Gabbar is Back starts off with the very righteous man Professor Aditya (Akshay Kumar) and his tryst with corruption. He is on a mission to infuse a sense of purpose and hope amongst his students in ‘National College’, the place where he teaches the five elements of survival, in both, theory as well as practicals! Besides being a professor, he is also a vigilante who functions under the name of ‘Gabbar’.
Together with his team he intends to inject fear amidst the corrupt officers. The main mission of his team is to eliminate the corrupt individuals, from all the spheres of life, but in a systematic manner. When he’s not bashing up the bad guys, Prof. Aditya also finds time to go on coffee dates with Devaki (Shruti Haasan). There is also a back story of Aditya that finds him romancing his wife (Kareena Kapoor Khan in a cameo) and how tragedy strikes him, courtesy industrialist Digvijay Patil (Suman Talwar). While the laidback police officials are unable to nab Gabbar, it takes an enterprising ‘English speaking’ constable Sadhu (Sunil Grover) to get the vital clues and leads about the whereabouts of Gabbar and his team.
The only problem with Sadhu is that, because he is a ‘driver’, none of his superiors take him seriously and always belittle him. Amidst all this, when the police and the government land up in a very tight spot because of their inability to nab Gabbar, they hire a razor-sharp topcop, who vows to nab Gabbar at any cost. And when he sees Sadhu’s clues of nabbing Gabbar, he immediately offers him all the support that he needs. Do the police and government ever get to know the real ‘Gabbar’, do they decipher the reason behind these killings, will Sadhu land up playing a spoilsport in Gabbar’s master plans or does Gabbar who has been exposing the corrupt, will himself come out before everyone and ‘expose’ himself… is what forms the rest of the film.
The film like its original a South Indian film Ramanaa has the South Indian stamp of filmmaking written all over it. Ear-splitting-background-score, over-the-top action and humour emanating from strange food references like samosa-and-laal-chatni. One can also draw references with the recently released UNGLI which appointed a somewhat similar modus operandi for tackling corruption. The director Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi aka ‘Krish’ needs to be applauded for making a topical film at a time when the country is being swept by the corruption wave. Krish makes all the possible efforts to give the film a feel that will surely touch everyone’s heart alike.As far as the performances are concerned, no prizes for guessing that the captain of the ship is none other than Akshay Kumar, the man who mouths the eternal dialogue ‘
Naam villain ka, kaam hero ka‘. He is having a role befitting larger than life persona suiting a typical Bollywood Hero. He is earnest and it is clear that he believes in the actions of the protagonist. Shruti Haasan, on her part, has this silly obsession with ‘Google’ facts and adds elements of fun . At the same time, one cannot deny the fact that even though she has a small role, she looks beautiful. Sunil Grover is impressive. After being caught up in the garb of ‘Gutthi’ since a long time, he successfully creates an impact as an actor in this film. One just hopes that this film opens the proverbial door for this talented guy. Suman Talwar in the villainous role is too loud. The rest of the characters help in moving the film forward.
On the music front by Chirantan Bhatt, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Manj Musik, the track of ‘Teri Meri Kahani‘ is the only saving grace in the movie. Cinematography is average. Editing is besotted with eye-sore zoom-ins. The pace of the movie is leisurely and it’s only towards the end that it picks up pace and the dialogues are catchy in parts. While the film loses its pace in the first half, it regains it in the second half.
GABBAR IS BACK is an average entertainer but carries a strong message and deals with India’s biggest issue – corruption! If you are a true Akshay Kumar fan you will love his acting ability in this film if not it can be avoided!
Rating: 6/10 | 3 Stars
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