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| Singh Saab The Great |
A collector becomes a victim of the law after his brush with thugs. On his return from jail he vows to eradicate corruption.
Like all films that talk of reforming society, Anil Sharma's Singh Saab the Great has its heart in the correct place. Sunny Deol's earnestness shines, throughout the duration of this melodrama. But these guys have to choose better plots to make a point. We've seen a honest collector single-handedly trying to tackle corruption a zillion times. And the treatment; ouch, it hurts more than the hero's blows.
The film's objective is to deify Sunny Deol and simultaneously showcase his famous fists. Bollywood believes that this Jat actor's fists weigh a kilo and a half each. Also sample the dialogue that goes: Bali hamesha bakreki chadti hai, sher ki nahi; paisa aur power Raavan ke paas bhi nahi raha, etc. Even these can be enjoyed if Sharma had chosen a sharper narrative. And his hero has been less preachy. Guru Gobind Singh, Gandhi, Vivekananda, Bhagat Singh's names are used in vain, especially because ultimately the film is just reduced to a trite, over-the-top Bollywood hit-and-holler affair.
Singh Saab (a turbaned Sunny) is the most feared man in a village up north. His bare fists, you overhear a couple of sidekicks say, are enough to keep an army of goondas in check. But he usually seeks badlav (change) and notbadla (revenge). A journalist ( Amrita Rao) stumbles on Singh Saab's inglorious past that even includes a jail term. To put things in context, there's a flashback involving Saranjit Talwar (clean-shaven Sunny), an honest collector in Bhadori. Life is beautiful, especially when he is snuggling with his young wife (debutant Urvashi Rautela). But as always, the hero's ideals are a thorn in the sides of the local hooligans. One maniacal character Bhoodev (Prakash Raj) wears kurtas made of floral prints and talks enough to tear your eardrums down.
Then fists of fury fly; a crass item song is sung, a sting operation is conducted and good triumphs over evil. The USP: the song daaru bandh in which Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby, all of whom have two left feet, do their jig. It's sweet because they're so unpretentious.
