Celebrity Gossip: July 2011

Bubble Gum: An 80s film released in 2011

MUMBAI: Bubble Gum is about a troubled teenager, his perceived insecurities, infatuation, rivalry and, finally, his coming of age. With growing star prices, different genres are being tried along with some which don't easily fit a genre.Bubble Gum is about a middle class housing society in 1980s Jamshedpur when there was no net or cell phone and life's aspirations were simpler and pace leisurely.The society has its bunch of young boys and girls, one of whom is Delzad Hiwale, a 14-year-old lad. Delzad has a few issues but he has found a purpose in his lonely life in a 13-year-old girl, Apoorva Arora, who has shifted to the same complex. He has fallen in love. However, as at home, here too he has a hurdle to face.At home Delzad feels neglected since his older brother, who is deaf and mute, is sent away to a hostel, for such students get more attention while he is just taken for granted for being normal. Similarly, in his pursuit of love too he has a competitor with all the traits of a '80s film villain in Suraj Kumar, a year older than him. The boy is Reggie Mantle to Delzad's Archie, only more sinister and devious.Delzad's troubles mount when his deaf and mute older brother, Sohail Lakhani, comes home for Holi vacations and not only gets all the attention from the parents but is also responsible for Delzad having to stay at home all the time, forced to keep his brother company.Delzad's so called social life comes to standstill as does his pursuit of love. His arch rival, meanwhile, uses all the ploys and plots to get ahead in the race. The centre of all the activities is the Holi festival while the favourite pass time of the girls as well as boys is playing kabbadi, something that may seem out of sync to today's generation. After all the enmities and family misgivings, the spirit of Holi prevails and each realises his/her own misplaced priorities.The best part about this film is its casting, gathering raw, young talent from across India; all the actors give natural performances with the prototype villain, Suraj Kumar coming tops closely followed by Sohail Lakhani and Delzad Hiwale. Apporva Arora and Azeen, along with veterans Sachin Khedekar and Tanvi Azmi, are apt. The director has stuck to exploring the innocence of that era which today's parents may identify more with than the children. Music is situational.Bubble Gum has its few cute moments but it is not the kind of venture to sustain at the box office.

Khap (Movie Review)

Issue-based films tend to get themselves into trouble. And we don’t mean just the trouble caused by disgruntled parties, political or otherwise. The balance that needs to be struck between headlines and their cinematic interpretation often tends to get lost thereby defeating the noblest of purposes and the best intentions of conscientious filmmakers who look at the cinematic medium as more than just entertainment. Ajai Sinha who has his roots in meaningful television entertainment , boldly takes on the theme of khap (community) justice in rural Haryana whereby any marriage between two individuals of the same gotra (clan) is punished by local village panchayats. It’s a powerful subject that needed a singlemindedly uncompromised treatment. Sadly Sinha dilutes the theme with dollops of formula-baazi. There’s a teenybopper love-angle featuring two relative newcomers who need a crash-course in basic acting and grooming. The young love-birds chat online with what they feel are sweet cute and funny lines. If only they knew! The entire treatment and development of their romance is redolent of amateurishness. Precious time is frittered away in gawkily composed and choreographed song and dances where the love birds coo sweet-nothings into one another’s ears. You feel like pushing these two campus wannabes out of the way to watch the impending drama in a village of Haryana where the panchayat is a law unto itself. The interweavement of characters into a dramatic circle embodying outdated customs and their clash with contemporary mores, could have acquired a greater validity if the narrative had focused more on hardhitting rural prejudices rather than jejune urban affectations. Om Puri as the village sarpanch is the pick of the plot. He gets the meatiest part with the best emotional graph. He doesn’t need to make much of an effort to make the part his own, and he doesn’t even try.Nowadays a kind of laziness has crept into distinguished actor’s repertoire. It’s wonderful to see the talented Manoj Pahwa grab a pivotal role. Pahwa was hilarious as Ayesha Takiya’s delusional suitor in Wanted.Here he sinks into the role of a village elder who once watched his daughter being slaughtered for the village honour. Ajai Sinha’s antecedents from television make themselves evident in the way the drama unfolds in episodic overtures covering huge time-frames with soft punctuation marks. The film would have worked better with a more confident cast of younger plays. The elders can only take the drama so far. Khap is finally betrayed by the wimpish and awkward portrayal of the urban young and by too many attempts to draw out a soap-opera-styled drama from situations that seem to plead for more finesse in presentation. Nonetheless Khap should be commended for attempting a socially-relevant theme with some amount of detachment and equanimity. Should love between cousins or people from within one family be sternly discouraged just because the village panchayat feels it is damaging to the social framework?

