Dabangg [2010]

Cast: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha (d/o Shatrughna Sinha! ), Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahie Gill (Dev-D's Paaro)
Direction: Abhinav Kashyap (Anurag Kashyaps's bro)
Plot: Set in Uttar Pradesh, Dabangg (aka Wanted++) is the story of a corrupt police officer and highlights the flaws and loopholes in the system. The film primarily deals with the unlawful practices in the states of UP and Bihar.
Description: Chulbul Pandey (Salman) is one fearlesss cop, whose unorthodox approach to crime-fighting puts fear into everyone else around.
He is lovable but corrupt, and lives up to the Robin Hood tag, stealing from the corrupt/criminals and distributing to the needy. This even begins to irk the local youth leader Chhedi Singh (Sonu Sood) as he finds his men constantly under Chulbul’s radar.But when Chulbul is not in action against criminals, he is battling the disturbances at the domestic front. He holds a childhood grudge against his step father Pandey  (Vinod Khanna) and his dimwit step-brother Makkhi (Arbaaz). Yet the love for his mother (Dimple) keeps him buckled up. Love manages to make way into his busy life, in the form of Raajo (Sonakshi) which leads to Robin Hood Pandey beginning to change for the better, in his attempt to woo the damsel.
Things however take a drastic turn with the demise of the mother, post which, Chulbul snaps all ties with Makkhi and his step father. Chhedi Singh meanwhile decides to use this situation to his advantage.
Review: Dabangg is a complete masala movie with almost no dull moments and you will truly enjoy it if you can easily leave your brain out before watching. The first half is very refreshing as we get to know Chulbul's character well.
The script has many flaws and the screenplay doesn't seem to be consistent. The climax action scene seems to be never-ending. The direction and cinematography are good, but do not quite make up for the flawed script. The song  "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is particularly melodious. Malaika Arora  sizzles in the item number "Munni Badnaam Hui" and is particularly memorable. Other songs are average.
Salman is all over the movie and is at his usual best as an entertainer (if not an actor). Its hard to imagine anyone else from B-town in Chulbul Pandey's shoes. Salman still has no idea how to shed tears on screen. But a true action hero need not cry, heck need not even act! They need to look cool, be cool, talk cool and smash the hell out of every other livin’ fool! Watch out for his dance moves in "Munni..." and the title track. They can best be describes as "LOL" ! Salman tries to dance at every possible opportunity in the film, but Pappu can't dance saala…!!

Speaking of other performances, Sonu Sood is the most notable. He is very convincing in his role of a local politician-cum-goon. Sonakshi looks gorgeous and gives a good debut performance with some 10 one line dialogues given to her. Mahie Gill, as Makkhi's lady love is hardly noticable. Veterans Vinod Khanaa, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Tinu Anand are totally wasted. Dimple Kapadia's act as Chulbul's ailing mother seemed very artificial. Even Arbaaz Khan did better.

I dont know if the problem was with the print I saw, but the sound in some of the action scenes seemed partially suppressed. One expects a high-decibel dishoom-dishoom and gunfire in such scenes.

The bitterness between Chulbul and his father isnt well justified. Raajo's father committing suicide doesn't feel logical. And what is point of Chulbul coming to brother Makkhi's wedding and getting his own marriage performed there ?? Now, one might say: Kamaal karte ho yaar. Sallu ki picture hai. Itna sochne ki zarurat nahi !

To sum it up, Dabangg is Entertainment guaranteed! Watch it with a light heart (and brain ofcourse) and you won't need anyone else to say: Bhaiyyaji, Smile !!

My Rating: 3/5

Trivia: Dabangg had a 1st-day collection of 14.4 crores - the highest till date at the Indian Box Office, and has also beaten 3 Idiots (the previous record holder) in the opening-weekend collection. It has also set a record for piracy in India. Within 72 hrs of its release, more than 150,000 downloads from some 200 websites providing the full-length movie.