There was a time when masala action flicks were the order of the day. Such films were regularly churned out and it had a dedicated audience who wholeheartedly endorsed this kind of cinema. However, as time passed, the number of such films began to decline drastically. But still the love for these flicks hasn’t died down and we won’t mind watching them once in a while. Aamir Khan’s Ghajini re-popularized the trend followed by Salman Khan’s Wanted. And Sallu is now back with another sureshot masala entertainer Dabangg, a film that is meant to just fully entertain the viewers! Nothing new in terms of storyline, what works in Dabangg is solely Salman and his brilliant performance!
The story of the movie: Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan) is a fearless but corrupt police officer in the town of Laalgunj, Uttar Pradesh. He family consists of his mother Naini (Dimple Kapadia), step father Prajapati Pandey (Vinod Khanna) and step brother Makhanchan aka Makkhi (Arbaaz Khan), the latter two who are hated by Chulbul due to bitter experiences of childhood. Chulbul at this point comes across Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha), a girl with a unique perspective of life and he instantly falls for her. Things were going smoothly for Chulbul when his world turns upside down with a sudden catastrophe. A ruthless villain enters his life-Cheddi Singh (Sonu Sood). How he fights evil and emerges triumphant is what the rest of the film is all about.
Dabangg at several points reminds of Wanted. Remember Salman’s intro scene in Wanted where he enters the goon’s adda and attacks them single-handedly which is followed by a foot-tapping song? Something similar is to be seen in Dabangg too! Thankfully, the action scenes are much more refined and have a dash of humour too. Same with the interval scene which is similar to Wanted (Salman bashing up goons while the heroine looks on with an expression of shock)! Yet, the film doesn’t give a reason to complain as the treatment for both the films is drastically different. Also, as mentioned before, Dabangg is a full on entertainer. The film is made only to give the viewers a paisa-vasool experience and special care is taken by the director and writers for the same. There’s not a single dull moment and although the film slows down at places, it still keeps the viewers gripped.
The film begins with a bang with Salman’s rocking entry followed by the title song. Chulbul’s ways of wooing Rajo bring a smile on the face! The film jumps to a new level after the song Humka Peeni Hai with an interesting development in the plot. Post-intermission, its Chulbul’s unique way of marrying Rajo that was too good. The bomb blast and Makkhi realizing he has been used was damn impactful. And as for the climax, it was just outstanding and perfect for such kind of a film! See it to believe it!
However, while the director focused on making this film totally mass-centric, he didn’t prefer to give some additional touches to the plot and the characters which might have improved the film to some extent. Chulbul Pandey had a bitter childhood as he never got the love and affection from his father. The director could have treated this angle in a better way. Also, maybe, they could have focused on how Chulbul became a positive person and realized the importance of having a family after meeting Rajo. However, all these aspects were ignored in the quest for delivering a ‘massworthy’ product. Still no complaints as the film entertained!
The film obviously belongs to Salman Khan! He is totally rocking as Chulbul Pandey aka Robinhood Pandey! He’s an expert when it comes to playing such kind of roles. He proved it in Wanted and does the same good job in Dabangg as well. To be frank, I am at a total loss of words and will simply end by saying-Salman, you may be giving couple of duds here and there but still you were and you are THE SUPERSTAR! Rock on Sallu!
Sonakshi Sinha looks extremely beautiful and has loads of talent which she unfortunately doesn’t get to exhibit here. Hope to see her in better roles in future! Sonu Sood entered the narrative in the beginning, disappeared midway but came back into focus in the 2nd half. Performance-wise, he was too good and delivers as per expectations. He proved his worth with Singh Is Kinng and Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi (where he was the solo hero) that he has immense talent and with Dabangg, he’s going to be noticed by more and his fan base is bound to increase! Arbaaz Khan (who’s also the co-producer of the film) plays his part well. Malika Arora Khan (also a co-producer and the sexiest one ever!) was sizzling in the item song Munni Badnaam Hui! Vinod Khanna was okay while Dimple Kapadia leaves a mark. Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Tinnu Anand and Mahie Gill were good in their respective roles.
Sajid-Wajid’s music was foot-tapping and had the wonderful rustic touch to it. Tere Mast Mast Do Nain and Udd Udd Dabangg are the best of the lot followed by Munni (by Lalit Pandit). Special mention should be made of the choreography, especially of Salman’s phaadu dance steps in Tere Mast Mast Do Nain and Munni! Sandeep Shirodkar’s background score was topnotch.
Wasiq Khan’s production design was damn impressive. The sets seemed very authentic (especially Salman’s residence). Mahesh Limaye’s cinematography was flawless. S Vijayan’s action is one of the best things about the film. Some of the action scenes are creatively handled and executed which makes it a pleasure to witness them especially on the big screen.
Dilip Shukla and Abhinav Singh Kashyap, the writers, deserve credit and appreciation mostly for the fast-paced script and dialogues. In such kind of films, the dialogues have to be clapworthy and sharp. Dabangg fortunately has many such dialogues that enhance impact in many sequences. As for the story, well, as mentioned above, it was very ordinary and nothing special! Abhinav’s direction is excellent for most part of the film. He knew his job well and what he actually wanted to deliver and he does it convincingly. But as commented above, if he would have taken care of finer details of some characters, the film might have touched and impacted the viewers more. But notwithstanding the same, he shines and succeeds!
Some of the best scenes:
1. Chulbul’s entry
2. The title song, Tere Mast Mast Do Nain and Munni
3. Chulbul trying to woo Rajo
4. The intermission point
5. Chulbul marries Rajo
6. Makkhi joins Cheddi Singh
7. Makkhi realizes that he has been betrayed
8. The climax
On the whole, Dabangg is a totally rocking entertainer that delivers as per the expectations. Don’t go looking for a nice story. Just sit back, relax and enjoy Salman’s histrionics which is much more worth than a movie ticket any day! Another advice: if possible, watch this film in a single-screen theatre. The seeti-taali crowd present in such theatres will ensure you have a rocking time when you see Dabangg, something which you won’t be able to experience in multiplexes! Enjoy!
My rating- ½