Singh Saab The Great Review: A film for Sunny Deol fans!

Sunny Deol and Anil Sharma created box office history way back in 2001 with the all-time blockbuster Gadar – Ek Prem Katha. Since then, they have been trying to recreate the same magic in each one of their subsequent films and have been failing at it with varying degrees of success. Singh Saab The Great seems like a perfect launchpad from the box office point of view to get Sunny back into the game. So does the film actually work? Let’s dissect.

Story: Singh Saab (Sunny Deol) is a righteous collector who likes to get everything done with utmost honesty and sincerity. When Singh Saab’s method of doing things clashes with the dealings of Bhoodev, chaos ensues and Bhoodev decides to teach Singh Saab a lesson by fixing him up in a false case. After spending a few years in jail, Singh Saab returns home and decides to make things right – not with revenge, but with remorse, love and kindness. And therein lies the novelty of this mass action drama film.

Singh Saab The Great Movie Review

Screenplay and Direction: Anil Sharma and his co-writer Shaktimaan (yes, that’s his name) try to write a new massy template, without resorting to age old theatrics of a good guy confronting a bad guy, bashing him up and eventually emerging victorious. Their different approach to storytelling is both an advantage and a disadvantage for the film’s tenure. The overtly simplistic way of giving out the message of goodness doesn’t always work as it was meant to. The action and drama element is also in low doses, which is unexpected, since most of the people who will contribute to the opening weekend figures will be expecting another Gadar. Also, Singh Saab The Great stretches on for a bit too long towards the end.

The technical aspects of Singh Saab The Great are mostly in sync with the genre and nature of the film. The editing is a little lazy and the film should have been trimmed down by at least 15-20 minutes. The production design, however reminds us of the Punjabi hinterlands. The action set-pieces are deftly choreographed. The music of the film doesn’t work except for the title song which you will find yourself humming at the end of the film.

Acting: Sunny Deol is great as Singh Saab. He performs the role of a sincere, upright collector with a twinkle of sincerity in his eyes and an extra loaded punch of honesty in his hands. The role is tailor made for Sunny Paaji and he does full justice to both the film and to the role. The main antagonist Bhoodev is played by none other than Prakash Raj. The fact that he is getting typecast, reduces the impact of his performance. Amrita Rao is okay and the romantic lead Urvashi Rautala is badly miscast.

Conclusion and Box Office: Overall, Singh Saab The Great, largely delivers on the promises of a good action filled drama. It is loaded with emotions, action (even though not quite as much), and even a bit of romance and social service. If you are on a lookout for a light weight film which doesn’t weigh heavily on your brains then give it a watch. Box office wise, Singh Saab The Great will take a decent opening because of Sunny Deol’s stardom in the north. But due to the continuous flow of masala films in the last few months, I don’t see Singh Saab The Great reaching the heights of Gadar, or even Apne.

Positives:

• Sunny Deol’s performance
• Novel twist to the masala genre
• Action set-pieces
• The hummable title song

Negatives:

• The overstretched duration
• The monotonous villain

Rating: An extra star for Sunny Deol, his fans shouldn’t miss this!