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Sunday, February 9, 2025
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BOLLYWOOD DABANGG
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ** 1/2
So here it is. A new genre of cinema. The Spaghetti Eastern. The velocity is
virulent. The violence is relentless. The narrative doesn`t pause for action. It
is between bouts of the violence that characters take a breather to say things
to one another that they don`t really mean.
This then is "Dabangg". A world swarming with uni-dimensional
characters who seem to know exactly which way the fists fly. We certainly don`t.
The comic book hero Chulbul Pandey, played with lip smacking pleasure by Salman
Khan, shows up in every dingy warehouse in this mofussil town to settle scores,
man to man.
"Dabangg" is the kind of oldfashioned family drama combined with a
vendetta saga that we thought had gone out of fashion in the 1980s. Chulbul
Pandey could have been played by Amitabh Bachchan 30 years ago. Yes, that
killing comic dimension that Salman brings into his characters has its roots in
the Big B`s action-comedy films.
And Dimple Kapadia, wheezing, coughing, groaning and ranting her way through the
mother`s role (what got into Dimple???) hams her way through this action drama
where being opulently outrageous comes naturally to everyone.
But all said and damned, there is something to be said about Salman`s Chulbul
Pandey`s ability to be cartoonish, caricatural and larger than life and yet warm
and very real in his tongue-in-cheek bravura.
Some of the less over-punctuated moments in this film of ceaseless
bone-crunching sound-effects occur each time Chulbul woos his bulbul Rajjo
(debutant Sonakshi Sinha). Each time she passes by Salman becomes putty in her
hands. The debutante has eyes that plead for peace. But who`s listening? The
raucous riotous soundtrack is slave only to the rhythm of blood gore and screams
of innumerable goons crashing through wooden supports that have seen better
days.
The action sequences are the backbone of this bone-breaking actioner. The stunts
are done in an enticing mix of masti and mayhem. The crusted dusty-brown
unwashed ambience is created with care. But the plot is almost completely free
of delicate moments.
"Dabangg" is Ram Gopal Varma`s "Shool" on steroids. In
"Shool" Manoj Bajpai was the honest cop on a cleansing spree in a
Bihari backwater town. In "Dabangg" Salman takes on the mofussil mafia
with much more humour than Bajpai could muster.
It is the need of the hour. We have to laugh away the corruption and violence
all around us. Salman does a splendid job of it. It`s hard to tell where
debutant director Abhinav Kashyap`s abilities end and the action director
Vijayan Master begin. That seamless quality goes well with this unpunctuated
tribute to the spirit of free-for-all one-upmanship.
An ear-catching music score by Sajid-Wajid does diminish the level of violence
in the presentation. Sonakshi Sinha uses her eyes beautifully. And the song
"Tere mast mast do nayan" describes her eloquent expressions well.
But this is a Salman Khan vehicle all the way. He gets to be funny, wicked and
belligerent... sometimes all at once. Sonu Sood as the main antagonist brings an
in-your-face menace to his villainy.
He is in character. Though Salman slips out of character quite often.
And quite happily.
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I do not want to be sheltered from dangers.want to be fearless while facing them Dabangg means fearless.
Set in Laalguni, Uttar Pradesh, Dabangg is a story of Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan), a totally fearless but corrupt police officer with unorthodox working methods.
But even the most fearless at times face a tough fight with their innermost demons, Chulbul has had a bitter childhood. His father passed away when he has very young after which his mother Naini (Dimple Kapadia) married Prajapati Pandey (Vinod Khanna). Together, they had a son Makhanchan (Arbaz Khan)
Prajapati favours Makhanchan which does not go down well with Chulbull. He decides to take control of his destiny and detaches himself from his stepfather and half brother. His sole attachment is his mother.However after his mother`s demise and an unsuccessful attempt to mend wounds, Chulbul snaps all ties with his stepfather and half brother.
Rajo(Sonakhi Sinhaa) with her unique perspective of life enters his world and turns i upside down. Chulbul starts to see life more positively and also gets sensitized to the value of a family.
But his detractors especially the dubious Cheddi Singh (Sone Sood) have their own vested intersts and emerge as spoken in the wheel, putting one brother against the other. Makhanchcan ends up carrying out acts oblivious to the consequences. When he realizes he has been used, he turns to Chulbi. Will Chulbul take his extended hand? Will the brothers be able to thwart their detractors?
Will this time, Chulbul`s fearlessness channeliz itself positively and reunite him with his family Dabangg is a hard- hitting, entertaining, emotional narrative that unfolds grippingly in region that had place only for the fearless.
