K S Ravindra’s Sardaar Gabbar Singh (2016) Movie Review

Sardaar Gabbar Singh Movie Review

The Crew:

Directed by K S Ravindra (Bobby); Story –Screenplay by Pawan Kalyan; Produced by Pawan Kalyan, Sharrath Marar, Sunil Lulla; Music Composed by Devi Sri Prasad; Dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra; Cinematography by Arthur A Wilson; Art Director: Brahma Kadali; Costume Designer: Rajesh and Edited by Gautham Raju.

Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Kajal Aggarwal, Raai Lakshmi, Sharad Kelkar, Brahmanandam, Rao Ramesh, Ali, Mukesh Rishi, Pradeep Rawat & Kabir Duhan Singh.

Censor Certificate: UA and Runtime: 160 Minutes.

Almost after four years the original Harish Shankar directed, Pawan Kalyan starring neo-masscop flick Gabbar Singh became a surprise hit, there was no surprise when it was announced that Gabbar Singh (Pawan Kalyan) would return to be back in the thick of it once again.

How ever wondered exactly how the film would pan out in terms of plot and which place would be taken care of this time?

Harish Shankar was not coming back for the sequel and so the directorial reigns were handed over to “Power” director K S Ravindra.

This time as Inspector “Sardaar” Gabbar Singh, his job is to cleanse the border town of Andhra Pradesh, Rattanpur. One man army Sardaar is promoted as CI and transferred to Rattanpur. He is town’s sole lawmaker and only hope against the remorseless feudal lord Bhairav Singh (Sharad Kelkar). In the midst of shootout and while fighting goons, he never looses his sense of humor. Somewhere between the face off, he unexpectedly falls in love. A strong – silent Princess Arshi (Kajal Aggarwal) (a throwback to 70s Princess in films) catches his attention and he goes all out to impress her. At this time, Singh tries his best to bump off Sardaar without much success. Along the way Sardaar battles baddies every 30 odd minutes, kills few and spares some and evokes some laughs too. Similar to original, even Sardaar throws all notions of nuance out of the window and presents to you the picture that celebrates loudness and in the mawkish presentation.

Pawan Kalyan is a massive boon to these kind of films. He’s a good actor with a baronial physicality that lends itself to something like this. Pawan Kalyan haven’t written this Sardaar any more complex than any other action hero in any exploitation film, but its Pawan’s charming screen presence that sells it. Kajal Aggarwal is fine as Princess Arshi, in a decent character, not much different from the regular princess characters who go to limbo in the latter half. She has very little to speak. Sharad Kelkar is stoic as the antagonist, but not as imposing or frightening as he could have been, and it ends up such that the lower-level oink Kabir Duhan Singh seem to pose more of a threat than him. Mukesh Rishi as the caretaker of Rattanpur Palace, Tanikella Bharini, Sanjjanna, Rao Ramesh and Baddie Kabir Duhan Singh have been under-utilized. And red-hot Rai Laxmi sizzles in a raunchy item number. The comedy league fizzle out and neither Brahmanandam, Or Police gang (Bhramaji, Shakalaka Shankar and Ali) could save it. Rest of the characters really don’t matter in this film.

Harish Shankar’s Gabbar Singh (2012), (an official remake of Abhinav Kashyap’s Dabangg) while it was a huge commercial success, was still different from the original. It was a film that was liked by audience outside Pawan Fans. Unlike the past, Pawan Kalyan played a role which is near to his real life thoughts. The film had a distinct setting and it was in equal parts a self-conscious spoof of Hollywood wild western and Tollywood mass, and sizzling commercial entertainment. Coming to Sardaar, one could be mean and say that the story is not much more than a rehash of Sholay, Khaleja, Lakshmi Narasimha meets Kick 2. Surprisingly, the movie takes its time with its opening sequences, which renovates the character and establishes new relationships.

Sardaar is nothing but poor a copy of the much films. Right after the first fight (Where an Hyderabad Police Officer chases down Hyderabad Cobra Gang in Indo-Nepal border) sequence you know the director, K Ravindra along with writer Pawan Kalyan are lazy film makers. There is nothing in the film that you havent seen before. Gabbar Singh director Harish Shankar projected the original one as a cheesy commercial entertainer that also surprises fans in many levels. In this “standalone” film, there is no chessy stuff and even the action pales out completely in comparison.

The formula of Sardaar is straight out of Tollywood’s commercial film making factory. Sardaar has a routine story that you know when the movie is in its first 10 minutes and you can predict the climax, by the time of Intermission. The weakest cinegoer will get the answer right. You will see a fight, followed up by a build up, then a romantic scene, song and end the page with some comedy/confrontation scene on a clichéd note.

Sardaar starts off on a very predictable note, with the first half of the movie and the beginning of the second half look grubby. The movie doesn’t seem to have an air for comedy and the romance which is bread & butter of commercial films. The chemistry between the lead pair Pawan Kalyan and Kajal Aggarwal is blunted, they even fail to evoke any feelings towards their characters. The last twenty minutes leads to Gabbar Singh stylo of infernal.

Coming to other technical aspects, Music composed by Devi Sri Prasad is mediocre and the choreography is not upto the mark. The second half songs situations act like speed breakers to already snail paced film. The background score composed by DSP gels well with the mood of the film. Camera work by Arthur A Wilson is alright. Editing by Gautham Raju is choppy and the transition between the scenes are damn abrupt. At least a little editing towards pre-interval and pre-climax could have sustained the pace. Marvelous Art Work carried out by Brahma Kadali to portray Rattanpur town The production values of the film are fine.

Sardaar Gabbar Singh doesn’t pack the wallop of its predecessor. The original was a fairly standard action movie, elevated by a relatively lean romance and focused family story, driven by a surprisingly effective Pawan Kalyan. He is back for Sardaar, and he remains the best thing about this standalone film. However, the film lacks focus intensity and attitude of its predecessor. Much like its protagonist, the first film was single minded agenda in pursuit of its goal. This time around, the stake gets higher with involvement of larger than life villain, but script fails in balancing the hero’s image with a cohesive plot.

Survi Review: 1.5/5