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It’s not easy being gay

I am a male. I am a Muslim. I am a Pakistani and I am gay.I come from a deeply religious family, where everyone prays five times a day and reads the Qur’an every day.I came to the realization when I was eighteen-years-old, while I was in a relationship with my first girlfriend. Even though I was with her, I did not feel any sort of attraction towards her. The only feeling that I felt for her was of a friendly affection, nothing more and nothing less.I say realization, but deep down I suppose I always knew that I was different from all the other guys. I never used to sit and ogle at girls and pass comments about them, but at the time I attributed that to my upbringing and to the fact that I had learned to respect women, having lived with three very admirable women at home, my mother and my sisters. And even though that still stands true, now I understand that it was something else – something inside me which made me think and behave differently.I began to hate myself when I gradually became more and more convinced about my sexuality, trying to cut myself with any sharp thing I could lay my hands on, knives, scissors, blades, anything at all.Whenever such thoughts came into my head, I went and locked myself in my room and tried to hurt myself.I started to pray even more. I sat on the prayer mat for minutes and hours on end crying, begging Allah to change me, not to make me the way I was turning out to be.I thought Allah was testing me, that He was testing my faith, my imaan; that He wanted to see if I could fight temptation. But I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I struggled or how much I prayed and asked for help, I failed every time.Now I’m reaching that age where my parents are starting to discuss my marriage and whenever I listen into their conversation, a part of me dies inside.The feelings of helplessness and impotency that I go through cannot be compared to anything else.My parents have been planning my wedding ever since my older brother got married eight years ago: how can I go and tell them that I cannot get married? How will I be able to live with myself if (or when) I am married, knowing that I’ve ruined an innocent girl’s life because surely I will never be able to give her the love and intimacy that she truly deserves?Sometimes I contemplate on whether I should tell my family the truth and stop living a lie, thinking that they will love me no matter what. Then my fantasy comes to a grinding halt. My bubble bursts, when I hear my sister or my brother passing comments full of hate and prejudice about gay men and how much they detest them, whenever they see them on television or in person. I sit and think what they would say to me, if anything at all.But now I feel that I’ve come to terms with whom and what I am.I have accepted this fact, that no matter how hard I try I will not be able to change myself. Although, that does not mean I’ve moved away from my religion or from Allah. Why can I not be who I am and stay close to my faith at the same time? Why does it always have to be one or the other and never both?The average person tends to think that people like me are the way we are because we choose to be this way. This may be true for some people, but it definitely was not true for me.Why would I choose to live a life where I have to constantly lie to all those who I care about? Why would I choose to live a meaningless life where I may never be happy? Why would I choose to be this way when I’m fully aware of what my family would do to me, if they ever were to find out the truth about me?....Source

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Bollywood Kings: Over 40 and reigning

Bollywood can't get enough of its good old, 40-plus actors - Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn. They ruled the roost in the 1990s and after two decades, they are still calling the shots as they get the best films, meaty roles, highest remuneration and maximum media coverage.Of course, there are Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan and younger heroes like Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Imran Khan, Abhay Deol and Emraan Hashmi who are a rage, but old continues to be gold at the box office.Amitabh Bachchan, who is way beyond the 40-mark, has spent over four decades in the Hindi film industry - but the 68-year-old is nowhere close to fading. He is still playing central characters. After the recent "Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap", he is set to treat fans with "Aarakshan", as well as the fifth season of the reality show "Kaun Banega Crorepati". And he isn't hanging up his boots as long as his body works.

