Bajrangi Bhaijaan review: Full on entertainment, Salman Khan style

• Rohit Vats, Hindustan Times, New Delhi|
• Updated: Sep 22, 2015 11:57 IST

Salman Khan in and as Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

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Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Cast: Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Harshaali Malhotra

Director: Kabir Khan

Rating: 2.5/5



Never mind which side of the divide you decide to stand, here's one fact of life you ignore at your own peril: Never judge a Salman Khan fan when he's rooting for the Bhai pulling off the most logic-defying stunts, and even scenes. Because, Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan is one film that will bring them to the theatres in droves and you'd do yourself a favour by keeping quiet even if you think this film is over the top. But then, chances are that you may also love it.



First things first. There is no doubting Salman's secular credentials. He is one actor who never tires of talking about the multi-religious ethnicity of his family and he has reasons to do so. But now he has decided to extend this ideology to the themes of his films as well. 



In a way, it started with Jai Ho where Salman's crusader 'aam aadmi' image was built. Kick consolidated this image, and now Bajrangi Bhaijaan completes the picture. This film presents the bhai as the quintessential 'aam aadmi' who is forever ready to embrace religious pluralism if that is the last resort. And guess what, Salman does it in a style no one else can.

Bajrangi is an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman. 

Pawan Kumar Chautrvedi (Salman) enjoys the burden of carrying the legacy of his RSS member father in Pratapgarh, UP. This is not exactly a load as Pawan grows up to be an extremely religious guy who likes to bow down to every monkey he meets. Turns out, he is least interested in studies and wrestling, two streams his father wants him to excel in. Pawan's life is turned upside down when his father sends him away to Delhi for, what else, a job. Like it happens in every Hindi film, once in the city, he meets Rasika (Kareena) and her tough-nut father Digambar (Sharat Saxena), a devout Brahmin.

Pawan, alias Bajrangi, stays true to his religion in the big city, never missing a chance to attend anything that has Lord Hanuman's name next to it. His pursuits lead him to Kurukshetra where he finds an abandoned child after dancing his shoes off to Selfie le le re. 

Rasika and Pawan's love story blooms in the bylanes of Old Delhi.
Soon, we are told that this child cannot talk, is from Pakistan, and that she is stranded here in India.

Not surprisingly, Pawan takes it upon himself to reunite the child with her parents. Just that he has a set of problems that threaten to throw his mission off balance right from the word go: he has no passport, he never lies, and he is a vegetarian.

On the face of it, this is probably Salman's most mellowed down performance in recent times: he refrains from flaunting his street fighting skills (unless he's left with no option, that is), and he has managed to look innocent in the scenes where his character's inner dilemma over non-vegetarian food comes out or when he finds that the lost child is actually a Muslim (Who he likes to call Mohamden similar to a large number of North Indians). 

Like Rasika, Bajrangi is also a strict vegetarian. 

Through some cheesy and over-the-top sequences, he befriends Munni (a super cute Harshaali) and begins a journey that takes him to a small-time TV reporter in Pakistan, Chand Nawab (Nawazuddin). Remember that viral video featuring Chand Nawab reporting from Karachi on Eid? The same one.

One thing that works for Bajrangi Bhaijaan is that it is not a preachy film, a great feat in itself considering that the film's crew relentlessly talked about the 'paradoxes involved in the religious outset of India' in every pre-release interview. And Purani Dilli, the director's choice for unfolding the basic premise, serves him well. The crowded bylanes of the walled city demonstrate the extent to which the religious lives of the Hindus and the Muslims are entangled in this part of the world. Apart from a moment when Kareena Kapoor mouths sermons of peaceful co-existence and how a small child should be kept out of the religious debates, things appear under-control. 

V Vijayendra Prasad’s story doesn’t boast of too many twists and turns, and that puts the spotlight back on its primary characters. The way the director introduces Nawazuddin Siddiqui, his understanding of mainstream commercial cinema will amaze you. Nawazuddin's pauses, hamming and high pitched dialogues... everything adds value to the character he plays. He saves a linear story from going wayward in the second half. In fact, he very charmingly informs the audience about the absurdities of our daily lives. Take a look at this conversation:

Chand Nawab: Wahan tumhari madad kaun karega?
Pawan: Bajranbali karenge humari madad.
Chand Nawab: Pakistan me bhi? (Laughs)

Though it's obvious that the film's dialogue writers walked on razor's edge so that they don't hurt any religious sentiments, the one-liners bring out the deep-rooted contradictions of our society. Consider this one: While struggling to find Munni's religion, Pawan declares: "Ye Brahmin hogi, dekhti nahi kitni gori hai." In another scene, when he finds Munni eating chicken, he mutters, "Kshatriya hogi, wo maas khate hain aur gore bhi hote hain."

And, of course, you can't keep the eternal Shahid Afridi versus Sachin Tendulkar debate out of any such film. 

Will Bajrangi be able to reunite Munni with her family in Pakistan?
One powerful tool Salman uses with ease in most of his films is his self deprecating humour. No prizes for guessing that with Kabir Khan, there is more than a fair sprinkling of it in this film too. And yes, just like Ek Tha Tiger, you don't get a clear-cut answer if you wanted to figure out how old he is.

The film opens with aerial shots of snow-clad mountains and moves inside Pakistan capturing the scenic beauty of the region in the process. But, the one shot that remains in the spectator’s subconscious is the top angle one of people flocking the Kurukshetra station. And the sequence right before it where Kabir Khan shows the situation at Wagah-Attari with Aaj rang dini playing in the background is also worth noticing. 



Watch: Selfie le le re from Bajrangi Bhaijaan 


Now, the most crucial part of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, its climax. Don't worry, we won't spill the beans, but just that it is the film's big surprise. Suddenly you feel like transported to the '80s where everybody is serious about just one thing: To defy logic and scientific grounding. Apart from this part of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which is likely to garner a louder applause than the rest of the film, it remains a perfectly paced story.

