SINGH IS BLIING (U/A)
Director: Prabhu Deva
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Lara Dutta, Kay Kay Menon, Kunal Kapoor
Running time: 141 minutes

Raftaar Singh can’t land a straight punch. When confronted with more than one adversary, Raftaar’s first instinct is to run for his life. Driving a car to running an errand, Raftaar is a disaster. 

Raftaar Singh is Akshay Kumar. Yes, the same daredevil who has Khiladi-ed his way to become Bolly’s action hero number one — from jumping off helicopters to plunging down cliffs.

In Singh is Bliing, director Prabhu Deva comes up with a clever case of casting against type by making Akshay’s Raftaar the anti-thesis of the fearless action star we have always known him as. Raftaar is a bumbling, stereotyped Sardar who has a heart of gold, but not the alpha male that we know our Bollywood heroes to be: he doesn’t have any fancy martial art moves under his belt and can’t punch down one man, leave alone 10. 

Who comes to his rescue? Amy Jackson’s spunky and sprightly Sara, in whom Singh is Bliing also gives Bolly a new kind of heroine: ball-busting and ass-kicking. If Prabhu Deva’s last film was called Action Jackson, all the action in his latest film is done by Amy Jackson. When our hero runs for cover, it’s our heroine who picks up the rod to hammer the bad guy; when our hero gets hammered by a gang of goons, it’s our heroine who takes them on punch for punch, kick for kick. 

The plot may be wafer-thin and the running time too long, but Singh Is Bliing is a lot of silly and harmless fun, especially in Half One. Opening in the small Punjab hamlet of Bassi Pathana where Raftaar rides perched between two tractors and smashes flaming bricks with his head, but does little else, the film quickly shifts to Goa where the village bumpkin is packed off by his exasperated dad to make a living.

Once there, Raftaar finds himself playing bodyguard to Sara, who is on the run from a deranged suitor (Kay Kay Menon’s Mark). The one big problem? Raftaar knows no English and Sara can’t speak a word of Hindi. Cue for Emily (Lara Dutta) to make an entry as translator. She quickly becomes ‘Imli’ for Raftaar and the lost-in-translation conversations involving the three make the first half frothy and fun.

With Raftaar wearing his silliness as a trophy on his turban, Singh is Bliing keeps the laughter consistently alive — from that hilarious set-piece where he tries to pass off a bulldog with a wig as a lion to that fun scene at the airport where he arrives with band baaja to receive Sara (psst: watch this scene closely for a very ‘sunny’ cameo!). The plot progresses little in the first hour but there is enough masala — LOL lines, a sleepwalking gag and a red-hot Amy rising from the waves in a red swimsuit — to give the viewer his money’s worth.

But it would be too much to expect a Prabhu Deva film to be a seamless ride. Post-interval, Singh Is Bliing hits a roadblock, with the romantic track and an unnecessary emotional plot point taking over. Raftaar loses much of his silliness — and, therefore, much of his appeal — and, peppered with one song after another, the overstretched Half Two limps to a predictable end. Yes, as predictable as the hero flexing his muscles and wielding his machismo to win back the woman he loves. 

But Akshay makes the Singh Is Bliing ride worthwhile. Fighting fit and that infectious gummy smile apart, the man knows how to poke fun at himself and his image, giving us a character that endears from the get-go. After Baby, Gabbar Is Back and Brothers this year, Singh Is Bliing is set to be yet another money-spinner for the Khiladi, making him one of Bolly’s most dependable superstars.

Amy Jackson kicks some serious ass in the action scenes and grabs eyeballs in both sari and swimsuit, but needs to build more than the two-and-a-half expressions in her repertoire. Back after a break, Lara Dutta shows off her comic skills and is responsible for most of the laughs in Half One. One can’t imagine what made Kay Kay sign a film like this, but it does seem like he’s having a blast playing his over-the-top villain. Kunal Kapoor — Shashi Kapoor’s son — makes a rare appearance as Amy’s father. 

Riding on lots of laughs and its superstar hero, Singh Is Bliing has enough shine to make a big weekend. But will Singh be king, Monday onwards? Let’s wait and watch.

Priyanka Roy
I liked/ didn’t like Singh Is Bliing because.... Tell t2@abp.in

 

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