Movie review: Dabangg 2- Salman returns as Kung Fu Pandey

Director : Arbaaz KhanMusic : Sajid-WajidLyrics : Sameer, Jalees Sherwani, Sajid-Wajid, Asraf Ali and Irfan KamalStarring : Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan, Mahie Gill, Vinod Khanna and Prakash RajStars- 2.5In the middle of the year we witnessed Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger one of the decent raw action flicks delivered in the recent past. The other flick presented was Akshay Kumar's ‘Rowdy Rathore' which every spectator admired keeping aside his last week's release ‘Khiladi 786' being silly in its action. The Diwali release ‘Son of Sardar' had some non-digestible actions but we tend to enjoy all these by just keeping our brains aside. With the year coming to a close , the bindas Robin Hood is once again back to flush off the baddies in town in his own style and when we watched we got what we expected. The flying high action, punching with a wind sequences, holding up the culprit and throwing him down the earth. Definitely enjoyable. Dabangg 2 is the sequel but is similar in many aspects. Right from action till the music composition. The flick begins from where it left. Chulbul Pandey played by Salman Khan married to Rajjo, depicted by Sonakshi Sinha, in first instalment is now transferred from Laalganj to Bajariya thana in Kanpur. He is now an Inspector-in-charge here carrying forward the same values he had before. Without wasting any time Pandeji comes hard over criminals in the city. And talking of the same values, Pandeji robs the rich and helps the poor in the sequel too. His wise and dutiful attitude raises Baccha Bhaiya's eyebrows. Yes, the criminal turned politician Bacccha Bhaiya, very well played by Prakash Raj, is the bad guy who eyes the forthcoming election but has 'n' numbers of black money making businesses.Now will the fearless Chulbul Pandey be able to stop this politician-cum-mafia? that's how the story further deals with. The story is not new as it's a mere characterization which makes some points. The Kanpur flavour of UP in the flick is not clearly depicted. The action sequence as already told doesn't need any brains, nor does the story, as there are numerous flaws like the DSP having Pizza in his cabin in police station and creating his own mimic around. Niketan just because of some bloodsheds on his shirt takes it off and demonstrate his muscles. But above all, Director, producer and actor Arbaaz Khan, to be honest, is not a bad replacement for Abhinav Kashyap. While we mark him for his act, he has done a convincing job as a director too. But he could have worked more on the script rather than just sticking to a similar story. Now coming to Salman Khan. Well Dabanng was known for him and in no doubt the sequel will also be remembered for Chulbul Pandey. With twisted conversation and extremely great comic timing, Salman again shines on the screen. We all have seen earlier that his aggression speaks a lot and let me mention, you will be serious when Pandeji comes in action. There is one scene before interval where Salman in just a flip of an eye kills down Genda, the younger brother of baccha Bhaiya. The scene just moves you for a moment. His style of romancing Rajjo is also enjoyable. Sonakshi Sinha as Mrs. Pandeji is somewhat convincing in this flick as compared to so many other flicks she worked in earlier this year. Her jodi with Salman looks good on screen.The bad guy replacement for Sonu Sood, is Prakash Raj, though we know he is not muscular like him, but like ‘Wanted' and ‘Singham' he performs well in his negative act. He has two younger brothers. Firstly Chunni played Niketan Dheer. In real terms he is the one who tries to stand up to Sonu Sood's physique but again friends Sonu is still irreplaceable, while the other brother is Genda played by Deepak Dobriyal. Deepak needs a special mention over here. We have seen him earlier as a psycho lover in “Not a love story”. In this flick he is a spoiled, short-tempered guy. In the limited space that he got, he definitely proved his skills. He fears no one and even doesn't hesitate to give an open challenge to Chulbul Pandey in a marriage ceremony.The comparison is being made and it has to be made for the music. The music director duo Sajid-Wajid has brought in the same flavours from Dabangg. From Muni Badnaam to ‘Fevicol' track, from Tere mast-mast do nain to ‘Dagabaaz naina' from ‘Humka peeni hai' to ‘Pandej ji', you won't be able to stop comparing each other. But these complement the flick and look great on big screens. Not to forget Kareena Kapoor in Fevicol and Malaika's special appearance in Pandeji track. It's a treat to watch them out, especially Kareena grooving in desi style, but the music won't be remembered for long.Though you might not love this sequel more than you loved the former one but yet it's enjoyable. Arbaaz carries it with much responsibility and makes it fit for a perfect X'mas and New Year holiday. I'll go with 2.5 stars for this completely masala entertainment. Don't expect the same magic of Dabangg; just enter the theatres for bindass Chulbul Pandey who is now Kung Fu Pandey. It's a flick for every one---- family, friends, couple and even you can go out alone.