Cine Talk Salman all the way, holes in plot but fun watch

For those who thought Chulbul Pandey in Abinav Kashyap’s Dabangg was wacky and fun only because Salman Khan played him, here is more spoof-proof in the sequel of how Salman adopts, embraces and assimilates the characters he plays until one can’t tell the star apart from the character.

This is not to say Salman is a method actor. God forbid! He’s just the opposite. Chulbul Pandey, if ever such a khaki-clad lawenforcer even existed, would want to be as chirpy and obnoxious as Chulbul Pandey.

So what does Chulbul do in Dabangg 2 that he didn’t do in Dabangg? Nothing, and everything. There’s more of everything in the sequel and hence a sense of deja

The fights which begin, end and bolster the plot, are done with that irrepressible mix of guffaws and grunts that Salman patented in Prabhu Deva’s Wanted. Indeed it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Prabhu Deva was the father of Chulbul Pandey, in a manner of speaking.

Here of course in Dabangg 2, Vinod Khanna is back as Chulbul’s father. The scenes between Salman and his screendad are written with a delicious mix of irreverence and affection. There is a hilarious encounter on the rooftop of their Kanpur home where son asks his sleepy, annoyed father about the deceased mother (Dimple Kapadia, a mere photo on the wall in the sequel).

And then Salman leaves in a huff saying, “Mom was right. You’re no fun to sleep with. I am better off sleeping with my wife.”

Ahem! Save the blushes for a rainy day. Salman’s Chulbul gives us no time get bothered with niceties. Chulbul simply sweeps us along into a tidal wave of wackily written and executed action sequences undercut by a sharp sense of self-deprecating humour.

The storytelling is breathless. The characters can’t really keep pace with the breakneck storytelling. They are underdeveloped and largely kept in the shadows to accentuate the

Dabangg 2 takes off effortlessly from the first frame, creating a wackier, wilder, wittier saga than Dabangg woven around Chulbul Pandey’s agile, anarchic antics. Though the plot is written in half-hearted measures leaving many episodes including the climax looking incomplete, the film is loads of lowbrow fun with some peppy songs by Sajid-Wajid which are filmed with an earthy gusto. Aseem Mishra’s camera looks at life in ‘Kanpur’ through wide-eyed lenses that stare unabashedly at the character’s quirks.

And now for the ek crore ka sawaal. Does Kareena Kapoor’s item song ‘Fevicol’ match up to Malaika Arora’s ‘Munni badnaam’ in the first Dabangg?

A redundant question. It’s like asking, does Dabangg 2 measure up to Dabangg?

Subhash K Jha

FILm: Dabangg 2

STARRING: Salman Khan, Salman Khan, Salman Khan, Salman Khan

DIRECTED By: Arbaaz Khan