Singham is back to basics story telling
Singham reminds you of the Hindi films that were made in the 70's and the 80's, where the story line was pretty straightforward, a honest cop, tries to correct a corrupt system by taking on the baddies and winning. MOst of these films were action films where the heo beat the living daylights of all the baddie singelhandedly. 'Singham' is a remake of the Southern film and stars Ajay Devgan ( son of Veeru Devgan) who teams up with Rohit Shetty as the director, who is also the son of ace film baddie Shetty is a tribute to that era.
The backdrop is Shivgad, a small village on the border of Maharashtra and Goa. The film tells the story of an honest, diligent cop Bajirao Singham [Ajay Devgn], who fights against injustice and prejudice using his own ethics and principles. A sudden strike of destiny sets up Singham against the powerful criminal/politician Jaykant Shikre [Prakash Raj], challenging his morals and beliefs. Jaykant's powerful planning and force makes Singham land up in the ruling city of Jaykant Shikre, where he leaves no stone unturned to make Singham's life a nightmare to live. Ajay Devgan is a honest cop in the small town of Shivgad and is well respected and feared by villagers and criminals. Through the course of his work, he clashes with politician and goon, Jaykant Shikre ( Krishna Raj), who wows revenge. Shikre is unable to extract revenge on Devgan and in order to do that, gets hi transferred to the city of Goa. He makes his life a living hell. How Singham extracts revenge is the rest of the movie.
This is a great entertainer and full of many powerful scenes, the scene at the movie theater where Ajay Devgan punishes the guy who has attempted to molest his girlfriend, most of the scenes between Krishna Raj and Ajay Devgan, the retaliation against the minister at his office are some of the best ones. Most of the scenes are the kinds which made people standup, clap and throw coins at the screen, eliciting this emotion in people today is hard but this film did just that. Trust me, I saw this film in a crowded theater...
The action scenes are terrific, Rohit Shetty loves the slow moving frame and flying vehicles - plenty of those here. The drama component is extremely rivetting and I could not keep my eyes off the screen for the 2 hour and five minute runtime.
Kavita Aggarwal is bubbly but wasted here because you just want her to disappear from the screen. Ajay Devgan is amazing, not only in the action sequences but also in the dramatic sequences. Devgan gives ample proof of his star power and shows us why he one of the most bankable stars today. His director buddy, Rohit Shetty has done a great job with te film and action sequences, directing both.
This film could not have been imaginable without Krishna Raj, who has delivered one of the finest villanous acts in recent times. Whether he is vicious or pathetic, he was just simply awesome. The last time I loved a villian was when I saw Anupam Kher as Dr. Dang in Karma.
One of the most entertaining films in recent times, high on raw power, story telling and emotion is an enjoyable ride. Highly recommended. Four stars.
