Review: 'Son of Sardaar' is an unapologetic Bollywood entertainer

Film: Son of Sardaar
Director: Ashwni Dhir 
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Juhi Chawla
Rating: ***

This one is for die-hard fans of the Bollywood masala genre. There is larger-than-life herogiri, gravity-defying maar-dhaad, cheesy dialogue-baazi and a happy ending.

Son of Sardaar opens with a song that lists the many virtues of the community. And almost immediately, the action moves to a London nightclub where our turbaned hero Jaswinder Singh Randhawa aka Jassi (Ajay) beats up the baddies with some help from a Pathan buddy (Salman Khan in a cameo). Déjà vu? Not quite!

A vengeance drama that has slapstick comedy thrown in for good measure, Son of Sardaar uses every trick in the book to grab the eyeballs of its target audience. The invincible hero, who can jiggle his pectoral muscles as effectively as he can throw punches and kicks, combines humour and herogiri to win the hearts of everyone he meets.

Jassi, who lives in London, has to return to his village to sell off his father’s land. However, a blood-thirsty clan is waiting to settle some old scores with him. Along the way, he meets a pretty Sardaran Sukhwinder who (you guessed it!) belongs to the same family which would love to see Jassi dead. The only place where Jassi is safe from the sword-wielding and gun-toting goons, led by patriarch Balwinder Singh Sandhu aka Billu (Sanjay), is the home of this very family which believes in treating a ‘guest’ well.

Air-borne villains and vehicles sail through the landscape when Jassi is forced to step out of the Sandhu household. The feud finally comes to an end in true filmi fashion, with some help from Parminder aka Pammi (Juhi). Pammi has been waiting since the last 25 years to marry Billu who has taken an oath of celibacy till the time he kills Jassi.

Juhi, as the eager-to-wed Pammi, delights with her comic timing. Wish we could see more of her on screen!

On the whole, Son of Sardaar is an unapologetic Bollywood entertainer that promises a few laughs.