The Lion ROARS Yet Again!. Review on Singham Returns

One of the greatest strengths of Singham(2011) was that it was not just another action entertainier, trying to cash on the herogiri wave going on in Bollywood after the success of Wanted and Dabangg. Rather, Singham had a soul. The pain felt by the protagonist was experienced by the viewers and hence, when Bajirao Singham roars, the impact generated was manifold. Singham Returns attempts to go on the same lines and to an extent, it succeeds. It might not be as classic as its predecessor but it definitely has a lot to say, and that too in trademark Rohit Shetty style!

The story of the movie: Bajirao Singham(Ajay Devgn) gets posted to Mumbai and as expected, he continues with his novel ways of delivering justice and teaching lessons to criminals. Trouble arises when a constable(Ganesh Yadav) is found dead in an ambulance filled with crores of currency notes. Immediately, he is dubbed corrupt. But Singham suspects foul play and his investigation brings him to the doors of the influential but corrupt Swamiji(Amole Gupte) and politician Prakashrao(Zakir Hussain). Both are powerful and know how to manipulate the system. How Bajirao Singham tries to bring out the truth in front of the people and expose the baddies, form the crux of the film.

Singham Returns starts off with a bang, as expected. Ajay Devgn’s entry is outstanding. The film doesn’t then progress much in the next 20 minutes as director Rohit Shetty tries to introduce all the significant characters of the story. It’s only when the constable is found dead that the narrative flows on to another level. From here onwards, the film is riddled with some brilliant confrontational sequences, dialoguebaazi and splendid action scenes, all of which together give a paisa vasool time. However, as aforementioned, it’s all done as and when required. There is a nice script in place and utmost importance is given to it while designing the action and dramatic scenes. Moreover, the film moves viewers as it talks about the plight of the country and the hardships faced by the cops on a day to day basis. And yet again, it is the emotional aspect of the film that makes viewers hoot, clap and whistle when Bajirao Singham gets into ‘Aata Majhi Satakli’ mode and bashes the baddies! This is especially in the finale.

Sadly, Singham Returns has its share of glitches. The romantic track doesn’t quite work, although it has its fun moments, and even the first part had the same problem. Also, few scenes follow the part 1 formula and hence look repetitive. In fact, not only Singham but a significant dialogue and a scene in the finale are similar to Khakee(2004).

Ajay Devgn infuses life to the character of Bajirao Singham and how! The actor is in top form and doesn’t give any reason to complaint. Yes, he’s awesome in action and ‘aata majhi satakli’ scenes but even in the romantic, funny and emotional scenes, he is amazing! Hats off and hope he continues to impress with such performances! Kareena Kapoor(Avni) is confident and raises laughs in quite a few scenes. But sadly, her character doesn’t have much to do in the film. Amole Gupte overacts at places but overall does a great job as the baddie. Zakir Hussain as always makes his presence felt in a negative performance. Another actor that leaves a mark is Anupam Kher(Guruji). He is hardly there in the film but he ensures he makes his performance memorable. Dayanand Shetty(Inspector Daya) slips into his CID inspector avatar in this film! In fact, in some scenes, it seems he has worn the Inspector Daya costume and performed in this film! But nobody is complaining as he is just outstanding! What’s more, he gets to break the door too! Watch out for this great performer!

Pankaj Tripathi(Altaf) proves his worth, especially in the second half. The actress playing Maneka looks lovely and raised laughs. Ganesh Yadav had a significant role to essay as the story revolved around him and his sudden death and he does a great job. Mahesh Manjrekar(the CM) underplays his part well. Sharat Saxena(the Commissioner) gets his share of screen space in the climax and is decent. Sameer Dharmadhikari, Deepraj Rana and other actor playing the election candidates do their job well. Sarita Joshi(dead constable’s mother) and the actress playing dead constable’s wife make their presence felt. And lastly, Ashwini Kalsekar(the journalist) delivers a strong and fiery performance.

Music doesn’t have any scope. Kucch Toh Hua Hai is wasted while the promotional Aata Majhi Satakli track is horrible. Sun Le Zara also fails to register but it is beautifully shot. Rohit Shetty’s faithful DOP Dudley as always rocks. Few scenes are exceptional especially the long shots of Sea-Link, Gateway Of India and Reay Road. In fact, it’s a pleasure to watch some unexplored as well as beaten-to-death locations of Mumbai depicted in such a nice manner in the film. Amar Mohile’s background score makes a huge impact. Sajid-Farhad’s dialogue doesn’t make the same impact as they did in their other films. But maybe the makers purposely avoided having punchlines as the tone of the film is quite serious and real. Yet, few dialogues are terrific and clapworthy. Yunus Sajawal’s screenplay does justice to the plot. Rohit Shetty’s story is very relatable and at the same time, had the ingredients of an entertainer. Rohit Shetty’s direction is splendid, although a few scenes in the second half and also the action scenes could have been a bit crisper. But it is praiseworthy how he establishes so many characters as quickly as possible in the beginning and ensures that the interest doesn’t dip. Although the romantic track is arguably wasted, he neatly incorporates it in the midst of all the action and drama. Rohit Shetty is considered one of the finest(so-called) commercial filmmakers of Bollywood and he lives up to it with Singham Returns!

Some of the best scenes:

1. Bajirao Singham’s entry

   
   




2. Guruji’s speech at the press conference

   
   




3. Constable found dead

   
   




4. Guruji gets attacked

   
   




5. Avni creates hue and cry at Waghavpur

   
   




6. The intermission point

   
   




7. Action at the Sea Link

   
   




8. Avni slaps Prakashrao

   
   




9. Singham at Mahim Dargah

   
   




10. Singham’s confrontation with Swamiji at his ashram

    
    




11. The last 20 minutes

    
    

On the whole, Singham Returns is a powerful, hard-hitting entertainer. It attempts to tell a realistic and serious tale and Rohit Shetty adds his trademark style to the narrative, which makes the film an all-round entertainer. Ajay Devgn is awesome as Bajirao Singham but even Amole Gupte, Anupam Kher, Ashwini Kalsekar and the very brilliant Inspector Daya leave a mark! Kareena Kapoor raises laughs at places but her track was arguably not needed in the narrative. Singham Returns might not be as brilliant as the first part but it has loads of entertainment and hence, it deserves a watch in theatres!