Bajrangi Bhaijaan is a supercharged cross-border drama that goes all out – and then some – in delivering its message of subcontinental peace.
Director Kabir Khan pulls out an old chestnut – the theme of humanity trumping a history of bitterness.
Into this perennially bubbling cauldron, he throws a devout, upright Hindu do-gooder and an achingly beatific but speechless six-year-old Pakistani girl stranded on the Indian side of the border.
Bridging many divides – religion, national identity, food habits – the two develop an unlikely bond that wipes out all prejudices.
The man puts everything at stake, driven by his faith in Bajrangbali, to ensure that the lost girl makes it back home in one piece.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan runs with this wafer-thin premise with such unbridled enthusiasm and vigour that you might be forgiven for wondering if the future of the universe hinged on it.
But even then, strictly from the perspective of Salman Khan’s core constituency, Bajrangi Bhaijaan might seem a touch tame.
The blustery superstar goes missing in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, as do his signature punchlines.
It is, clearly, a calculated risk, a bid to reinvent a successful screen persona that might have outlived its utility in the light of the ageing actor’s off-screen troubles.
Salman plays a Hanuman-fearing, truth-loving straight-arrow bloke from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh who breaks neither the law nor bones.
Main Bajrangbali ka bhakt hoon, koi kaam chori chheepe nahin karta, he says. So, he does not get into any street fights, spouts no explosive lines and does not take off his shirt. What a bore!
But, then, he is no longer a mere mortal in policeman’s clothing cleansing a neighbourhood. He is now a crusader for truth and love and knows no boundaries. Like the monkey-god he swears by, he can leap over any gulf of mind and land.