Other than Big B, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir, Ajay, Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar top the filmmakers' wishlist, as long as the script and budget are in tune with the stars.These actors have proved their charm over and over again.Salman, 45, proved he is still saleable with "Dabangg", the biggest blockbuster of last year. He carried forward his victorious streak in 2011 with the masala film "Ready" and his debut co-production "Chillar Party", which garnered critical acclaim.The star is facing a receding hair line, but it is not coming in the way of his success. He is now gearing up to entertain fans with "Bodyguard", which is also expected to mint gold at the box office.B-town 'badshah' Shah Rukh's 2010 film "My Name Is Khan", a love story set against the backdrop of racial discrimination post-9/11, grossed an estimated $18 million at the worldwide box office in its opening weekend.Now the 45-year-old, who is coping with a back problem and even has a few wrinkles, is coming up with the two most awaited projects of the year - his mega-budget home production "Ra.One" and Farhan Akhtar's "Don 2: The Chase Continues".At 46, Aamir is one of the most formidable stars. As an actor, director or producer, his films have set new standards in the Hindi film industry. Over the years, he has lost his cute college-boy looks but is still a craze.Be it "3 Idiots" in 2009, the satirical "Peepli Live" in 2010 or the recently released, cult, madcap comedy "Delhi Belly", Aamir's USP of moulding himself and his work to suit the audience's taste has made him the flavour of all seasons for Indian movie buffs.From romancing to tickling the funny bone, these actors are doing all kinds of roles.For instance, 42-year-old Ajay, who stands out for his intense acting, scored well at the box office with the underworld drama "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai" and the comedy "Golmaal 3" last year. This year his latest, "Singham", a hardcore action movie, is already roaring loud at the box office.Saif, who hit the 40-mark last year, is set to get experimental now. The 'Chhote Nawab' will be seen in the serious role of a Dalit school teacher in "Aarakshan'. Later, he is expected to set the screen on fire with his home production "Agent Vinod", in which he is said to have performed some mindblowing stunts.For the daredevil Akshay, the year 2010 was a bit of a damp squib with just one hit - Sajid Khan's "Housefull" - despite several other films like "Khatta Meetha", "Action Replayy" and "Tees Maar Khan".The depression in his career graph continued this year with not-so-successful films like "Patiala House" and "Thank You", but that hasn't affected Akshay's stardom.Hopefully, he will jump back into action with "Desi Boyz", "Joker" and "Housefull 2" in the near future. The 44-year-old also has the Indo-Canadian film "Breakaway" lined up for release.There are also 51-year-olds Anil and Sanjay who manage to enthuse audiences, no matter what. Sanjay entertained with "Double Dhamaal" recently, while Anil is making headway to international shores with a prestigious project like "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol".As far as Bollywood goes, these stars are ageless.

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'Another Earth' is a thoughtful sci-fi romance

LOS ANGELES: Can't bear to sit through yet another robot or superhero-filled extravaganza or R-rated raunchy comedy this summer? "Another Earth" offers the discerning moviegoer a welcome alternative.This indie drama -- a prizewinner at this year's Sundance Film Festival -- is a sci-fi romance. But there's not a single alien in sight. Rather, the movie's all-too-human characters are more than a little alienated from their own feelings at times, trying their best to push down and mask painful emotions.It's about exactly what the title says: a second Earth, complete with its own moon, has suddenly appeared. It hangs, shimmering on the horizon, visible from our Earth day and night and tantalizing all with its possibilities.This other Earth first appears on the very night that a smart high-school senior, Rhoda Williams(played by newcomer Brit Marling, who co-wrote the script with first-time feature director Mike Cahill), is out celebrating getting accepted by M.I.T. Driving home after a night of partying, she runs a light and slams into a car carrying respected composer John Borroughs (William Mapother), his pregnant wife and young son.When Rhoda gets out of prison a few years later, she seeks out John, the only one in his family to have survived the accident. She and John are both mere shells of their former selves, cut off from others emotionally by the after-effects of the tragedy. Without revealing her true identity, she inserts herself into his life. Slowly, these two help each other to begin to return to the land of the living.Throughout the movie, there's constant talk on the radio and on TV about the other Earth and plans to journey there. Shades of TV's "Fringe": Could it be that everyone on our Earth has a doppelganger on the second Earth, an identical twin to yourself who just might be a happier and more successful version of you? It's a question of special appeal to both Rhoda and John.Marling is a rangy blond with a long face that is just this side of interesting rather than being blandly beautiful. There is a muted intensity to her performance, which is all the more hauntingly effective for its restraint, especially as Rhoda begins to shed her emotional numbness.It's a measure of "Another Earth's" ability to move a viewer that when you come out of the movie, you'll find yourself gazing upward, checking almost hopefully to see whether a second Earth hasn't made an appearance. (Reuters)

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Box office records broken: Bollywood’s July of joy

Four hit films in July create Bollywood box office history... Which one was your favourite? Delhi Belly, Murder 2, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, or Singham?

