Singh is Kinng was touted to be loaded with nuclear ammunition of entertainment but all you get is expensive Diwali aatishbaazi which is pretty good till it lasts leaving behind a smog of ridiculousness.
It’s a zillion times told of a village simpleton Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar) attempting to change the materialistic city bred cousin Lucky Singh (Sonu Sood) who’s the king of underworld Down Under. Bizarre fate elevates him to the stature of the king of bad world. Singh, now has to juggle between making his Rose Queen ’mooh bholi Amma’ Kirron Kher and her Egypt bred sexy daughter Soniya (Katrina Kaif) with snooty boyfriend Puneet (Ranvir Shourie) feel at home amidst gun-crazy zealous sardars.
Let me tell you at the outset, the plot is wafer thin and don’t even try to look for logic of any sort. The climax is tame but the comical thrills doesn’t let your pop corn taste stale. The most refreshing thing about the movie is Akshay Kumar before he is entrusted with the king’s coveted gaddi. He is an unbelievably believable mad jatt who looks like the eighth wonder of the world each time he makes a fool of himself. But the trimmed beard and fancy pink pagdi takes away the fun and he enters the preachy mode that’s borning. Still, one can easily say, this is Akshay’s most true-to-heart performance till date.
Katrina Kaif looks pretty, has worn some breathtaking dresses, surprise surprise has dubbed her own lines (since she had to speak English most of the times, that must have been easy) and is generally easy on the eyes. Neha Dhupia as the tom boy Julie is the surprise package and has some of the best lines in the film. She’s looking stunning and displays neat flair for comedy. Javed Jaffrey, in a double role is a bit of a mix. As king’s complexed half blind half deaf brother, he tries too hard to be funny but that forced accent doesn’t work well. He’s also Ranvir’s father in the film and at least one of his dialogues in the climax is hilarious.
Om Puri as Akshay’s friend Rangeela is fine (though it’s hard to digest that a girl half his age is so willing to marry him as if he had just entered his twenties). Sudhanshu Pandey as Raftar Singh, Kamal Chopra as Guruji, Yashpal Sharma as Pankaj Singh and Manoj Pahwa as Dilbag Singh bring in some rib tickling comic moments in the film. Ranvir Shourie is irritating while Sonu Sood is left to being a Demello (Those of you who’ve seen Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron will agree) for most part of the film.
The real stars of the movie are the dialogue writers who’ve written some riot-worthy lines. It’s been a long time that I heard words like ’Tuchcha’ and ’Bhasudi Ke’ (very coloquial terms randomly used in North India). Music is fun for most parts. Soft and romantic Teri Ore emanates lovely feelings from within and its picturisation amidst Egyptian pyramids is brilliant. Talli didn’t work for me and as for the much hyped Snoop Dogg version of Singh is Kinng is more a case of ’too much promised...so so delievered’. Akshay’s beard and moustache in this song have been tackily done. Ben Nott’s cinematography is fantastic and spares too much stylisation.
Singh is Kinng disappoints at the level of story and the way it is told. But as a package, it works for it entertains till it lasts. It’s a one time watch for Akshay at his best and some punchy dialogues (though it wouldn’t be surprising if it breaks Gadar records in Punjab and Delhi in terms of sheer hysteria).