Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Dabaang: Synonym for fearless in hindi.... one surely has to be devoid of any fear to make an attempt like this and manage to make a success out of it.

So there are brilliant films, there are good films, there are mediocre films, there are bad films and there is a fifth and very intriguing category which is' films that are so bad that they are actually good'. I call them cult in the genere of crap. Hence I bestow upon Dabang the title of  a' Self Parody' and slot it in category five . The movie mocks at itself, and does such a good job of it that despite  knowing before entering the theater and the knowledge gaining deep roots in your brain once you are watching the movie that what you are in for is a cinema connoisseur's nightmare,you still sit through the entire film. Despite its absolute lack of ingenuity, intelligence and craft Salman Khan's Dabang still manages to keep you glued to your seats only to appreciate the sheer audacity of making such an attempt. In this day and age of intelligent, meaningful and progressive cinema Dabaang takes you two decades back to the bollywood that was hero centric and the hero was just A cape short of superman. Take a good looking non actor with oodles of false attitude, a debutante PYT with negligible dialogues, throw in the brother vs brother rivalry , a lot of mean bad guys to take advantage of that rivalry, over the top action sequences, abrupt appearances of  catchy numbers with pelvic thrusts galore and what you have is the latest bollywood blockbuster which should ideally be called DA' BANG' for all the hype that it created before and after its release.
The story is of a remote lawless land in uttar pradesh, and the place has just one cop ChulBul Panday (samlan khan), who is an alpha male, debauched,brassy, benevolent and crass and there is no story beyond this! The movie is all about Salman Khan( who with every passing film is emerging as the Rajnikant of Bollywood) and his antics. Its  about ray ban sunglasses, thumping background score, x box style stunts, Salman 's pseudo attitude, his style and his reiteration of the fact that in India you dont need to be an actor to sell, you just need to be Salman Khan. Debutante Sonakshi Sinha looks divine,though it takes a while to digest the fact that she is the progeny of Shatrughan Sinha,  a classic example of Mendel's laws in full play. As far as her theatrical skills are concerned there was not much to display considering there is only so much you can do being a lead opposite Salman Khan, but the girl definitely shows promise. Vinod Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, display the maturity of seasoned actors and both of them even at this age look as sensational as they did in their hay days, Arbaaz Khan is annoying beyond belief. Actors of incomparable caliber like Anupam Kher and Om Puri have been wasted in hit and miss scenes and Sonu Sood manages to pull on a decent act. So, if someone was to ask me what was the USP of the film,I would say it clearly is the hot to melting point MUNNI a.k.a Malaika Arora Khan, and her one item number which is clearly that one point in the movie where all eyes just remain transfixed on the screen and jaws touch the floor. This 'Munni's Badnaami' is clearly one of the main reasons people are thronging the theaters to catch a glimpse of the hottest mom of bollywood.
Arbaaz Khan's debut production venture's success is a classic example of how wherever Kotler comes into play, it yeilds thaumaturgic results. An excellent marketing strategy and impressive packaging along with all the ingredients required to make a typical bollywood pot boiler has made Dabang go on a box office record breaking spree. A definite one time watch for its daring attempt, mindless screenplay, over the top dialogues, Malaika arora khan's oomphy item number and Salman Khan's buffoonery in the name of acting.
Statutory warning: Please put your grey cells in a deactivated mode, and you shall thoroughly enjoy this bollywood masterpiece which surely is one of its kind!