Rating: 3.75/5
Banner: Parameswara Art Productions
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Shruti Haasan, Abhimanyu Singh, Tanikella, Ajay, Kota, Suhasini, Brahmanandam, Ali and others
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Editor: Gowtham Raju
Cinematographer: Jayanan Vincent
Dialogues, direction: Harish Shankar
Producer: Bandla Ganesh
Release date: 11/05/2012
After the not so successful ‘Panjaa’, Pawan Kalyan has returned to his forte of strong commercial cinema and that too with a remake of a Bollywood blockbuster. Let us see how good this is.
Story
Set on the backdrop of Kondaveedu town, the story is about Gabbar Singh (Pawan Kalyan) a fearless and honest cop who likes to be an anti-hero but with a good cause. Neglected by his father (Nagineedu), Gabbar Singh has a mind of his own. His unusual style of functioning begins to cause a pain to the local leader Siddhappa Naidu (Abhimanyu Singh) who is aspiring to be an MLA. All his illegal plans keep getting thwarted by Gabbar Singh.
On the other hand, Gabbar Singh falls in love with the demure Bhagyalakshmi (Shruti Haasan) but she keeps him away. The story takes a turn when Naidu decides to use a backdoor approach to put an end to Gabbar Singh. How does he deal with that? What happens to his romance story with Bhagyalakshmi? All this forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Pawan Kalyan is all over the film and his energy levels, dance moves and dialogue delivery is punch packed. After his mild portrayal of roles, this is one film which has seen him in full form.
Shruti Haasan looks sensuous and seductive. Though the dubbing for her was a little unusual, she managed to cover it up with her expressions and natural beauty. Not much scope for her in terms of performance.
Abhimanyu Singh underplays his role aptly and has the perfect menacing look of a villain. If his character was strengthened it could have caused more impact to the film. But still, he did a good job.
Ajay did his bit as required, Suhasini was standard, Kota was okay, Tanikella Bharani had a meaty role and he did full justice to it, Gayatri of ‘Happy Days’ fame gave a surprise with her saucy character, Ali and Brahmanandam brought few smiles. Ravu Ramesh was brief but effective, he deserves more meaty characters. The others did their bit as required and added value to the film.
Highlights
- Pawan Kalyan
- Songs
- First half
- Antakshari scene in police station
- Dialogues
- Technical aspects
- Nativity
Drawbacks
- Abrupt climax
Analysis
When a film of star like Pawan Kalyan is on the anvil, it is very difficult to match the expectations of his fans and the general audience. The hype and hungama that gets created makes anyone go into the theatres with out of the world entertainment. And this is a true challenge for any director handling that project. But director Harish Shankar has stood up to the challenge and delivered it as required. As such, this is a full plate unlimited meals for Pawan Kalyan and not stopping at that, it serves an extra dessert.
Despite the fact that this is a remake of the Bollywood blockbuster ‘Dabangg’, Harish has ensured that the story conversion happened in the right proportion and it suits the native taste of the audience. The occasional dialogues with double entendres, the entertainment quotient, the massive punch impact of the protagonist and those in-between dialogues which keep sending messages to other stars and fans is what makes the formula for a perfect commercial entertainer.
Of course, the entire focus was on Pawan and his energy levels were utilized to the fullest. In ‘Dabangg’, there were four verticals- significance was given to hero, heroine, villain and even the hero’s brother but that is not the case in this one. While most of the principal cast were sidelined and were there to fill the scenes, the total responsibility was on Pawan to carry the film on his shoulders and he has done an exceptional job. After ‘Jalsa’ this is the film where we see Pawan hysteria once again.
While the fans may have their own feast, there is sufficient material for the general audience. Right from the age of 16 to 80, there are enough scenes which can connect them to the film in terms of entertainment. Frankly speaking, the Telugu audience has always believed in larger than life power in their superstars and though cinematic liberties are taken to match those wishes, if it is done with conviction then the film gets a thumbs up.
‘Gabbar Singh’ is a product which has the right mix of Pawanism, comedy, sentiment, romance and action. Perhaps the only hiccup in the film was the climax which ended on a rather quick note. Though the voltage was less, the entire energy throughout the film was maintained and due credit must be given to the screenplay and dialogues. Here are few lines to give you a glimpse-
- "Peru, gothram cheppadaaniki nenaimainaa gullo poojaarinaa"
- "Nenu cheppinaa okate, fans cheppinaa okate"
- "Charitra gurinchi chetta buttala gurinchi aalochinchanu"
While there are many counters and punch lines which must be enjoyed in the theatres only, the film stands as a true example for an apt formula film which will fill the stomach of the commercial summer audience. At the box office, since there is nobody around for the next two weeks, the film will register thumping collections. And given the impact of songs like ‘Kevvu Keka’ and ‘Akasam Ammayaithe..’ the chances of repeat audience is also high. We could be looking at a registered blockbuster here.
Bottomline: Ee ‘Thikka’ Ki ‘Lekka’ Kattalenidhi!!
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected])
