Debutant
director, Arbaz Khan’s Dabang 2, a
sequel to the blockbuster hit of 2010, Dabang,
is more of a good business opportunity to its makers than just a film. Dabang 2 feeds on the success of its
predecessor, and heavily at that! It has almost become a rule to produce a
sequel to every successful film that is made in the Hindi film industry, be it
the Dhooms, the Housefuls or now the Dabangs.
But it is clear that magical films do not get made every day and on the top of
it, to reproduce the magic in the sequel without solid content is rather a
weird task.
Dabang 2 happens to be a caricature of Dabang in almost all ways. But this
replica falls short of recreating the magic its predecessor created. Having
said that, Dabang 2 is not particularly a bad film.Director Arbaz Khan and writer Dilip Shukla make
a decent entertainer with some witty and comic dialogues, wacky action
sequences and good performances.
What
keeps this film from being a good film is the simply the story which is
coherently similar to Dabang'sexcept that
Chulbul now has a happy joint family and a pregnant wife. The clichéd and extra
ordinarily influential villain whose ego is periodically tickled by Chulbul and
then a chance for a big revenge is what Dabang had, and is naturally inherited by
its sequel’s script.
What’s
good about this sequel which none of the sequels in Bollywood have managed before
is that, its director maintains the image of its protagonist from the
predecessor rather than going overboard. Chulbul Pandey is as strong and
flamboyant as in Dabang without getting extra powers or qualities. I believe
the character is what the audience will cherish and connect to in Dabang 2. Arbaz Khan as a director
captures some really mature and touching interactions between Chulbul and his wife
(played by Sonakshi Sinha) and celebrates post marriage romance onscreen.
Screenplay
is very amateur and you literally see the film running in a cyclic order of
action-drama-romance-songs making the already weak script annoyingly
predictable. Action is stylised with an effective background score and good
editing, however, it seems overdone in parts. The entry action sequence is lengthy
and monotonous while the finale sequence is disappointing. Music is average and
the funniest part is that each song inherits from its coinciding song from Dabang in terms of singers, tune, setting
and the situation in the story. Dabang 2
is a new pot from the same mould!
Prakash
Raj plays the overpowered villain, he can never disappoint. But don’t expect a Singham level performance because he
surprisingly has a less screen time. Arbaz Khan and VinodKhanna carry their
characters ahead with ease. Sonakshi Sinha cake walks through another role in
the shadow of a flamboyant hero played by a big star. Salman Khan as Robinhood Pandey
or this time the Kung Fu Pandey steals the show. You will find the same
Chulbul, a little fat though, delivering big faced one liners, smacking goons
with ease and going shirtless in the finale sequence. Salman Khan never
pretends to know to act, but pulls it off with sheer screen presence and his
real life dabang attitude reflected
on screen.
Dabang
2 is neither a magical film nor a trash! But it’s earning big buks for its
producer is inevitable just as the consequent production of a dozen more
Dabangs is!
I am going with a 2.5
out of 5 for Arbaz Khan’s Dabang 2. If pure Salman Khan entertainer is what you
are looking for, then Dabang 2 is your destination this festive season.
More than anything else Reema
Kagtis’s Talaash is primarily a story of Mumbai’s
underbelly; a significant part of Mumbai which is treated as cursed and its
inhabitants mercilessly ignored. Co-writers Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar weave a
suspense drama in this dark, yet not dull side of Mumbai.
It all starts with a death of a
film star in a supposed car accident, doubted as a murder. Inspector Srujan
Shekhawat finds himself caught in this complex case which looks too simple on
its exterior. Simultaneously, Shekhawat struggles to face the loss of a loved
one and handling an almost broken marriage with Roshni(Rani Mukherjee). He
befriends Rosie(Kareena Kapoor), a sex worker, who appears very kind,
attractive and helpful to Shekhawat. She puts forward convenient clues at convenient
moments to Shekhawat to push him deeper into the case. The story is not just
about the murder in a red light area of Mumbai, it goes deeper into the
emotions of each character. By the end of it, you certainly sympathize with
every character’s journey in the story and may even identify with their
struggle if not the life.
Director Reema Kagti writes a
gripping screenplay such that even if the story flows slowly, you never really
get weary of it and lose interest. Talaash’s
biggest achievement is its crispy writing, tight screenplay and at times,
entertaining dialogues.Real characters, real locations and a dark bloomy
cinematography add to the effect.
Talaash benefits from a bang on
casting. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as
Taimur, a guy for the bad-jobs, ambitious to have a good life is mind blowing
and a highlight amongst the actors. Kareena Kapoor is decently good, but she
gets it too sophisticated some times. Rani Mukherjee is terrific as a
struggling wife. She gets into every bit of her character’s reality and doesn’t
shy away from having no make-up. Aamir Khan as a cop brings a lot of dignity to
his character. Watch him in scenes with Rani Mukherjee and you will realize the
depth he gets into his role.
Now coming down to what everyone
has been waiting for: The Answer. Being a suspense film, a grand revelation at
the end is apparent. The question is how has Talaash got it? Well, according to me, there can be a mixed
reaction among the audience. To me, purely as a movie watcher, the revelation didn’t
totally appeal. After having invested so much of my concentration in the movie,
I didn’t totally get what I wanted to. Well, surprises make a suspense story better,
but this ‘not really surprising
revelation’ wasn’t as pleasant. Towards the end, I kept hoping the writers
would come up with yet another twist that could be acceptable to me, but they didn’t.
Having said that, this is an individual reaction, and I cannot challenge it. But
do not expect it to deliver a Kahani level
revelation, you could come out disappointed.
Talaash qualifies as a very good film, but certainly not a
spectacular one.
I am going with a 3 out of 5 for Reema Kagtis’s Talaash, watch it for
the film it is, and not just to get the answer to the question, and you wouldn’t
be disappointed.
