So I went to a theatre for a movie after missing a lot of mixed feelings, mixed review films released this year... the last one I saw was Stree in September. Going by my gut and having some faith in Ranveer Singh's performance, Rohit Shetty's action and Farhad Samji's dialogue writing, I chose this one. I expected it to be a cop film with a predictable plot... there are two types of these made in India, either a Singham where the cop is an honest guy or a Dabangg where a corrupt cop realizes his duties after a tragedy with a good citizen. Simmba is the latter one and we all know it from the trailer itself but it proves the worth and gives what it promises from the trailers unlike many other releases this year starting from Sanju which was a good fiction film and one of the most dishonest biopics ever, Race 3 a disaster from the start, TOH shocking the Indian audiences as they always saw Aamir Khan as the hero but never noticed the director Vijay Krishna Acharya (Director of Tashan & Dhoom 3, yes you go for the actor and then complain about the content & direction, your fault!), 2.0 for its content yet again and Padmavat which had a hype about having things very sensitive, controversial and defaming a certain culture and their history but turned out too bland with just grand sets and Ranveer as Khilji to be the highlight... we expected more from the big films but the makers believe they can sell anything and now the audiences have stopped buying it, don't trust me? Check the collections of Zero vis-a-vis its budget.
Coming back to Simmba, Sangram Bhalerao is one adorable character, you will love him when he is corrupt, you will love him when he is honest, you will just love him every time. The next character to watch for is the one of Ashutosh Rana, yet another brilliant actor giving his best with a really matured performance. Sara Ali Khan as Shagun is cute, adorable and promising enough to bag the best debut this year with whatever role she has, all the other actors are good and the characters are well-written having a reason to be in the film.
But the film isn't just about the character and has a message, a different way to lead you to the climax of the story which was otherwise predictable and you shall be amazed by it. Aspects in the first half like why Shagun's father is being discussed as the encounter specialist, why Simmba meets Bhau's family and makes a bond, why he creates a bond with Rana's family and a few others actually give you a connect in the 2nd half which is the sign of a good film, isn't it?
The film is Rohit Shetty's best till date... crisp direction, no unnecessary cars blasted, minimal action scenes and logic in most of the sequences. The brand of Singham has been wisely used to entertain and Ajay Devgn's cameo rightfully gets whistles and claps in a multiplex too. The film looks like each scene was shot keeping in mind that it doesn't repeat what it may and not bore where it can. The rape scene, the girl's death scene and the courtroom scenes were carefully done to not look cliched nor prolonged nor bore the wise audiences. You get to see only what is needed and rest of the time is invested in something that's maiden for you to watch. Unlike many other big banners who failed this year Dharma production yet again finances a film that shall make money proving yet again to be the smartest in this business. The only drawback is the songs which could have been avoided like in every other Shetty's films, no relation to the story, dream sequences and no great music apart from 'Aankh Maare' remake. The movie would be the same without almost all of those.
Jumping from the technical aspects and the practical analysis, lets get to the key to reach the heart of the Indian audience, the emotional quotient is high, the film gives a lot of catharsis with those superb dialogues placed exactly where you want them, the justice and empathy for rape victims, the idea of teaching the criminals a lesson, the background music giving a high whenever played, the fights with full emotions, the exciting cameos and those witty one-liners!
Simmba wanting a salute, Simmba wanting to protect the girl, Simmba wanting Shagun to love her, Simmba wanting to fight the criminals, Simmba's fandom for Singham is all fun to watch.
So Ranveer Singh is rightfully the best actor this year sharing the space with Ayushmaan Khurana for his two hits and the other biggies got their lesson that you cannot make movies for yourself, it should be for the audiences... Simmba has nothing out of the worldly weird or as they term 'out of the box' hook for the audiences, be it like that but the film gives you what the audiences are struggling to get in other films - ENTERTAINMENT. In all, this film has action, comedy, drama, punches, dialoguebaazi, emotions, social message, woman empowerment, cameos of stars in full style and powerpack performances... I guess we call it a hit these days even to a film that gives half of this!
Still thinking, go for it while this paisa vasool film is in a theatre near you, else don't complain that you wasted your money on a senseless Hindi film by watching any weird biopics or those fictional 'based on true events' film!
Ratings - 3.5*** out of 5
P.S. Ranveer, tu cha gaya yaar, Mindichblowing performance!
