Simmba was one of the most awaited releases of the year and Rohit Shetty has lived up to our expectations to give us a not-so-Singham cop with Ranveer Singh, romancing the ravishing Sara Ali Khan. But by the end of the movie if you were asked, “Name one actor that is entertainment personified?. You’d say, “No one but Ranveer Singh, Ranveer Singh and Ranveer Singh!”
Remake of a Telugu movie – Temper (2015), Simmba is set to remind us that the country has forgotten to fight for its daughters in the recent times. This movie, through it’s comedy, action and heroism acts as a medium to nudge the country about how women, even today, are awfully unsafe.
The story starts with Sangram Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh), an orphan turned police officer, who believes that a corrupt police officer is exemplary as it is only he who earns a lot of money. And so Sangram Bhalerao aka. Simmba resorts to bribery, extortion and is seen wagging his tail for money in exchange for covering up illegal activities taking place in the area. Soon, he falls in love with Shagun (Sara Ali Khan) who owns a catering business and supplies tiffins to the police station. He then meets Akruti Dave (Vaidehi Parshurami) who is a medical student and also teaches underprivileged children by the night. He has high respect for her since she reminds him of his teacher who taught him on the streets in a night school. If you have watched the trailer, you know the fate this girl meets with. She is brutally raped and murdered and this changes the kind of man Simmba is.
But how will he avail justice for this 19 year old and what does Bajirao Singham (YES, Singham was not in the trailer just to make it look interesting) have to do with this? How can he go against the local Don Durva Ranade (Sonu Sood) after being an accessory to his smuggling business and being paid off with a bribe? It isn’t easy when a man chooses to walk the path of righteousness and it is extremely recalcitrant when one chooses to change his path to be more ethical and virtuous.
So how does Simmba embark on this journey to do right for his sworn sister?
The trailer might have given away a lot of its plot but nothing compares the total Bollywood Masala, Heroism and Entertainment that the movie beholds.
A few elements to be observed critically are –
- Story: The basic outline of the plot seems very convincing. The first half of the movie is a light hearted watch which towards the interval becomes a little serious. However, diving into the depths, a few scenes as well as the characterization do not do justice to the scenario. For instance, if evaluated practically, there are lot of emotional dialogues delivered in court, which is an accepted requirement considering the essence of the film, but there is no substantial evidence for the same. Also, the reaction of the mother when she is told that her sons were rapists, does not seem believable. It isn’t believable for her to be a level headed person in such a heated atmosphere.
- Background Score: The songs in the movie are filled with frisk and frolic and will not fail to make you dance sitting on that seat in the theatre.The background score seems to flawlessly fit the storyline and the vibe emitted by the characters.
- Dialogues: Simmba can be characterised by his catchphrase, “Tell me something I don’t know” which is obviously coupled with Ranveer Singh’s exceptional performance. Dialogues like ‘Bhai from another aai’ and ‘Mind ij Blowing’ have sprucely been placed in the movie. The film is filled with punch-lines that will have you bursting out in laughter when you have not finished crying yet. This department of filmmaking passes with flying colours because of the absurdly hilarious dialogues for this movie.
- Performances: The shining star of this film is, no doubt, Ranveer Singh as Simmba and he seems to thoroughly enjoy playing the blasphemous character. From exceptional dialogue delivery in the boisterous scenes to heart wrenching emotions in the serious scenes, he seems to have it all figured. Sara Ali Khan is breathtaking in the movie. Although her performance could have been more compelling, her role is too brief for her to showcase her talent fully. Bedazzling the screen with his performance was the stunning Sonu Sood as Durva Ranade, the antagonist. The supporting cast consisting of Ashutosh Rana, Siddharth Jadhav, Vijay Patkar, Suchita Bandekar and a lot of other eminent actors have performed to their full potentials and made the film, over all, a package of dynamite.
- Cinematography: If there is one thing that Rohit Shetty is known for, apart from his crazy stunts with cars, it is his unsavvy way of shooting one scene from so many different angles, in a continuous shot and making it a success. Within ten minutes into the film, there is no colour that you haven’t already seen. The entry of Ranveer Singh at Dhobhi Ghat is one extremely well shot sequence. The songs are very radiant and vibrant-ly done. Surprisingly there is no car falling upside down or catching fire in this film, but the muscular arms in fight scenes are nothing less searing. The ‘swag’ factor in the movie is so pompously celebrated and yes, there are tens of scenes where an audience from the south would go – ‘Whistle podu da!’
In conclusion, Simmba is a film of another hero who is here to make history. If you have gotten bored of the righteousness of Singham, Simmba is that immoral prick who is here to tell you why it is important to be an upstanding human!
I’d rate this movie 3.5 chirps for the performances and the conscience tapping storyline.
