'Singham's Lion Cub Roars.
Film: Simmba
Genre: Action-Comedy-Drama
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Sonu Sood and Ajay Devgn (special appearance)
Direction: Rohit Shetty
Written by: Yunus Sajawal and Sajid Samji
Duration: 2 hours 39 minutes
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Critic’s Rating: 3.5/5
Story:
Adapted from the Telugu hit Temper (2015), the story revolves around Sangram 'Simmba' Bhalerao (Ranveer), an orphan from Shivgadh, where DCP Bajirao Singham (Ajay) was raised. In sharp contrast to the senior super cop, this cub Simmba is hot-headed, unscrupulous and greedy. Of course, his avariciousness comes with a rider. He will not condone drugs, rape or atrocities against women. Wowsie! There's some hope for India. So, when apna Simmba has to take on the influential goonda Dhurva Ranade (Sonu Sood), he does so in Hindi-film style. Police Zindabad!
Review:
Rohit Shetty, in whose cinema everything is larger-than-life, gives this film a comic book treatment. Desi Marvel, anyone? The only point worth deliberating over here is -- whether we should be telling our children about rape and drugs? Guess the answer is in the question. 10-year-olds know both evils exist and see enough of it on the news channels.
Anyway, Shetty's hero is the caricaturish cop Simmba, who is completely OTT (over the top) in the first half. The low on morals, high on testosterone type. He chases goons for miles, sings a song in between, beats up baddies and just when everyone has gathered their breath, he demands a 'cut'. He speaks English that is borrowed from Akshay Kumar in Rowdy Rathore and Shahid Kapoor in R...Rajkumar. The lowbrow 'mind is blowing' stuff. Never you mind! This cop is initially cloned from Salman Khan in Dabangg, with swag et al. Fortunately for him in our immoral country, Simmba is given a hero's welcome everywhere and even treated with reverence. Digest this; Sangram, who is pyaar ka bhooka, goes around getting himself adopted by the neighbourhood aunty, uncle and girls -- who either make him their son or their brother! Cho Chweet! Told you this is comic-book stuff and is inadvertently comic too.
The travails of Simmba continue unchecked till the antagonist, Dhurva's brothers -- two anonymous scowls -- rape a young pretty thing who threatens to expose their drug dealings. Lucky for her, she is one of Simmba's many adopted sisters and her misfortune awakens his sleeping conscience. You don't need to be Einstein to guess what comes next. The bad cop becomes the Avenger. At every juncture, he thwarts/trashes the villains and against a background score that goes -- Aala Re Aala, Simmba Aala -- punctuated with Police, Police, Police, the khaki vigilante stuff begins. Nothing is new here. But then, nothing is new in our country, say the filmmakers. The Nirbhaya rape (2012) was followed by another 1,80,000 rape cases in the following five years say the statistics. Believe it or not, we are going to need many more Simmbas to rescue our depraved community. Rohit Shetty knows this. In fact, when one he falls short of one super cop, he brings in the dashing Singham to join forces with Simmba. Is your head reeling? Why complain? Everything should be digested with the same amount of disbelief that you have while reading your favourite Phantom series.
Of the performances, Ranveer is loud pre-interval because he is following instructions to the 'T'. In the second half, they have to show him muted, so you can tell, he has been specifically asked to play to the galleries initially. Hello, but please wait. There is no taking away from the fact that Ranveer does his stuff with aplomb. This is one Lion Cub who will definitely be joining the ranks of a Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn eventually. Speaking of Devgn, his cameo here is superb. In 20-minutes flat, he shows you the clear demarcation between the stuff that separates the men from the boys.
Shagun (Sara Ali Khan) has a thankless part and two songs. Of the two ditties, Aankh Marey is electrifying and is already the season's party anthem.
Sonu Sood's stab at villainy is fantastic. At one point, he has two heroes taking him on. The physical and acting strength that he displays is worth applauding. Ceetis galore actually!
Verdict:
Simmba is tried and tested 80s Bollywood formula. But what the hell? If redux songs can be a super hit, retelling formula, 1000-times-over can also be super fun. Go for Simmba with a whistle and a packet of kurkure. This is masala, just ENJOY!
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