Film: Singh is Kinng

Director: Anees Bazmee

Producer: Vipul Amrutlal Shah

Banner: Blockbuster Movies Entertainers, Hari Om Productions

Writers: Anees Bazmee, Suresh Nair

Editor: Amitabh Shukla

Cinematography: Ben Nott, Sanjay F Gupta

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Sonu Sood, Kirron Kher, Neha Dhupia, Jaaved Jaffrey, Yashpal Sharam, Sudhandshu Panadey, Kamal Chopra, Manoj Pahwa, Raanvir Shorey.

Rating: 3.5/5

After hits like No Entry and Welcome, Anees Bazmee comes up with yet another action packed comic caper – Singh Is Kinng – that will have you in splits, this time teaming up with producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who gave us Namastey London last year.

If you’re looking for logic, you’ll find none. Needless to say that the now hit combo of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif deliver once again.

The story revolves around an Australia based Sikh mafia gang headed by Lucky Singh (Sonu Sood). The gang comprises Mika (Javed Jaffrey), Julie (Neha Dhupia), Guruji (Kamal Chopra), Dilbag (Manoj Pahwa), Raftaar (Sudhanshu Pande) and Udhas (Yashpal Sharma).

The movie traces the journey of the ever so notorious Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar), who travels from Punjab to Australia (via Egypt) in order to bring Lucky back home to his parents. Little knowing that it was only a ploy by the villagers’ to get rid of him; Happy Singh embarks on this journey along with his friend Rangeela (Om Puri).

A bump-in at the airport leaves Happy and Rangeela with someone else’s boarding pass and takes them to Egypt instead of Australia. It’s here that boy meets girl and in typical Bollywood style helps recover her stolen bag after a long long chase! Enter Sonia (Katrina Kaif) and our hero has instantly gone gaga over her. But their love story ends before it can even take off as Happy has to head Down Under for his mission.

Oz land welcomes the two friends but minus their luggage. Penniless and hungry, Happy finds a mother figure in an Indian lady (Kirron Kher) who runs a flower shop. Thereafter, Happy goes to meet Lucky so as to take him back to Punjab but to no avail.

The twist in the tale comes with Happy rescuing Lucky when his gang is attacked. This leaves Lucky with a strange ailment where he can hear, think, see etc… but can’t move or talk. From being the mafia King, Lucky suddenly finds himself in a wheelchair and Happy in turn is made the King.

What follows is a comedy of errors, a love story almost lost, strange unbelievable coincidences and more. In fact, the film has touched a new definition for the “height of coincidence.”

Singh is Kinng is packed with some hilarious scenes and dialouges and has the right ingredients for a masala entertainer. However, while the first half of the film is racy, eventful and funny; the second half does tend to stray and would have been better without some sequences. But those moments pass soon and you’re involved yet again within no time.

The song sequences sometimes get cumbersome and have no connect to the storyline especially the Jaaved Jaffrey track towards the end, which again was not necessary. That apart, the Bhootni Ke song is a good watch.

Some hilarious scenes worth mentioning are those of Sonu Sood after his accident… absolutely entertaining! Then there’s the scene where the gang is planning how to bring Happy and Sonia together. One sees Sood on a wheelchair being used as a device to pass drinks to each other. It’s rib-tickling. Another scene is when Akshay – Katrina unknowing take the ‘saat-pheras’ while in the midst of fighting off goons.

We’ve seen Akshay Kumar in comedies before but thankfully the deja vu feeling doesn’t tend to haunt us. He’s mastered the art of comedies and is flawless. There’s never a dull moment as long as he’s on screen. Katrina Kaif, on the other hand, is likeable and holds fort throughout. Akshay and Katrina’s pairing works yet again.

What also acts as a boon is that the supporting cast lends itself beautifully to the lead actors. Om Puri, Sonu Sood, Neha Dhupia and Jaaved Jaffrey are worth a special mention. Kirron Kher’s character starts off strongly and is engaging but is later reduced to a mere prop and that too with bad make-up and hair-do. Ranvir Shorey is good.

As far as Bazmee’s and Suresh Nair’s writing is concerned, the two have done a good job for a masala entertainer but not without flaws. A few sub-plots could have been done away with like the Jaaved Jaffrey ‘change of heart’ track, which was unnecessary. Editing by Amitabh Shukla is good. Ben Nott and Sanjay F Gupta handle the camera well throughout. However, one wonders what went wrong during some of Katrina’s close-up scenes in the second half… the grainy effect was an eye-sore.

A predictable happy ending is what you get after a couple of hours.

Leave your brains behind when you go to watch this one and you won’t come out disappointed. At the box office, the movie is slated to get a sure shot gala opening. The movie is being released worldwide with the most number of prints ever for a Hindi film and that should definitely provide a fillip to its collections. Singh Is Kinng does have the capability of sustaining through the first week and it’s not just because of the lack of something else to watch.

We’ll leave you with some food for thought:

Akshay and Ranvir’s boarding passes get exchanged at the airport that lands Akshay in Egypt. But Ranvir doesn’t seem to have landed in Australia as he comes there later.

What are the chances that Ranvir and Katrina are in love?

Moreover, what are the chances that Kirron Kher is Katrina Kaif’s mother??!!!

When Akshay arrives in Australia, he asks the cops directions to Lucky Singh’s house, who’s the biggest mafia in Australia. And believe it or not, the cops actually drop him and Om Puri to Lucky’s house!

If Jaaved Jaffrey’s character is having problems with his vision, how come no one… even he himself… never thought of an invention called spectacles?