DABANGG Movie ( ANUPAMA CHOPRA 's Review Added ) - Page 9

Wave Ludhiana is also house full for the 11.30am show. This is a very good sign as collections are huge in East Punjab which is a multiplex circuit and also a circuit where Salman Khan films tend to under perform. Wanted was weakest in Punjab compared to the rest of India. The single screen figures are likely to be like nothing seen before.

Dabangg
Director: Abhinav Singh Kashyap
Starring: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan

This is the same territory as Omkara, Uttar Pradesh Central, where haramzada and kaminey are terms of endearment and where women are not asked what they want, just told what they need (which can vary from a slap to a you-know-what). Robinhood Pandey is the inspector of Lal Gunj who has emerged as a thorn in the flesh of the local goon Chhedi Singh (played by a very rustic chic Sonu Sood). Chhedi Singh himself has emerged as a crimp in the badshahiyat of local political Dayal Babu (Anupam Kher, who looks suspsiciously like LK Advani in this). There's also Rajo, the luscious beauty Sonakshi Sinha, who turns out to be not such a good girl after all, and who is the daughter of the village drunk, Mahesh Manjrekar.

There's also Arbaaz Khan who as producer clearly decided to give himself a role since few others do. He's cast as Makhanchan or Makhi, Chulbul's dimwitted younger stepbrother who covets his money to marry his longtime girlfriend, Nirmala, played by DevD's Mahi Gill. Think Omakara's stylised UP badlands meets Wanted's raw masala action meets DevD's tortured family politics and Dabangg is a movie that makes no bones about being what it is. Meant to entertain. So even as fingers get twisted, legs are broken, bombs go off and guns fire in aerial shots, it's as if Salman is telling the audience: go on, enjoy yourself, have a laugh. It's all a game. As he tells his officers when trying to catch a local goon, "mote log us taraf, patle log us taraf, fit log mere saath". No one follows him. And he says, "kya hoga police ka". Indeed, there is a wonderful lightness of being Dabangg, despite raking up realpolitik, corruption in the police, and the hopeless nature of small town India, where men turn to crime because there is nothing left to do outside exercising in the local akhara.

That's Abhinav Kashyap's contribution to a film that could have easily just remained a competent actioner. Instead he takes it a notch higher, making Chulbul a character worth remembering, who wears dark glasses because he wants to hide the fact that his eyes occasionally well up with tears and who almost pukes before calling his much hated stepfather "papa". There's a freshness in the idiom which comes from an utter lack of self consciousness. This is not Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh trying to be Marathi chawl kids. This is the real stuff, or as real as Salman can make his acting--it's as if he is winking at the audience all along, saying catch me if you can.

Indeed, I've always felt that the Salman of Dus ka Dum and TV interviews needed to be bottled and sold. Dabangg does just that. He's alternately laconic and charming, brutal and bratty, but always with a smile. He's Bollywood's Rajinikanth and I suspect his career will continue almost as long. Perhaps he can stop weaving his hair?

And yes girls, in case you think there's too much of the dishum dishum happening, there's also the money shot. Salman's shirt tears under the weight of his bursting muscles and rips itself off his chest--yes, a little pudgier than it's been, but hey, the man is 45, or is it 46.

Chulbul Pandey, says Salman, "yeh naam hame shobha deta hain." Yes, Pandeyji, even the movie does you proud.

Well edited, with songs strategically placed throughout the movie, including the rousing Munni badnaam hui, and a length that's not too terrifying. This is one Zandu Balm of a movie.

Updated on Friday, September 10, 2010, 14:45

Tags: Review, 'Dabangg', Salman Khan

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Spicezee Bureau


Abhinav Kashyap's 'Dabangg' is a fitting ode to seventies and eighties cinema. It is a complete family entertainer, which is replete with dance, drama, comedy, action and emotions.

Starring Bollywood's eternal bachelor Salman Khan along with a hoard of B-town stars – Dimple Kapadia, Vinod Khanna, Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood and debutant actress Sonakshi Sinha, 'Dabangg' is the kind of film which instantly reminds you of Manmohan Desai, Ramesh Sippy and Prakash Mehra school of filmmaking.

In 'Dabangg', Salman Khan plays Chulbul Pandey aka Robinhood Pandey – a policeman in the hinterlands of UP. A tough cop, Chulbul is a nightmare for criminals. The opening scene of the film shows Chulbul bashing a gang of thugs and taking away the loot for himself.

Chulbul's father – Prajapati is played by veteran actor Vinod Khanna and mother none other than the eighties icon Dimple Kapadia. Arbaaz plays Chulbul's dim-witted brother Makkhi and Sonu Sood plays a local politician Chhedi Singh. The film is replete with country wit and local humour.

If Salman plays the inimitable cop, Sonu reprises the baddie to the hilt. For instance, take one of the scenes where Chhedi Singh bashes his man for calling him the biggest goon and says, "Hum bachpan se hero banna chahte hain. Aur yeh hamein villain bana raha hai".

Sonakshi adds great charm and vivacity to the character of the local belle Rajjo. She is the perfect 'gaon ki goori' who mouths the killer one-liner "Pyaar se dar lagta hai babu, thappad se nahi" to a love struck Chulbul.

And to top it all, we have Malaika Arora Khan gyrating to "Munni badnaam hui", an item number which has instantly become a rage among the masses.

'Dabangg' will intrigue you with its rustic banter and sense of humour. A complete family entertainer, it will be an instant hit among the masses as it will certainly take you back in the time of seventies and eighties cinema.

Kudos to Kashyap for extracting out great performances from the entire star cast of 'Dabangg'. Okay, there are certain scenes that completely go overboard, yet, they are very much in the spirit of the film. 'Dabangg' is an out-and-out Salman Khan film, which certainly does full justice to his star power and raw appeal.

In all, 'Dabangg' is a complete family entertainer and a huge draw for the fans of Salman Khan. Do catch 'Dabangg' this weekend!

Ratings: Four cheers for this one!

Fearless crowd all over for Dabangg