Dabangg 2 (2012)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Dabangg 2 is another one among the many of the south-style flicks that are raking in the big bucks these days in Bollywood. Specifically the genre is Telugu-Tamil mainstream style which is usually about unrestrained machismo, a homely looking damsel in distress, some Newton- defying stunts and an odd item number.Per se, I'd avoided the first 'Dabangg', presuming it to be a mindless film. But, this one happened more because it was with a large group, where any movie becomes bearable. After all, one goes to movies like these expecting absolute garbage.So, the movie is about the Robin Hood Cop, Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan) who has now taken a transfer to the big city, Kanpur. There, he runs into the local goon and politico Bachcha Bhaiya (Prakah Raj). One thing leads to another and Chulbul kills Bachcha's brother who has threatened a local girl, sending these two on a warpath.Chulbul's wife Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) is now pregnant and his well wishers, including his perpetually hungry foodie boss (Manoj Pahwa) convince him not to engage in a tiff with Bachcha Bhaiyya as he is now a family man and has lot to lose. But, Chulbul can't be talked out of it so easily. When Bachcha hits it below the belt, Chulbul vows revenge which forms the rest of the story. How these movies end is an easy guess!Talking about Acting, Salman Khan still can't act and director Arbaaz sleepwalks in his role as Chulbul's brother Makkhi. And all that Sonakshi Sinha had to do was to look homely. And then, what's the obsession with Prakash Raj as the villain? As good an actor that he may be, it has become too tiresome actually!!What sucks is its woeful editing, one scene cuts from the other suddenly. Seems like a hurriedly packed up jumble of scenes placed in the following order: there is a joke, followed by a stunt, followed by a song; and the cycle repeats over and over.The much talked about item song 'Fevicol Se' has Kareena Kapoor gyrating to some Desi beats and hinglish lyrics. But, it lacks the zing that 'Munni Badnaam' had created in the earlier Dabangg. But, silly as it may be, the song stays in your mind.In short, Dabangg 2 is a film that you can watch if you leave your brain in the car park, not expecting the least bit of logic from it. If the current trend is to be believed, the day is not far when there will be hardly any difference between Telugu-Tamil movies and Bollywood flicks, barring language and the lead star hailing from the Hindi belt.As such, Salman Khan's name is enough to draw crowds. So, the mantra seems to be: 'who cares about logic as long as people laugh & producers make fast buck!!'

Why did I watch this movie? I thought after the so called success of the stupid movie Dabangg, this will be well made by Arbaaz Khan. Thought Salman's ideas would be interesting. but alas! Watched this movie and the first few minutes in the movie I got confused if I was watching the part 1!! There was no creativity just silly fights and senseless comedy. Its time for Salman to grow up and keep his attitude low and focus on better scripts. If his movies do 100+ crores, it doesn't mean the movie is good. Its just some crazy blind fan followers going and watching the movie and over all benefiting the producers. The item song Fevicol is cheap. Arbaaz has used a lot of slow motion to show that his direction is good. now thats a joke! Sonakshi Sinha should retire after this movie. She hardly has any role in the movie and the acting is overacting. Its a shame to see Sonakshi getting the attention for nothing. People should stop watching such movie...and not encourage such foolish scripts and acting.

I'm pretty sure the blind-folded Salman fans are going to be disappointed by this review and unfortunately we have a lot such people in India. Movies like Dabanng 2 have some entertainment value but thats it. We as an audience always overlook good acting and stories for utterly unrealistic action and the saga continued with dabanng 2. The story was as bad as can be. Salman's acting is the pits anyway, so no need to mention that. Saying that, I have to admit that while I dint want to enjoy the movie for its height of non-sense, I still did. The lame jokes in the movie and the unrealistic, but intense action scenes even sucked me in. In fact, a movie like that once in a way is totally fine, but we get carried away by this genre and are only encouraging these kind off movies. Every second movie is the same BS. As entertaining as they may be, we need to realize the value and impact cinema can create and need to move into and appreciate even the movies of a more mature genre.