History is in the making at box office this month. With four blockbusters running successfully at theatres, this July has turned out to be the best ever in the history of Hindi cinema. Going by the trade figures, the month saw a net collection of around Rs 210 crore at box office, which is a whopping figure. To give you a sense of proportion, it is roughly 26 percent of the total collection of the first half of this year which included the hits like Ready and Double Dhamaal. In fact, these two films set the momentum in June, carried forward at the start of July with Delhi Belly, which turned out to be a runaway hit despite its A certificate and expletive-strewn dialogues. Bbuddah - Hoga Terra Baap, released on the same day, did not really create a ruck at ticket windows but did decent enough business. Then came Murder 2, with its macabre tale of a psychotic killer, and minted money at box office despite being panned by the critics. Box office hat-trick was consummated with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a life-affirming tale of three friends on a trip through Spain. The film managed to attract footfalls despite releasing just two days after the 13/7 Mumbai terror attacks. In fact, it surpassed the first weekend collection of Murder 2. The fourth Friday of July brought more cheer with the release of Singham. The movie, starring Ajay Devgan, became the second best opener of the year after Salman Khan’s Ready. The film witnessed an exceptional weekend at box office and is still running strong, racing on its way to be a hit. Compared to the July of 2010, this July has seen an 80 percent increase in box office business, making it the best ever July in Bollywood history. The good news is that the coming months would see the release of some most eagerly awaited films of the year, like Bodyguard, Ra.One and Don 2. All of them are expected to be money minters.

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'Cowboys & Aliens' turns mash-up to mush

The genre mash-up of "Cowboys & Aliens" is more a mush-up, an action yarn aiming to be both science fiction and Old West adventure but doing neither all that well.The filmmakers - and there are a lot of them, among them director Jon Favreau, 11 producers or executive producers including Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, plus half a dozen credited writers - start with a title that lays out a simple but cool premise: invaders from the skies shooting it out with guys on horseback.For all the talent involved, they wound up keeping the story too simple, almost simple-minded, leaving a terrific cast led by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford stuck in a sketchy, sometimes poky tale where you get cowboys occasionally fighting aliens and not much more.Based on a graphic novel from Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, also a producer on the movie, "Cowboys & Aliens" has Craig doing the stony-faced lone rider thing to such stoic extremes it borders on blandness. Ford is similarly constricted in a stereotyped role as the tyrannical overlord of a Western town, though his unfailing charisma does imbue some spirit into his under-developed character.Really, the only clever thing about "Cowboys & Aliens" is the basic idea itself. The Western trappings are mostly dull, the aliens and sci-fi elements are unimaginative, and cramming them together is not enough to make them interesting.As the story opens in 1875, Craig's amnesiac Jake Lonergan wanders into the dusty New Mexico town of Absolution with no clue to his identity and bearing a strange metal bracelet on his wrist. Within minutes, he begins running afoul of the town's leaders, crossing the cowardly son (Paul Dano) of local cattle baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford), then tussling with the sheriff (Keith Carradine) and his deputies.Just as it looks as though we're in for a showdown among a band of greedy thugs and decent townfolk in need of a hero, space craft swoop in and start snatching people right off the streets. Six-shooters are like firing blanks at the speedy ships, but Jake's wristband comes to life, and he gradually learns how to use it as a weapon to fight back against what the villagers initially assume are demons.Dolarhyde leads Jake and a posse in pursuit of the creatures, accompanied by the mysterious gun-toting Ella (Olivia Wilde), who knows more about these beings than she lets on.Director Favreau slipped from fresh and flamboyant on "Iron Man" to lame and listless on its sequel, and there's more of the latter on "Cowboys & Aliens." The posse creeps along through close encounters with outlaws and Apaches and has more abduction run-ins with the aliens.Yet other than seeing the two blended together, there's nothing here that hasn't been done far better in many Westerns and science-fiction flicks. The aliens are anonymous monsters, and the human folk are mostly cardboard types like those you'll find in any old Western.The action plays out against grand, gorgeous landscapes captured by cinematographer Matthew Libatique, while the visual effects are standard stuff, save for one very impressive explosion.As a jittery saloon owner, Sam Rockwell gets to toss out a few funny lines, and Adam Beach manages a few moments of pathos as Dolarhyde's main hand. As the sheriff's young grandson, Noah Ringer is there to broaden the movie's kid appeal but doesn't really add to the story.Though Ford is pushing 70, it's odd seeing him relegated to second billing in an action movie. His role is big, and it does give him a chance to play a bit nastier than usual.But Craig's role is the sort Ford might have done if "Cowboys & Aliens" came 20 years earlier. Craig's probably the better actor of the two, but Ford's a true movie star, and it's easy to imagine a livelier film if Jake had more of that Indiana Jones rogue's charm and less of the tightly wound menace Craig has made a part of his take on James Bond."Cowboys & Aliens," a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of Western and sci-fi action and violence, some partial nudity and a brief crude reference. Running time: 118 minutes. Two stars out of four. (AP)

