Singham Returns...Roaring

Singham returns roaring like before. The Singham franchise is something like the James Bond movies...you know what to expect; the story is mostly predictable and yet you can enjoy them thoroughly.

Singham Returns has almost the same story as Singham. An honest cop dies and is under a cloud of corruption. His family is long-suffering and pitiable. A corrupt politician is at the root of all evil. In this one he is joined by a fake, god-awful Baba (God man).

However, this time round Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgan) does not have to deal with lackadaisical underlings and subordinates. In part 2, Singham is already established as an honest, fearless leader of his dedicated team of cops right from the beginning. So much so that he is almost like a don. He even has the trust of his seniors in hierarchy without having to undergo the whole nine yards of proving himself.

In Sngham Returns, Bajirao Singham is posted in Mumbai. This movie is a dedication to the Mumbai Police Force - and truly this beleaguered outfit has had no better advertisement than this movie. The kudos that the movie gives them is very, very well-deserved by the Force. At the start, the movie lays out some facts: Mumbai has a population of almost two crores. The police force is 47,000 strong. The numbers highlight the odds.

In typical Rohit Shetty style there are plenty of fights with cars and people flying, cars overturning, cars jumping and crashing, cars bursting into flames, incredible strength in people et al. The novelty in the fight sequences is the introduction of two fights that have only gunfire exchange without any fisticuffs. That is a departure from Shetty's norm - but mindless entertainment as always. Shetty has never claimed to make deep films or claimed to be anything but an entertainer out here to make masala movies that will bring in big moolah. He plays to the gallery and the gallery responds - and how! Singham Returns should easily touch or cross the 100-crore mark in the weekend itself. But despite himself, Shetty manages to convey a message of honesty in Singham Returns.

As in Singham, Singham Returns also has a climactic scene where the entire police force unites to mete out justice on the wrong-doers. (However, the villains in Singham Returns are more caricatures than menacing. Shetty seems to be a little stuck in his Chennai Express period. That is unfortunate because Singham is an entirely different genre.)

Singham Returns delivers the expected. Ajay Devgan is perfect as Bajirao Singham. In the three-an-a-half scenes that she has, Kareena Kapoor as his lady love, Avni, is funny and fine. All others fit their roles well. This is a good choice of sheer mind-free entertainment.