Azhar is a 2016 Indian sports drama film directed by Tony D'Souza. The story is written by Rajat 

Arora and is inspired from the life of Indian cricketer and former national team captain Mohammad 

Azharuddin. The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor for Sony Pictures Networks and

 features Emraan Hashmi in the titular role. Nargis Fakhri, Prachi Desai and Lara Dutta play crucial 

supporting roles. The sports action was done by Rob Miller of ReelSports.^[2] The film released worldwide on 13 May 2016.^[3]

The movie begins with Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin (Emraan Hashmi) scoring a century in

 his 99th test match, but he soon faces allegations of match-fixing as his name has been linked with 

a London based bookie M.K. Sharma aka Shaun (Rajesh Sharma). The India cricket board slaps a life-

ban on him. Azhar decides to challenge the ban in court with the help of his lawyer friend Reddy (Kunaal Roy Kapoor).

It begins with promise. Young Mahi is more interested in football, badminton and tennis, and tries to blow off his first coach (Rajesh Sharma) who spots his potential. The entire ‘bachpan’-adolescence section, featuring the father (Anupam Kher) who thinks a job will take his son much further than sports, the mother who believes in her son, the sister (Bhumika Chawla) who is a solid support to him, his bunch of loyal friends who just know he can do it, has been crafted with heart and feels authentic. We see Mahi (Sushant Singh Rajput) trying and failing and trying again, despite all the roadblocks, to keep his eye on his goal: to be part of the Indian team and play for his country, and we root for him.

Till then, bully for Neeraj Pandey and the film, even if it is already feeling stretched and repetitive. What works for the film in the first half is the lifelike re-creation of life in a small town (Ranchi), a family getting by on slender means and yet being able to find it in themselves to get behind a bright-eyed lad who dreams big, and is willing to work for it.

In the way it shows Mahi’s often herculean attempts to become visible to the powers that be (he can smash the ball all across the ground effortlessly, and wicket-keep beautifully too), the film becomes almost copybook in telling us that strokes may come easy but getting invited into privileged sporting enclaves is exceedingly tough. But, and this is the message that comes through loud and clear, that it can be done. You can be a small town boy, and if you have talent and a little bit of luck, you can be unstoppable.

Up till here, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s story, the mostly untold part for most of us, holds us. It tells us that it is right for us to aspire, and that anyone can do it.

Then the curse of the second half strikes, and it goes into an irreversible slide. Two romances arrive in swift succession (Disha Patani, Kiara Advani, both sparkly, both reduced to sidebars). There are songs. There is a stab at the intrigue that governs selection processes at various cricketing bodies, including the mighty BCCI, but it is laughably feeble.

The entire focus is on Dhoni who is shown as the sole match-winner from the Indian side. His teammates, which include Indian cricketing greats (Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and others), are seen in flashes, either from the back or in profile. There is no dressing room banter with his team-mates. No scenes, in fact, with other players, except for a couple of stray ones with Yuvraj Singh (Harry Tangri).

Force is a 2011 Indian action thriller film directed by Nishikanth Kamath, starring John Abraham opposite Genelia D'Souza in lead roles. It is a remake of Gautham Menon's successful 2003 Tamil film, Kaakha Kaakha Starring Suriya and Jyothika in lead and is about a dutiful cop who chases the capture of a dreaded gangster. The film released on 30 September 2011, and received mostly positive reviews upon release,. John Abraham's performance was also praised by public and critics.

Chennai Express  is a 2013 Indian romantic action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty, and 

produced by Gauri Khan for Red Chillies Entertainment. The film features Shahrukh Khan and Deepika

 Padukone in lead roles; it is the second collaboration between Khan and Padukone after Om Shanti 

Om (2007). The film is about a man's journey from Mumbai to Rameswaram, and what happens along

 the way after he falls in love with the daughter of a local don. Principal photography began on 27 

September 2012, filming began in October 2012 and was completed by May 2013.

Chennai Express was released in the overseas markets on 8 August 2013, and a day later in India. 

STORY: Jai Verma (Sidharth Malhotra), a mathematical genius, finds himself randomly travelling through time - (into the past and future) until he learns to value his present. He gets to relive a significant day of his life in order to avert future setbacks. Can this disorder alter his life for better? 

REVIEW: Bearing the brunt of his 'going to sleep and waking up in a new time period' routine, is his 'abs'olutely stunning wife Dia Kapoor (Katrina Kaif), who's the 'driver' in their relationship. She's too clingy, he's too disinterested and busy with his calculations to notice her unconditional love for him. The film unravels what lies ahead for these childhood sweethearts    

What would you fix if you could travel back in time? The thought is interesting and the message, beautiful - life isn't a series of calculated events so seize the moment. True happiness lies in the smallest of things. However, the film's reasoning is flawed. Unlike movies like 'About Time', which have explored the fantasy time travelling theme with much heart, this one uses it as a punishment to 'conform' the man, who is devoted to his ambitions. You don't see anything wrong with his choices to begin with so his change of heart doesn't tug at your heartstrings either. 

In true Dharma style, the film is visually and musically enchanting and is about loving your family. Good looking actors hum soulful songs at gorgeous locales. Both Sidharth and Katrina are easy on the eye and Sidharth pulls off his complex role with ease. Katrina, however, hasn't gone beyond what's expected of her as an actor. 

There are timeless love stories and then stories involving time travel. BBD belongs to the latter. Pleasant and fairly engaging but a tad tedious (like mathematics) to evoke a Baar Baar viewing. The foot-tapping kala chashma song in the end infuses that much required energy and zest into the film.