Plans for Jackson tribute show ignite family row

Michael Jackson's mother and four siblings announced Monday plans for a star-studded tribute concert for the late pop icon, but the show was blasted as "ill-timed" by two other Jacksons.Jermaine and Randy Jackson said the family should be concentrating on the upcoming manslaughter trial of their brother's doctor, which will be going on in Los Angeles when the planned show is staged in Britain in October.The Michael Forever show is set for October 8 in Cardiff, Wales, and will be broadcast to 30 countries around the world, said his mother Katherine Jackson, sister La Toya and brothers Tito, Marlon and Jackie."The world's greatest performing artists" will play at the show, according to its website, although promoter Chris Hunt declined to name names, saying they will announce artists at another press conference in London on August 3.Jackson's mother said "as many members of my family that are available" will be at the concert, adding: "Michael gave his entire life to the world through his love, his music and his devotion to healing the planet."I am positive that this event will be an event great enough in scale, talent and imagination to form a worthy celebration of Michael's life," she said at a press conference in Beverly Hills.But Randy and Jermaine Jackson -- who tried but failed to organize a tribute show after Jackson's 2009 death -- blasted the timing of the new show, which will coincide with the September manslaughter trial of Jackson's doctor."While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honors our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael's death," they said.Doctor Conrad Murray, charged with manslaughter for giving the singer an overdose of powerful sedative propofol, is due to go on trial with opening statements on September 20, less than three weeks before the Cardiff concert."In light of this, we feel it is inappropriate to be involved with such an ill-timed event and its promoter, Global Live," said Jermaine and Randy Jackson in a statement."Furthermore, the decision to proceed with this concert disrespects opinions and wishes expressed in the strongest terms to Global Live during conversations in April when this event was presented to the majority of the family."Global Live chief Chris Hunt defended the Cardiff plans, saying they would be "worthy of Michael's musical genius ... something fun and authentic that you would envision Michael attending with excitement and joy."Tickets for the concert in the 75,000-seat Millennium Stadium in Cardiff -- with a fully retracting roof the biggest indoor venue in Europe, according to the organizers -- will go on sale online on August 4, they added.The concert will raise money for charities including Prince Charles' Prince's Trust in Britain, and the AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). (AFP)

Pakistan’s top contemporary artist holds solo show in London

ISLAMABAD: The paintings of Pakistan’s top contemporary artist of international fame, Jamil Naqsh attracted thousands of visitors at Albemrale, central London Gallery.

The month long solo show by Jamil Naqsh – recipient of Sitara- i-Imtiaz and Pride of Performance concluded featuring his retrospective collection, said a statement received here Wednesday.Jamil Naqsh holds a key position in rapidly changing art scenes at home and abroad and is also well established in international auctions.As a student at Mayo College (now National College of Arts), he was like the other young Pakistani artists of his generation, exposed to the main figures in European Modernism and also to works by the major European old masters. For Naqsh another source of inspiration, inevitably, was Picasso and yet another was the work of great French Neo-classicist, Jean Dominique Ingres.The impact made by the Ingres is particularly interesting, since Ingres, in some paintings was a leader of the ‘orientalist’ tendency in 19th century European art. In the words of art historian Edward Luice Smith, Naqsh re-absorbs Ingres and re-forges links to the sensuous tradition that plays so large a part in Mughal miniature painting.Naqsh combines the traditional methods of Mughal miniature painting with European techniques as for him the two approaches are not mutually exclusive. As this exhibition demonstrates, Naqsh’s work has long tended to develop in series, though the themes on occasion overlap. In Pakistan, he is probably most loved for his images of pigeons, or of women and pigeons combined.This was his first show in London which took up some of the major themes of his career. “The exhibition demonstrated how an artist with major gifts, coming from background of sub continent has been able to enter into a fruitful relationship with Western modernism, and thus link himself to what is now a worldwide community of visual artists”, Smith said.A large number of his exhibitions including 14 solo shows have taken place in different art capitals of the world. Source : Daily Dawn Pakistan

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Winehouse funeral planned for Tuesday

Amy Winehouse's family and friends will lay the tragic singer to rest in a private funeral on Tuesday.The soul star was found dead at her north London home on Saturday, aged just 27, and her closest pals and relatives have been gathering at the Winehouse family home for shiva, the traditional Jewish period of mourning.