Director Abhinav Kashyap positioned a fearless cop in rural India to challenge the vile criminals with the South Indian cinema inspired over-the-top action, item songs, goofy humor and dance moves. Salman Khan owned the character of Chulbul Pandey, the quintessential cinematic hero who rises at every occasion and dances at every opportunity. In all its ridiculousness, 'Dabangg' was an entertainer that brought a welcome change to the mass- appealing action genre. Little did Kashyap know that he would set off a wave of the South-Indian inspired films that took everything to another degrading level. Since there was no stopping the craze for the Robin hood Pandey, Arbaaz Khan took over the direction of the sequel and although it is quite obvious that he should refrain from any such future endeavors, Dabangg 2 retains some qualities that made its predecessor such a blockbuster. These qualities are namely dialogues and Salman Khan.Chulbul Pandey has been transferred to Kanpur, a city infested with the cunning unlawfulness of Bacha bhai (Prakash Raaj). While at home, he has light moments with his father, Pandeyji (Vinod Khanna), Makkhi (Arbaaz Khan) and of course, the wife Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha). The funnier moments though, are with the Police force that jokes, dances and reacts to trivial questions. Bacha bhai needs to maintain a good image in public on the eve of elections and therefore, for the first half of the movie, he mostly ignores Pandey's quest to eliminate crime in Kanpur. His brother, Genda (Deepak Dobriyal) confronts Pandey briefly in a memorable stand-off that triggers Bacha's pursuit of revenge on Pandey. Till their final confrontation of mortal kombat, both vengeful Bacha bhai and Chulbul Pandey stroll through a plot-less, aimless street that is the result of Arbaaz Khan's involvement in film-making. Meanwhile, the burden of providing laughter and engagement is upon Salman Khan's shoulders and he can only go that far by himself without support from any of the film's aspects. As it turns out, Arbaaz Khan made it simple enough for himself. He replicated some elements of Dabangg that pleased the masses, song by song and scene by scene. That left the script, story, characterization, cinematography, screenplay and direction as an afterthought to signing up Kareena Kapoor for the train-wreck of an item number that was Fevicol. A song every 15 mins just leaves the audience in frustration as the plot moves an inch towards the cliff. Even Munni and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan couldn't save us from the boredom that the crudely choreographed songs blatantly outshone the trifling music by Sajid-Wajid. The characters who became memorable in Dabangg are now written with no bearing for evolution and the potential that such a star-cast could provide, goes to sheer waste. Prakash Raaj is an outstanding villain. As Jaykant Shikre in 'Singham', his evil was both cunning and powerful. Not to forget, his superlative comic timing. As Bacha bhai, his talent is wasted when the opportunity laid a fine platform for a memorable character like Chedi Singh. Perhaps that is where Abhinav Kashyap's direction is missed the most. Even though Chulbul Pandey seems like the indefatigable, shrewd cop who will remain a step ahead of his nemesis, the villain's character brings the balance to the film and keeps the audience engaged in the plot. But it all went wrong here. Deepak Dobriyal is delightful in his brief role and Vinod Khanna is hilarious as the gullible father. It is indeed difficult to ascertain whether Arbaaz Khan is a worse actor or director and let's just put it this way, that there are far better newcomers to choose from than Sonakshi Sinha. The Police brigade seemed to enjoy the film the most and one can easily tell. They provide the witty one-liners and jarring dances that make this style of cinema appealing to the masses. Upon Pandey's inquiry about the nation's worrisome future, a constable's opinion is truly hilarious; "Country on deathbed Sir, full kidney phail Sir."Alas, that is all that the movie has to offer to even make it a shadow of Kashyap's Dabangg. It entertains in similar fashion but offers nothing new or refreshing. Salman Khan is noticeably bulkier with minimal movement of arms, legs and neck. It really is time for him to wear one size bigger now. Yet, his dialogue delivery, expressions and persona of being the fearless hero that saves every day are what make Dabangg 2 bearable. There is no other saving grace unfortunately and it sets yet another example why this genre of movies is decaying rapidly. Hopefully, producers realize that the opening week collections alone do not decide the fate of a film. 150 Cr may have sent them laughing to the bank but Dabangg 2 has done very little for its cast, its audience and the genre of masala movies. 6.20 on a scale of 1-10.