Dabangg
I never thought I would be raving about Dabangg after seeing the trailers. This is one entertaining movie from the first shot to the last. This movie revisits the movies of the 80s with larger than life hero, family ties, an item song in the villain's den and dialogs that are so cliché; you either enjoy them or hate them. So what makes the movie work?
Salman Khan- I am not a Salman Khan fan, never was, but I cannot imagine any other actor who could carry off the role of Inspector Chulbul Pandey. His swagger, the exaggerated dance movements, the bulging muscles, his dialog delivery ….he personified Chulbul Pandey.
Dialogs – If you enjoy over the top dialogs this movie is for you. Like everything else in this movie Chulbul Pandey’s dialogs are thoroughly entertaining even in the most emotional scenes or during an action packed sequence. Take his dialog for the villain Chedi Singh “Mein tunhare jism mein itne ched kar daloonga ki tumhe yeh bhi pata na chalega ki saans kahan se le aur paadein kahan se” Translated in English “Chedi Singh I will make so many holes in your body that you will not know from which hole to take in your breath and from which one to fart”. Or the scene where Chulbul Pandey marries Sonakshi Sinha but his father refuses to bless the newly weds. The Pandit offers a way out by getting an elder to bless the couple, to which Chulbul replies “Hum hi bade hain, hum hi khud ko aashirwad dete hain aur ise bhi – sada suhagan raho.” Translates to “I am the elder of this house so I give myself blessings and I bless my wife, may your husband have a long life.”
Songs and Dance– After a long time an item song became as popular as “Munni badnam hui…” has that had very original (???) lyrics like “mein Zandu Balm hui darling tere liye” . The last item number to be as popular was probably Salman’s step mom Helen’s Mehbooba Mehbooba in Sholay. All the other songs fit the story very well, and never slow down or digress too much from the main plot line. The title song of Dabangg works very well because of Salman and his dance.
Story – what story??? Well the movie does have a story and is perfect for a 80s style movie. It has all the emotional elements for perfect action scenes. An adoring mom (well played by Dimple), a loving but misunderstood step father very well portrayed by Vinod Khanna, a dumbass brother Arbaz Khan and the village damsel Sonakshi support Inspector Chulbul Pandey along with Chedi Singh (Sonu Sood) as the villain. Don’t miss the Chedi Singh and Ched dialog.
Action - Dabangg is all about action with Salman as Chulbul Pandey the macho hero for all the macho villains of the movie. Actually Sonu Sood as Chedi Singh the villain is not bad either.The movie is set in a small village and no gyms for you. They do show the “akhada” with the body building villains doing the tradition malla-khambh. As inspector Chulbul Pandey, Salman was covered for most part of the movie in crisp off white shirts. It was a good to see clothed Salman for a change. However, he made up for it in the last fighting scene when his muscles bulge so much that they tear up his shirt. This last action scene is so funny. Chedi Singh tears up his own shirt so he can show off his muscles. And then, Salman’s brother tells him about how Chedi singh killed their mother where upon Salman gets so angry that his muscles bulge and tear up the shirt.
So if you are a skeptic like I was, give the movie a try with an open mind or rather keep your brains on the chair next to you, kick up your heels...ENJOY the movie.
The DVD is available online @ amazon.com.
