if you are looking for something fresh or novel then you are sure going to be disappointed with its routine kind of content. The film is not consistent enough in its narration as the real action starts after almost 45 minutes into the movie and it also becomes a bit repetitive towards the end. Yet, for all Ajay Devgan's fans its festival time in the theaters. However the last half an hour of the film forced me to think about its original makers of the South.

To be specific, it struck me that if South Films are able to think of such great climax and other similar interesting plots in their own movies which in turn inspire Bollywood to make their remakes, then certainly the SOUTH CINEMA is miles ahead of Hindi CINEMA in film-making. May be the Hindi Film Industry is enjoying more success due to their over-popular stars and glamour but if studied in real sense then South Cinema is undoubtedly more important, experimental and bold which needs to be recognized at the earliest as an essential part of Indian CINEMA.