By Shevaal Singh (@being_shevaal)
Rating: (7.5/10)
December 21, 2012 and finally the wait is over…
I am not talking about the Doomsday rather Salman Khan’s enthusiastically anticipated sequel to his 2010 super blockbuster hit ‘Dabangg’. The movie was directed by debut director Arbaaz Khan! ‘Dabangg 2’ is a comprehensive package of wholesome entertainment that should not be missed even if you are not a Salman Khan fan!
Dabangg 2 is one of very few sequels that starts where the first movie left off and begins and progresses in the way reminiscing of the first part. The makers have not left any stone unturned in presenting when presenting ‘Dabangg 2’ as full house entertainer. In the sequel, Chulbul aka Robinhood Pandey has taken a transferal to Kanpur from Lalganj in a proposal to perform more valiant endeavours. In the opening scene, the huger-than life Chulbul Pandey aka ‘Kungfu Pandey’ ditches the door to make an entry to beat up goons instead he barges inside by breaking through the walls in his jeep!!! The whole story focuses on Chulbul Pandey’s task to destroy the terror been spread by a powerful super goon cum aspiring politician Bachcha bhaiya (Prakash Raj) and his gang in the town much like the way Chulbul went on to thwart Chedi Singh’s plans in the first installment of the film. As the events unfold, Pandeyji is seen killing Bachcha bhai’s younger brother named Genda to save an innocent girl’s honour and thereby putting himself and his family at the receiving end of the super goon’s fury. So the whole point is that the film lacks a significant storyline hitherto again it has what is desired to qualify for the list of entertaining flicks.
When it comes to evaluating Salman’s performance all could be said is that he is the show stealer here and deserves applause for his mind blowing and unforced action scenes. He plays the bad ass cop with a-golden heart attitude with élan. Salman has been given a chance to display off his ornate, well-sculpted body. Salman has proved with the ‘Dabangg’ series that he was and will always be an undisputed iron man of Hindi cinema!
Sonakshi Sinha as Rajjo looks better on screen this time. Her acting has improved, perhaps because her experience in the craft has widened ever since she made her debut in 2010. But honestly, in a film where highlighting Salman’s machismo is the sole focus, Sonakshi doesn’t have much to do except be a supportive wife to the superhero. Yes, Salman and Sonakshi complement each other on the big screen and together they have suffused life into their marital romance well in the film!
Producer-director Arbaaz Khan also reprises his role of Makhan Chand Pandey but keeps his role quite limited and passive even this time. But the major glitch is Mahie Gill’s character Nirmala. Despite being taken forward in the sequel, Mahie is not given enough scope to execute her role bearing in mind that she is a powerful performer on screen! The other star of the film is Prakash Raj who the makers have cleverly roped in to play Bachcha bhaiya. The National Award winning actor delivers well just like his role in ‘Singham’ this one is going to go down the memory lane as well as one of the best villains we have had in the recent times!
Music composers Sajid-Wajid kept the simple yet fun style in the musical album with songs such as ‘Pandey ji seeti’ which is growing on the party crowd and , ‘Dagahbaaz Naina’ seems like an extension of ‘Tere mast mast do nain’ has brought the element of continuation to this tale. It is ‘Sanson ne’ which can be rated well for its soft romantic notes and it’s amazing romantic visualisation . The most popular track on the charts right now is the amazing catchy and fun ‘Fevicol se’ because of Kareena Kapoor swaying hips and charm.She is super sexy in the item song, with our Munni ‘Malaika Arora Khan’ also producer of this movie added for the extra-drool factor was fantastic that back in action in the amazingly colourful PandeyJee Seethi – Hats off to all choreographers !! The dialogue sticks to their eastern Uttar Pradesh dialect and is extremely amusing. The death defying action scenes are well performed. In fact it was quite a sight to watch Salman Khan partially lifting an SUV single handed!
‘Dabangg’ was directed by Abhinav Kashyap which did terrifically at the box office. There were bound to be expectations from Arbaaz but the actor cum director has kept the ideals of the film intact like a pro! So much so that it was hard to believe that a newbie in film making has directed a film that entertains people of all ages!
I would like to throw a word of caution here Since’Dabangg 2’ is a mass entertainer! Those looking for intellectual cinema can refrain from watching this film. But the good part is that those who liked the first part of the series, would like the second part too and would be loved by all Salman Khan fans!
Dabangg 2 gets 7.5/10 from me and it is the perfect end to Bollywood’s highly successful year … It is perfect for the festive season as audiences are in a mood for fun! That is exactly what Dabangg 2 provides … Get your serving of Chulbul Pandey at a cinema near you!