Singham Again: A dated Rohit Shetty actioner high on style but low on substance

Ranveer Singh as Simmba is one of the few bright spots. His wisecracks lift the films energy significantly in the second half but the movie overall reeks of datedness

Singham Again (Hindi), 31-10-2024, Drama, Action, 2 hours 40 minutes, U/A, Theatre

  • Main Cast: Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and Akshay Kumar
  • Director: Rohit Shetty
  • Producer: Rohit Shetty, Ajay Devgan and Jyothi Deshpande
  • Music Director: Ravi Basur and Thaman S
  • Cinematography: Girish Kant Raza Hussain Mehta

There was a period when Rohit Shetty was one of the most commercially successful directors with a terrific track record.

Movies like the Golmaal franchise and Chennai Express (2013) were huge hits with the masses lapping them up, despite fair share of criticism.

However, since the pandemic, things have been going downhill for the director, starting with Ranveer Singh’s Cirkus (2022), a slapstick comedy that produced more groans than laughs. His web series debut, The Indian Police (2024), also didn’t generate much of a favourable response either.

Certain overconfidence has gotten into the director, and Singham Again is the perfect example of this.

Synopsis

The movie has a galaxy of stars and the trademark Rohit Shetty elements but it proves to be a festival dampener. The attempt to link Ramayana with the Singham universe comes across as jarring with zero novelty.

In simple terms, the story of Singham Again focuses on the kidnap of Avni Bajirao Singham (Kareena Kapoor Khan). Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgan) has to save his wife from the clutches of a deadly villain played by Arjun Kapoor. Since Bajirao cannot do everything on his own, others like Deepika Padukone’s Shakti Shetty, Ranveer Singh’s Simmbaa, and Tiger Shroff’s ACP Satya among others come to the aid of their guru.

All this runs parallel to the Ramleela. A nine-day program meant to convince the audiences that Ramayana is not some myth but actually history.

What works and what doesn’t

Ranveer Singh in ‘Singham Again’. (X)

The first half of Singham Again is all about establishing the Ramayana connection. How Rama and Sita’s story represents true love and the various symbolisms. This soon gets tiring and it also doesn’t help that the movie’s trailer established all the Ramayana parallels along with the introduction of all-stars. As a result, the entire first half feels like a never-ending slow grind.

Dialogues like “India ghuske maarta hai Dushmanon Ko” feel like a forced attempt to evoke patriotic feelings. It is only towards the interval that the movie gets mildly interesting.

The character sketches of Singham’s team barring Ranveer Singh also prove to be a dampener. Deepika Padukone as Shakti Shetty never convinces the viewers that she can be Lady Singham. The stale dialogue delivery coupled with the accent is tough to endure.

Tiger Shroff as ACP Satya has even less to do. He is supposed to be modelled on Lakshman but it seems that Tiger was roped in more as a stunt coordinator rather than an actor.

Performances

Arjun Kapoor in ‘Singham Again’. (X)

The film’s second half is significantly better thanks to Ranveer Singh’s energy and his punch lines. The actor lifts the movie’s energy single-handedly. In one instance, Simmbba is seen talking to Kareena’s Avni about how someone’s wife is always getting into trouble in this Cop Verse.

In the climactic sequence, he looks at Deepika and says “Deko Abhi family bhi badh raha hai”, adding to the laughs.

Arjun Kapoor as Danger Lanka/ Zubair Hafeez gets the menacing attitude right. Yes, some polishing is required but he manages to make for a strong villain.

Ajay Devgan does well within the script’s limitations. As an actor, there isn’t a lot to explore but he is his usual competent self.

Kareena Kapoor Khan looks radiant but after Crew and The Buckingham Murders this is just another movie where she is more of a show piece waiting to be rescued.

Final take

There is nothing to rave about either the film’s music or its cinematography. In conclusion, Singham Again fails to roar. It is high time that Rohit gets out of the action and comedy zone.

Kuttey: Aasmaan Bhardwaj Proves To Be A Worthy Successor To His Father

Aasmaan Bharadwaj is here to stay!