A spokesperson for the family announced on Monday that the Grammy Award winner would be buried on Tuesday. The time and location of the ceremony have been kept a secret.Earlier in the day, U.S. TV personality Sharon Osbourne revealed her daughter Kelly had returned to her native Britain from her home in Los Angeles to mourn the loss of her famous friend.Osbourne admitted her daughter was struggling to come to terms with the heartbreak and claimed the funeral was being planned for Wednesday.Discussing Winehouse's passing on The Talk, Osbourne said, "She (Kelly)'s not doing good. She left for England. Right now they think the funeral's on Wednesday... She's with Amy's mum, they're doing shiva at the house. She's there with all the girls that used to hang out (with Winehouse)."The Osbourne matriarch also recalled the first time Kelly brought Winehouse over to their L.A. home and remembered the troubled singer as a "sweetheart of a girl".She added, "She was your regular, little girl... When we first met her she drank a lot, but we thought, you know, she's young, she's enjoying her life, she's finding her path, she'll get over that. But then it was the drugs. I never saw that side of her."And Osbourne claimed she felt most for Winehouse's sick mother, Janis, as she prepares to say goodbye to her beloved daughter for the last time.She said, "I feel for her mum especially because her mum suffers from MS (multiple sclerosis), so she's not strong... She's not doing good. Her mum knew it was going to happen; her dad knew. It was just time."Winehouse famously battled drink and drug addictions throughout her career, but a cause of death has yet to be determined after a post-mortem examination conducted on Monday proved inconclusive.Credit www.torontosun.com

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Singham (Movie Review)

He implements the laws applicable to the khaki-vardi with a passion that makes corruption seem like a mosquito that a human repellant can exterminate. His ways are unconventional. And he seethes and fumes when faced with diabolic corruption. Last we saw, it was Rajeev Khandelwal playing the anti-establishment cop’s role in the brilliant Shaitaan. This time it’s a huge star getting into khakee. Meet Ajay Devgn as Bajirao Singham an honest-to-goodness cop who believes he has been given the law-enforcer’s job and he better take it seriously. Hurling through a cavalcade of regionally-flush references Singham is the kind of rustic boorish kinetic action thriller where a cleaner social order is seen to be brought about by the power of the fist. Give or take a gun. Or a Devgn. Devgn playing the one-man army invests the clichéd role with a kind of cultural specificity which allows him the leeway to get verbally regional without losing a pan-India flavour. That’s the magic of mass entertainment cinema that this film celebrates with panoramic verve. We don’t need to comprehend Marathi to get the powerful subtexts of Devgan’s virulent attack on corruption. Fortunately Devgn isn’t the kind of actor who needs to scream to make himself heard. He effectually offsets Prakash Raj’s theatrical villainy bordering on bigtime hamming. It is significant that the entire cast comprises Marathi actors, giving to the frenetic rustic proceedings a sense of arrogant chauvinism. Only the villain palayed by Prakash Raj is a South Indian actor of tremendous histrionic range. Give him anything to do. And he does with impassioned concentration. A lot of the lines that the politician-villain is compelled to utter bordered on self-parody. Chunks of the action and drama are cannibalized from the Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘angry’ series , without the bridled indignance of the central character. Yes, Singham is frustrated and embittered by the corruption that’s crept into the socio-political system. But he lacks the vitality to transmute the cop’s impotent rage into a potent cinematic language. e don’t feel for his concern for a clean social order. We just wonder whom he will thrash next, and how. Partly, it is to do with the kind of shallowness that Singham’s love interest portrays. Jaya Bhaduri in Zanjeer and Smita Patil in Ardh Satya made a brief but telling impact on the way the enraged hero looked at the seedy world. Newcomer Kajal Aggarwal is a bundle of shallow take-away expressions, the cinematic equivalent of a home-delivered pizza, without the spicy toppings. What sustains the narrative’s velocity is Devgn’s uncalculated moves as an action hero. He brings a kind of reckless inevitability into every blow that he delivers on the goons. There are some entertaining supporting performances, Sachin Khedeker as the heroin’e cellphone-fixated father is a hoot. In all fairness the action sequences (Jai Singh Nijjar) are entertaining and humorous. The fights don’t take themselves seriously. However the homilies on a need for integrity in the civil services seem like unwanted concessions to self-importance in a film that seems to revel in a kind of free-floating message on how to stay clean in a cesspool of corruption. Yup, Rohit Shetty packs in a punch. You can’t but smile at the infinite pleasure which the director partakes from the age-old language of commercial Hindi cinema in all its flamboyant glory.Singham is a cops film with balls.

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