Note 1: Dabangg is a (somewhat lengthy) fresh attempt in the Indian film industry.
Note 2: This post does not attempt to be sarcastic. If it does seem that way, it is so NOT. Also, the scale used to judge this movie is solely Indian, discounting any existence whatsoever of "foreign cinema".
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Dabangg is one of those movies which makes you think, "Finally! Finally, you get a home-made movie which is absolutely sure of what it wants to do." Dabangg is NOT a Rajnikanth-movie spoof, nor is it an "intelligent plot-driven cinema", nor does it attempt to claim - "Hey! We have a great story to tell." The movie is about entertainment, and entertain it definitely does!
Salman Khan is a treat to watch on-screen. You can see how much fun he is having on the screen. He claims to be 'Robinhood Pandey', and oh boy does he deliver it! I might as well add that maybe we have got our first true superhero (the Indian Robinhood, if you may), and there is definitely a possibility (which should be exploited to the fullest) of a sequel. Salman Khan is probably the only actor in India who could pull-off a character like Chulbul Pandey. There is this 'Once upon a time in Mexico'-ish feel to the movie the entire time, and the director has done well to keep the momentum going even after the intermission.
The dialogues, witty, the style slick, and the moments genuine. And there is not one moment (surprisingly), when it seems to be over-done. So much that when Chulbul Pandey and Bulbul Pandey (as I would like to call her) are on a honeymoon, we still see Bulbul in a saree, riding an ATV behind our very own Mr. Chulbul.
The sets were genuine, and took you right into the heart of Uttar Pradesh. The colors splendid, and the minute details have been worked out with such diligence, the art design absolutely perfect. They could have worked a little more (or spent some more money) on the special-effects though.
The music is spot-on! Agreed, the music was one aspect of the movie which wasn't very Indian (Spanish/Mexican feel to the background score), but I am not complaining. It blends into the scenes seamlessly. They could have trimmed (or gotten rid of) the songs though, and made this movie well under 2 hours of running time.
Sonakshi Sinha is stunning! Well done Mr. Shatrughan Sinha, kudos to you! :D There is not one moment when she is on-screen and you can get your eyes off this damsel (in distress). I hope that one day, I can barge into some damsel's house, just like that, and say it to her face, "I want to marry you", and she comes with me, just like that! :D But then, it is a movie [sigh]. Ms. Deepika Padukone, be wary of this new kid on the block.
In all, Dabangg is an absolute entertainer. A sequel would not be a surprise if this movie succeeds at the box-office.
Dabangg...
wow, this is different, didn't expect such a review from u...people changing after leaving kgp :)
ReplyDeleteOR, Indian cinema is changing ;)
ReplyDeleteumm.. I was actually expecting a disclaimer at the end.. "this review is a spoof" or "this review was written when drunk" or something like that.. a genuine review, eh?
ReplyDeleteTrain of thoughts while reading this post -
ReplyDeleteErr. Did I click on the wrong link?
Is this really Pulkit's blog?
Oh. I got it !! :D :D :D
Pulkit has kicked ass :D
Taken sarcasm to the next level!
No. Wait. Where is the rest of the post? :(
I think what people are forgetting is all art must be understood within the socio-cultural context of its place of origin. Given our 'rich' cinematic history (I refer particularly to the kind we got an overdose of in the 90's), a movie which can accept as its inheritance, an intellectually-deprived framework and then go on to isolate its essence and condense it to a form that is actually entertaining to an audience breast-fed on Christopher Nolan movies, is a formidable achievement.
ReplyDeletePut more simply, when Lewis Caroll wrote 128 pages of drivel called Alice in Wonderland, a genre called "nonsense literature" was coined and the book was said to be its quintessential work. Dare we deny Dabangg the same opportunity?
It is indeed sure of what it wants to do!
ReplyDeleteI hope SRK learns a lesson from this. Only kind of roles that suit him are the ones in Yash Raj/Dharma productions movies. He is just not made for offbeat roles (barring a few exceptions like Swades and Chak De)
On the contrary, Salman is well aware of the fact that audience can't handle him in emotional roles. He just lives with this fact and keeps on coming up with movies like Wanted and Dabangg. He keeps on doing what he knows he does the best.
The Warrior, Dare we juxtapose the "drivel" of Caroll with the overdose-condensed cinema called Dabangg? Christ, we won't!
ReplyDeleteAnd if you still want to call it Art,take a free 360 degree turn; you'd find 100 Art forms, each located within a different "socio-cultural context". Also, There's a myriad of Indian Entertainment flicks cropping up everyday, shouldn't we respect the cultural relevance of each and defend them all?
Plus, heh, Why would you think we are taking feeds from people like Nolan? Probably, we need some respite from the genuine sets of Uttar Pradesh, the hot-dumbed heroines and tearing apart of thick cotton shirts without any external aid.
Pulkit,the first thing that I couldn't help but notice was the prejudice of reviewing the movie with a "solely Indian" outlook. It was hard for me to Not read your web log as a satire after the aforementioned.
ReplyDeleteBut as it holds, Reviews can hardly come from an objective viewpoint, infact, nothing can be done without relativism. So, If it catered your taste-buds, Shouldn't be a problem with any of us ;)
Good luck!
@Pulkit: "Well done Shatrughan Sinha" ha ha ha !
ReplyDeletemast bakar movie thi yaar ! :D Awesome entertainment !