Dec 21, 2012 07:43 PM
2130 Views
I suppose one of the biggest reasons why Dabangg was a hit was that it was targeted with the sub-urban populace in mind. Dabangg 2 is no different except that Chulbul Pandey's karmabhoomi shifts from Lalganj to Kanpur. But the backdrop remains similar, if not the same.
Arbaaz doesn't lose any time in making his loyal viewers feel at home. The movie kickstarts with a trademark Chulbul sequence where he is called upon to rescue a kid from kidnappers. The slow-motion frames, the raw brute power, the Ray Ban sunglasses hanging from the back-collar, the computer generated 'impact effects', etc are all there to give you a feeling of Chulbul being back to his ‘Dabangg’ ways. And if you still feel short, the famous song “Hud Hud Dabangg Dabangg” is reprised in similar circumstances. This time though the effect isn’t that lasting. In fact, most of the music seems repetitive in nature, the only difference being Sonakshi's nayana (eyes) have changed from 'mast-mast' to 'Dagabaaz' :-P
If you are worried about “plot”, stop worrying cause there isn’t any, or not much of it anyway. The movie is rather predictable and even drags for a while in initial part of the post intermission session where Arbaaz makes us feel like he’s just buying time. The only surprise, and rather disappointingly so, is that Baccha Bhaiya (the villain played by Prakash Raj), after playing to tune of his party and political guru all along, suddenly decides to abandon his political gameplay and shifts to an impulsive “khoon ka badla khoon” method of avenging his brothers death. This not only makes the movie (and the plot) appear indecisive but also reduces the scope of his role.
Few of the better moments of the movie include sequences where Chulbul teases his father (Vinod Khanna reprising the role he played earlier) with his pranks, some of which may not exactly be in good taste, especially in parts of North India where the movie is based. But they do make for some interesting viewing all the same.
The other good thing are the quips or the one liners which Salman (and occasionally others including even Sonakshi) belts out from time to time to keep whistle blowers in the theatre engaged. What this does is that it gives Chulbul a few memorable one liners to enhance his recall and longevity as a memorable character.
But I think the best part of Dabangg2 was the casting effects, something similar to Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, and more recently, Sherlock Holmes, wherein frames are frozen and changed to sketches while names are flashed. This along with engaging music constitutes one the most effective casting styles I have come across in recent times.
Prakash Raj is always effective in villainous roles and this time too he doesn’t disappoint. But as mentioned earlier the scope of his role is somewhat mutilated courtesy the indecisive storyline. You almost get a feeling that his character has been pulled back on purpose so as not to rival that of Chulbul. Sonakshi has a meatier role this time as she gets more dialogues and even a couple of quips once in a while. Viewers who were expecting "munni" numbers from Malaika bhabhi are in for a special treat. There are at least 3 item numbers, one with "munni" and another with Bebo, the surprise package. Arbaaz pitches in with his role of younger brother ‘Makhi’ and brings in the smile and ‘feeling of togetherness’ which characterizes much of the movie and its prequel.
Given the kinda rampant advertising the movie does, I won't be surprised if a large part of the movie has been funded from ad commissions. Brands like Zen Mobiles, Fevicol, Xoom Money Transfer, Young India and many others are freely endorsed. And this means more money, not only this time but in future too since Arbaaz makes it clear that Dabangg3 is on the anvil too and the franchise is ready to milk the advertisers.
Much of the movie is very similar in tone and flow to Dabangg. And to that extent there are no surprises. The movie spends a good deal of time in “inside the confines of home” exchanges just like its predecessor which is of great significance in engaging viewers from small towns. The only thing that makes Dabangg2 better than its prequel is perhaps the conscious effort to build a character out of Chulbul with the help of his quips and mannerisms. Thankfully the moviemakers have done a reasonably good job of it.
