Why didn’t Singham come alone?
You may ask, “What’s new in this film Singham Again?” The answer is – nothing. So why should you watch it? Because you want masala entertainment, you have the time and money, and most importantly, this film isn’t bad. It serves the same old masala you’ve become accustomed to from filmmakers like Rohit Shetty. So go ahead, watch it, without any complaints.
You must remember the 2011 Singham. This was a remake of the successful Tamil film of the same name from 2010, and the only star power it had was Ajay Devgan. But it also had a wonderfully crafted story, which director Rohit Shetty presented with tight direction and thrilling action sequences, making it one of the cult films in Hindi cinema today. However, as is common in Bollywood, if one film is a hit, its sequel is quickly produced. If a sequel doesn’t work, then a franchise is created, whether it’s needed or not, with added masala and other movie characters thrown in, all to build a “masala universe.” Rohit Shetty is an expert at this. With his “Golmaal” comedy series on one hand and the action-packed “Singham,” “Simmba,” and “Sooryavanshi” universes on the other, these two worlds are enough to keep him and his actors fed and entertained for years.
Everyone knows that Rohit Shetty’s Singham Returns (2014), built on the success of Singham, was a box-office hit but was an average film. His later films, Simmba and Sooryavanshi, also followed his masala tradition, contributing to the creation of his “cop universe.” Now, in Singham Again, he has brought all the characters from this universe together, while giving a hint at what the future holds. Clearly, Rohit is not stopping anytime soon.
If you want to know the story of Singham Again, just watch the five-minute trailer. If you don’t have time to watch the film, watch this trailer two or three times. Yes, inspired by the Ramayana, the film’s plot is practically revealed in this trailer. The “what” of the movie is clear, and the “how” is no secret either, as Rohit’s films always follow the same pattern for hero, heroine, and villain entries, and the same over-the-top action sequences that make viewers forget physics and chemistry lessons and enjoy the chaos.
In Singham Again, there are not only contemporary references like “New India,” “Changing Kashmir,” and “We will hit back,” but even characters and events from the Ramayana are used as part of the masala. The film is written by nine people, so you can imagine how many efforts and obstacles Rohit faced to bring all these characters together. Clearly, if the content had been truly powerful, Singham would have come alone!
Ajay Devgn’s performance shows a bit of stagnation, even though his character isn’t as strong as before. In fact, no character has been properly written, except for Ranveer Singh, whose presence transforms the film from Singham to Simmba. These are the moments when you can’t help but laugh. Ajay and Kareena’s son, who argues with his parents, makes it clear that these two “traditional parents” haven’t been able to instill any morals in him. Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, and Jackie Shroff are fine in their roles. Deepika Padukone behaves more like Lady Simmba than Lady Singham. Despite doing well, Arjun Kapoor falls victim to a weak character. The music and songs are average, but the action sequences are powerful, the locations effective, and the background score impactful.
