Singham Again review: Singham roars, but Simmba scores the biggest kill in the cop universe

Who would have thought that Ramayana could be retold with armed policemen at the helm? Well, Rohit Shetty just did that. He reimagined the mythological story in his cop universe, with Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn) as Ram. Furthermore, the filmmaker's inimitable humor, drama and action make the film worth watching. There are a lot of meta jokes too, including a dig at Sunny Deol's Gadar success, which are sure to make you laugh.

The plot is taken from the chapter of Ramayana where Sita is kidnapped by Ravanawhich leads to battle. Rohit Shetty's Ravan is Zubair aka Danger Lanka (Arjun Kapoor), who fights a war not for religious reasons but to avenge his family. Singham is joined by Ranveer Singh's Simmba as Hanuman and Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi as Garuda. Tiger Shroff's character Satya is a reference to Laxman and Deepika Padukone's Shakti Shetty or Lady Singham to Sugreev.

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We all know how the story ends, so there's no point in dwelling on it. What we must mention is how beautifully Rohit Shetty has integrated a mythological story into a contemporary setting. Other filmmakers (if you know, you know) could take a cue from his vision of how to tell these stories with a modern twist without making them scary. Be it the background music for each character or the allusions to the epic story, it fascinates and entertains at the same time.

Shetty is also probably one of the few directors who manages to give all of his actors enough to chew on. Ajay leads the way as Bajirao Singham, who is a Gandhi bhakt but takes on the avatar of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj when required. Kareena plays Avni, his wife who is the real strength behind his bold personality. Akshay Kumar joins us as Sooryavanshi in the climax, doing what he does best: hanging from the helicopter and jumping from high-rise towers.

Ranveer's Simmba gets the best comic lines and his post-interval act takes the entertainment level to a new level. His chemistry with seniors Akshay and Ajay is also a real treat. Deepika Padukone makes her debut in Shetty's cop universe and packs enough punches in her few scenes. Tiger Shroff only has two scenes, enough to flex his biceps and flaunt his body.

The surprise element in “Singham Again” is of course Arjun Kapoor, who shines as the villain. While his looks seem to be inspired by Gabbar Singh, his menacing smile and baritone make his Danger Lanka quite a frightening villain. The actor had recently revealed that he had been “chasing” the filmmaker for his work and we think you just did the right thing, Arjun!

A word of mention to the authors for the humor: – be it a look at GenZ dating culture or the many meta jokes from “baap ka, dada ka ka badla' from Gangs of Wasseypur addressing Akshay as 'Khiladi' to Ranveer saying the oldies are the ones who create 'Gadar' today. There's also a hint that this cop universe can't unite until the woman is kidnapped. Pat yourself on the back if you manage to make a connection between Simmba singing “Dheere Dheere Pyaar Ko Badhana Hai” and Singham.

Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn's mutual love and trust make Singham a successful franchise. No one but Ajay can play Singham and no other role can portray him in such a heroic manner. The actor can only make defeating invincible villains convincing through simple slaps. But that's also a drawback considering the fight ends easily between him and Arjun during the climax thanda.

Another moment where the film stumbles is the jarring visual effect during Akshay Kumar's sequence. The film also doesn't boast of an album, there are no actual songs in the film (we missed the magic of Singham and his roaring moves). Plus, the first 30 minutes are pretty slow-burning, as the filmmaker probably used the time to showcase his multi-star cast and their worlds.

It also falls prey to jingoism as the characters use popular dialogues like “Naya Bharat, Naya Kashmir”, “Ab ghus ke maarenge” or even “Har ek Hindustani mera parivar hai”. But given the dramatic mood of Singham and the universe, Rohit Shetty and his team can be forgiven for that. As salvation, He gives his audience enough wow moments like cars fly and crash, and also manages to shoot in some breathtaking locations.

PS: Salman Khan's post-credits turn as Chulbul Pandey is a treat to the eyes but also worth a whistle. The announcement of Chulbul Singham Mission definitely piqued the curiosity of the audience.

3.5 out of 5 stars