Kuttey (Hindi)

  • Cast: Tabu, Arjun Kapoor, Kumud Mishra, Radhika Madan, Konkana Sen Sharma, and Naseeruddin Shah
  • Director: Aasmaan Bhardwaj
  • Producers: Vishal Bhardwaj, T Series and Luv Ranjan
  • Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
  • Runtime: 2 hours and 33 minutes

Vishal Bhardwaj is someone who started as a music director with films like Satya. He made a significant place for himself as a musician before getting into direction.

Since his directorial debut Makdee, he has given many masterpieces to the Hindi film industry. Films like HaiderOmkara and Maqbool are wonderful examples of that.

Vishal Bharadwaj’s son Aasmaan has a lot to live up to and the subject that he chose for his directorial debut clearly shows that he isn’t afraid to take risks.

Kuttey is a thriller with multiple characters and also plenty of back-and-forth narration. This isn’t an easy genre to crack for any director, let alone a debutant. But Aasmaan does a good job of capturing the audience’s attention. There are some rough edges, but he has the potential.

The story is about a few individuals who are eyeing a bank van carrying crores of money. Their desperation is compared to a pack of hungry dogs. Hence the title Kuttey.

There are three different groups (some intentionally and some accidentally) who want to lay their hands on the huge money. Each individual or group wants money for different reasons.

Gopi (Arjun Kapoor) and Paaji (Kumud Mishra) are police officers. They need money to get out of a terrible situation that they’ve landed themselves in.

Pammi (Tabu) is desperate for money as she wants to improve her standard of living.

Lovely (Radhika Madan) is the daughter of an underworld don Narayan Khobre (Naseeruddin Shah). She needs the money for spending the rest of her life with Danny Dandekar (Shardul Bhardwaj). Interestingly, Danny works for Narayan.

Lastly, there is Lakshmi (Konkana Sen Sharma). She runs a group of communist rebels who are on the run.

In a nutshell, the film is about who finally gets the money and what happens to those who don’t get the money.

An engaging treatment

The story of Kuttey hinges on a single track but what makes it engaging is its treatment by Aasmaan. The objectives of all three groups keep the audiences invested in what will happen next.

There is a strong animal analogy that the director presents and this enhances the film much like last year’s Darlings. There is liberal use of four-letter words. This makes the dialogues more entertaining, particularly for those who enjoy this brand of cinema.

Aasmaan also touches upon some important things through his multiple characters.

Through the track of Konkana Sen Sharma, the young director talks about how the marginalised are pushed to take up weapons. There is also a righteous cop who chooses to go on the dark side. All this enhances the drama.

The climatic twist takes you by complete surprise and also raises some chuckles.

Technical aspects

The cinematography by Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi is perfectly in sync with the nature of the film.

The music and the background score by Vishal Bhardwaj heighten the drama. Particular mention must be made regarding the use of “Dhan Te Nan” from Kaminey. It is a treat to watch.

There are a couple of aspects that could have been better. The cuss words feel overdone in places.

Also, both Naseeruddin Shah and Konkana could have been used better. The Naxalite angle could have been done with more depth. The violence also could have been trimmed down.

An ensemble of cast

Kuttey has a huge ensemble of actors and the ones who stand out are Tabu, Kumud Mishra, and Arjun Kapoor.

Tabu is at her usual best as Pammi. She has a ball uttering the Hindi swear words. She does a brilliant job of playing the badass boss that is generally reserved for men. She also brings in some comic relief.

Kumud Mishra delivers another ace performance as the conflicted cop. He lets his body language do most of the talking.

However, the surprise package of the ensemble is Arjun Kapoor. He holds his own opposite seasoned performers like Tabu and Kumud Mishra. His character sketch has an interesting quirk.

For example, he is religious and fasts on Tuesdays before going on a shooting spree. He is also shown to be a responsible father.

Radhika Madan and Shardul are good with the limited screen time that they have.

Kuttey has enough bite and the ensemble cast is the icing on the cake.