Writer: Janak

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Watch this if you liked: “Once A Upon A Time in Mumbai”, “Dabanng” and “Singam (Tamil)”

Fresh and certified remake from the original Tamil blockbuster with the same title, "Singham" which starred (Surya) now follows Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgan) who takes over as the brave, honest and fearless cop which is willing to risk his life for his duty and country. Jhaikant Shikre (Prakash Raj), a big time mafia who is ready to make a living hell for Bajirao Singham comes into the story not long after. The story showcases the battle between Bajirao and Jhaikant over the fight to stop corruption. (Kajal Aggarwal) replaces (Anushka Shetty in the tamil version) as Bajirao's love life in the film.

The original wasn't the best film around, but it had pace, fury, and worked despite its cheesy visual effects purely because of Surya who made the corniest lines sound good. Ajay Devgan on the other hand, does exactly the opposite. Some cheesy lines sound more silly than funny. Well like his peers such as Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan joins the norm to build his 6-pack abs for the big screen. Audiences can expect a lot of resemblance with "Dabanng", but the body truly belongs to Ajay himself. He does a decent good job pulling of his standard police roles while newcomer Kajal Aggarwal adds freshness to the Bollywood list of heroines.

Nothing turns director Rohit Shetty on more than blowing cars meeting midair. Well the film has some breath taking action sequences, but nothing more than that. However, if only the film has something unique to tell along with the collaborative effort of superb screenplay and direction, it might have been a bigger hit than it is set to be. This wannabe "Dabangg" is at best, a comic film, but there are so many other options that could do the job much better than it does now.

New music directors, Ajay-Atul, does an okay job in providing the background music and songs to the film as it is a fine album. Though one does feel that there could have been much more than just three songs.

Overall, "Singham" will be categorised as a totally unrealistic and larger than life cinema with an over the top retro type of film that has a high voltage of stunts, slow motion action sequences and fiery dialogues, which are delivered in high decibels. However some audiences might think of it as a powerful action and emotional drama that deals heavily with the fight against corruption to educate the younger generation.

Cinema Online, 28 July 2011