Singham
Again
is
action
heavy,
so
its
appeal
is
limited
to
fans
of
the
genre,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
In
keeping
with
the
current
mood
of
the
people,
Rohit
Shetty’s
modern-day
retelling
of
the
Ramayan
makes
it
critic-proof.
In
any
case,
in
his
extravagant
actioners,
no
rules
of
logic
or
gravity
apply.
By
bunching
his
khaki
hero
films
under
the
banner
of
‘cop
universe’,
he
has
ensured
that
they
take
on
a
comic
book-like
quality.
The
first
Singham
film
had
introduced
the
ill-tempered
cop
Bajirao
Singam
(Ajay
Devgn),
and
all
bets
were
off
when
he
uttered,
‘aata
majhi
satakli‘.
Singham
Returns
is
built
on
the
hero’s
fandom.
As
if
a
contemporary
cop
cannot
find
suitable
antagonists
(after
terrorists,
politicians,
fake
godmen,
who?),
Shetty
chose
to
go
the
Ram
Leela
way.
Strangely,
story
credit
goes
to
Kshitij
Patwardhan
(not
Valmiki).
Devgn,
striding
in
slow
motion,
with
chants
extolling
his
many
virtues,
has
started
to
take
the
character
too
seriously,
though,
to
his
credit,
it
fits
him
as
snugly
as
the
khaki
uniform.
Singham
Again
opens
in
Kashmir,
where
Bajirao
captures
terrorist
Omar
Hafiz
(Jackie
Shroff,
left
over
from
the
last
film).
The
streets
of
the
city
are
clear
of
humans
and
vehicles,
and
even
when
he
has
a
gun
in
his
holster,
Bajirao
and
Hafiz
have
a
fist
fight
in
the
middle
of
an
isolated
bridge.
After
arresting
him,
Bajirao
tells
Hafiz
that
Kashmir
is
now
peaceful
and
even
Pakistan
has
learnt
its
lesson
because
a
new,
aggressively
no-nonsense
India
has
risen.
Bajirao’s
wife
Avni
(Kareena
Kapoor),
who
works
for
the
culture
ministry,
has
created
a
grand
stage
and
audio-visual
version
of
the
Ramayan,
and
what
happens
next
on
stage
is
mirrored
in
her
reality.
Avni
is
kidnapped
by
a
grinning
maniac
Zubair
(Arjun
Kapoor),
Omar’s
grandson,
who
wants
revenge
for
the
killing
of
his
family
and
his
grandfather’s
release.
He
knows
Singham
will
come
to
the
rescue,
possibly
accompanied
by
Simba
(Ranveer
Singh)
and
Sooryavanshi
(Akshay
Kumar).
Daya
Shetty
(of
CID
‘darwaza
todo’
fame)
does
his
bit
as
Jataka,
who
loses
his
life
trying
to
prevent
the
kidnapping
of
Sita.
Before
leaving
for
Sri
Lanka,
where
Zubair
is
holed
up,
two
more
cops
are
introduced
to
the
universe:
Shakti
‘Lady
Singham’
Shetty
(Deepika
Padukone)
and
Satya
(Tiger
Shroff).
The
Ram
Leela
scenes
run
parallel
to
the
grand
action
set
pieces
—
cars
somersaulting
and
exploding,
a
lot
of
burning
buildings
and
snarling
henchmen.
Through
the
character
of
Bajirao
and
Avni’s
son
Shaurya
(Viren
Vazirani),
the
new
generation’s
indifference
to
Indian
family
values
is
established.
Maybe
that’s
why
Rohit
Shetty
figured
people
would
not
get
the
Ramayan
references
without
some
spoon-feeding.
Like
slow-release
drugs,
the
director
brings
in
a
character
when
he
feels
the
action
needs
a
break,
and
it
is
Ranveer
Singh
as
Simmba,
who
manages
to
save
the
film
from
the
air
of
torpor
that
stars
permeating
after
a
while.
His
loony
act
as
the
clownish
cop
reminds
the
viewer
what
Rohit
Shetty
films
used
to
be
like
—
entertaining,
not
heavy
or
preachy.
With
such
a
strong
phalanx
of
stars
on
the
good
side,
the
evil
team
needed
more
heft.
Arjun
Kapoor
does
not
look
menacing,
no
matter
how
much
is
written
for
him.
There
are
so
many
allusions
to
earlier
Rohit
Shetty
films
that
the
humour
goes
flat
if
a
viewer
has
not
seen
or
does
not
remember
the
old
scenes.
Singham
Again
is
action
heavy,
so
its
appeal
is
limited
to
fans
of
the
genre,
unlike
his
other
films
that
had
the
buoyancy
and
sense
of
fun
that
worked
even
with
children.
Singham
Again
ends
with
Chulbul
Pandey
(Salman
Khan)
popping
in,
promising
an
addition
to
the
cop
universe.
Maybe
some
Dabangg
masala
is
just
what
Singham
needs.
Singham
Again
Review
Rediff
Rating:
