Singham Again Review: Ajay Devgn-starrer fails to roar despite the star power of Kareena Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar!
Singham Again
Singham Again is a modern-day ‘action-filled’ representation of the age-old Ramayana
Today is definitely the day for which many were eagerly waiting for… it’s the day which can be rightly called as the ‘clash of the titans’. Today is the day when two of this year’s most awaited films Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 gets released in theatres all over. Will Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 ‘cast its spell’ at the box office or will Singham Again ‘roar its way’ to box office success, lets analyse!
As for Singham Again, the film starts off with the introduction of Bajirao Singham, who has now become the SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) in Kashmir. This is then followed by his interview to a local news channel, wherein he speaks about his team’s operating procedure and also his personal reason to become a police officer.
Also Read: Singham Again title track: Ajay Devgn’s energetic song embodies the spirit of Singham | Watch
Just as he is planning to come down to Mumbai to meet his wife Avni (Kareena Kapoor Khan, who works in the Cultural Ministry of India) and their young son, he comes across the deadly Omar Hafiz (Jackie Shroff). After a tough fight between the two, Singham becomes successful in arresting Omar, who vows to take revenge from Singham through ‘someone really rough and tough’ and someone who cannot be taken lightly.
This ‘someone’ is none other than Danger Lanka aka Zuber Hafiz, the grandson of Omar. Around the same time, Avni, who is busy putting together a spectacular cultural show of Ramayan, ‘is told’ that, since a major part of the story has gone missing, they need to travel to Sri Lanka to re-shoot it!
After Avni lands up in Sri Lanka, she realises that she has been backstabbed by her own team member and that she has been tricked to come to Sri Lanka, where she gets ‘kidnapped’ by Danger Lanka!
What follows after that are a series of non-stop fights, which involves helicopters, blowing up cars (after all it’s a Rohit Shetty film, remember!) and much more. It is around this time, the viewers are introduced to various characters like IPS Shakti Shetty (Deepika Padukone), ACP Sangram Bhalerao aka Simmba (Ranveer Singh), DCP Veer Suryavanshi (Akshay Kumar), ACP Satya Bali (Tiger Shroff) and others.
Does Singham becomes successful in rescuing Avni from the evil clutches of Danger Lanka, who in Avni’s team backstabs her and for what reason, what roles do Shakti Shetty, Simmba, Veer Suryavanshi and others play in the rescue mission of Avni is what forms the rest of the film.
First things first. Hats off to Rohit Shetty and the entire team of Singham Again for having pulled off such a film. Considering the fact that, Rohit Shetty is not new to the cop-verse, latest offering Singham Again seems to be an extension of his directorial prowess. Strangely and sadly though, it seems that, Rohit Shetty and team seem to have taken the ‘cop-verse’ storyline for granted!
Just as when one expects that Rohit Shetty and team will ensure that the audiences sit on the edge of their seats till the time the film ends, the actual reality seems to be working otherwise!
Let’s hit the nail on its head. The film’s story (Kshitij Patvardhan) is far away from being termed as tangible. There are way too many scenes that could have been simply chopped off.
In the same breath, let us also add that the film’s narrative and Rohit Shetty’s direction, fails to touch the emotional chord. The film’s screenplay (Yunus Sajawal, Kshitij Patvardhan, Sandeep Saket, Anusha Nandkumar, Abhijeet Khuman and Rohit Shetty) is beyond imagination.
While one does appreciate the infusion of the Ramayana angle in the film’s narrative, the biggest roadblock lies in there! In an attempt to draw parallels between the characters in Ramayana and Singham and his ever-faithful team members, the end result seems to be nothing less than a ‘royal khichdi’.
What could have possibly worked in the film’s favour is the mere reference of Ramayana and its characters, rather than actually portraying it in the film, that the audiences have gone to see, because of its action filled predecessors. Even though Singham Again is filled with action galore, the film loses its steam when it starts becoming preachy!
As for the film’s music, while it does not have any hook song (Singham’s famous title track could have been used) the film’s music (Ravi Basrur, Thaman S) just about manage to pass the litmus test. It’s the film’s background score (Ravi Basrur) that takes the cake.
Even though Singham Again does not have hard hitting one liners as expected from a Rohit Shetty film, the film’s dialogues (Shantanu Shrivastava) are just about okay. The film’s cinematography (Girish Kant, Raza Hussain Mehta) seems to be the only shining aspect in the technical department, as it adds oodles of visual appeal to the film. The film’s editing (Bunty Nagi) should have been working relentlessly in the film.
As stated before, the entire chopping up of the Ramayana characterisation angle plus a handful bunch of scenes could have DONE WONDERS for the film.
Now… for the film’s performances. No prizes for guessing. The film Singham Again rides totally on the tried and tested shoulders of the one and only Ajay Devgn. Since Singham is his home turf, this Devgn fires from all the cylinders. He, once again, proves as to why he is the reason for the entire Singham series to attain the cult status that it is enjoying today.
Following him a close second is actually no one… There is no actor in the film who comes even close to his performance. Ranveer Singh, while being in the total Simmba mode, keeps on bringing out the comical element, which becomes irritating at times.
Sadly though, the roles of Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Tiger Shroff oscillate between a cameo and an extended cameo. On the other hand, Kareena Kapoor is in her regular self. Now, for the main actor…Arjun Kapoor, whose role was hyped (and rightfully so), as he was playing a negative character for the first time.
Arjun Kapoor, honestly speaking, shines in parts. There are many places wherein he requires polishing as a negative character. Merely evil laughter will not sail the boat though. But, he does show potential to play a negative role.
Its really sad to see the veteran actor Jackie Shroff and his talent being totally wasted! On the other hand, the much hyped and eagerly awaited Salman Khan in the film as Chulbul Pandey comes in the end credits. But, sadly though, by then.... rest is understood!
All in all, Singham Again will pick up at the box office and should roar its way through in the days to come. This is all because of the Diwali holidays and also the mammoth expectations from the film. The litmus test for the film, however, will begin, once the Diwali season settles down.