India is a wondrous country… If a movie like Dabangg can break the record for opening weekend of a movie like 3 Idiots..that’s the only conclusion I can come to. I know you already know better, but just for record..don’t even for a moment believe that Dabangg can be compared to a stalwart like 3 Idiots.
Should you then be Dabangg (which means ‘fearless, for the uninitiated) about spending your precious bucks and catching this flick in the hall? Well, I would recommend you exercise some caution. Unless you are a hopeless Salman fan, absolutely loved his last offering, ‘Wanted’, absolutely adore insanely mindless action and have no regard for plot, script etc in which case it qualifies as a ‘must-watch’ for you. To be fair though, Dabangg isn’t as bad as Wanted (now there’s a comparison one can make)…in fact, in the second half one actually begins to take interest in the movie. The first half is quite a bummer though, with another 4-5 songs (I lost count..) and a handful of cheesy dialogues, most of which you would’ve already seen in the promos.
What makes Dabangg mildly interesting is its lead character Chulbul Pandey. He’s not Mr. Good Cop, not by a long shot..but he’s got facets that make him quite intriguing. In fact, most of the movie spends time on exploring various aspects of Chulbul’s character. A lot has been said about Salman’s acting and that its his best ever etc…I would say that it is certainly one of his better performances but wouldn’t go ga-ga over it. Sonakshi Sinha makes a quiet debut because the poor girl has hardly any dialogues in the movie. The other noteworthy performance is that of Sonu Sood (who plays the character of Chhedi Singh). He pulls of a convincing villain and thankfully, doesn’t go over the top while delivering his dialogues. Another noteworthy appearance is that of Malaika who delivers the scorcher ‘Munni Badnam Hui’ and lights up the screen for a few brief moments.
The good thing about Dabangg and which is the only explanation I have of its recent success is that the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are no scenes meant to particular stir you or move you..the director believes that you have just come to have fun so the heavier moments in the movie are also glossed over. Even when Salman is beating villains to a pulp he delivers the odd cheesy dialogue to remind the audience that none of this should be taken too seriously.
So final verdict? If you are going, go with a gang of friends with absolutely no expectations and the intention of having a good time.. otherwise give the silver screen a miss for this flick.
