SINGH IS KINNG
ENTERTAINMENT BOLLYWOOD – KINGSIZE
by Vishal Verma
Banner: Studio 18 with Blockbuster Movie Entertainers
Genre: Bollywood Masala
Target Audience: North Indians & NRI’s
Shooting Locations (City & Country): India, Australia & Egypt.
Producer: Vipul Shah
Director: Anees Bazmee
Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Neha Dhupia, Javed Jaffrey, Ranvir Shorey, Kamal Chopra, Om Puri, Sudhanshu Pandey, Sonu Sood, Kirron Kher, Yashpal Sharma, Manoj Pahwa, & Snoop Dogg .
Cinematography: Ben Nott& Sanjay F Gupta
Art: Adam Head
Sound: Parikshit Lalwani
Story / Writer: Anees Bazmee
Editor: Amitabh Shukla & Prashant Singh Rathod
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Lyricist: Mayur Puri
Singers: Snoop Dogg, Akshay Kumar, Labh Jajua, Suzi Q, Hard Kaur, Neeraj Shridhar, Mika Singh, Ashiesh Pandit, Daler Mehndi, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shreya Ghosal & Style Bhai
Distributors: Indian Films
Media Consultant: Spice
Technical Analysis
Vow! Impressive indeed! This true blue paisa vassol bollywood entertainer apart from being a ‘welcome’ addition to the list of blockbusters is also a fitting example of how to package and distribute a winner on paper & then in fact make the writing obvious for the records by getting the maximum within the first 3 days itself.
So what if it’s doesn,t offer any novelty in the story , so what if it dosen’t provide any fodder of thoughts to the sensible cinemawalas, so what if it proclaims buffoonery.
We don’t expect ‘Cinemaparadiso’s’ or ‘Life is Beautiful’ or ‘Megha Dhaka Tara’, or Pyassa’ from Anees Bazmee, we expect ‘No entry’ of logic, logistics & thinking caps when we are ‘welcome’ in the auditorium and are made to feel ‘happy’ – like the main protagonist in the film who does everything to give your money’s worth while entertaining & thus serving the prime demand of the viewer.
Producer Vipul Shah drops the director’s cap this time and allows Anees & Akshay to serve the purpose of this years most eagerly waited and hyped film.
So is ‘Singh is Kinng’ worth the wait and hype.
The answer is Yes with a capital ‘Y’.
It has all the ingredients of a mouth watering Punjabi delicacy ‘Chole Bathure’ - A reigning superstar Akshay Kumar in total command, with his hit jodi – the ravishing Katrina chipping in with adequate support, fantastic production values, superb foreign locations captured by Ben Nott& Sanjay F Gupta , hit music by Pritam (the title song is awesome and should become a rage amongst Punjabi’s especially amongst the NRI’s) , comedy, action, emotion, and not to forget the entire star cast who give noteworthy performances and provide each and every spice to make this ‘chole bathure’ enjoyable.
There are flaws like Anees & Suresh have somewhat not been able to maintain the tempo and the proceedings in their writings and the end result is not as entertaining as Aneees No Entry’ or ‘Welcome’ but still it’s a paisa vassol stuff for those who have enjoyed his previous two flicks.
The story
It’s a routine simple story of a kind hearted lovable village bumpkin falling for an upgraded Australian & how he wins her over which is told in an entertaining manner without minding the logics & keeping the sole purpose of entertainment as its core intention.
Lakhan Singh aka Lucky (Sonu Sood) is the 'king' of the Australian underworld accompanied by his associates (played by Javed Jaffrey, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma, Kamal Chopra and Sudhanshu Pande & they all do a fantastic job .) Far away, in a small village in Punjab, where Lucky was born, there exists someone more notorious than him - Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar). The village is fed up of his magnanimity, which has resulted in a number of hilariously disastrous situations. Out of desperation, they decide to send him on a long trip (that will keep him out of the village for a while!) to bring Lucky back to Punjab, as his despicable deeds were maligning their image in Australia.
The happy-go-lucky bumpkin, taking his mission a bit too seriously, embarks on his journey accompanied by his friend, Tony Singh (Om Puri- suave as ever), who hates Happy for dragging him into it.
The high point of his journey is his chance meeting with Sonia (Katrina Kaif- ravishing) with whom he falls in love, but upon reaching his destination, things take a precarious turn as he runs into a series of comic misadventures, leaving him penniless. He is fortunate to find warmth and affection in an elderly lady (Kirron Kher- proves her preeminence in acting once again) who helps him meet Lucky.
In a strange turn of events, an attempt on Lucky's life is foiled by a well-intentioned Happy who fights off the attackers by risking his own life. Following the hilarious altercation, Lucky lands up in hospital paralyzed, and Happy, unexpectedly, finds the tables turned on him when he is expected to assume the role of the new 'kinng'!
The series of chaos, shocks and comic misunderstandings that ensue eventually result in redemption and an accidental wedding!
All the above proceeding take not more then 2 hrs and 10 minutes which could have been 115 min. max. with more gripping moments
Promotion
The movie is brilliantly packaged for North Indian’s, Punjabi NRI’s, Akshy Fans all over the globe & its been well promoted to them.
The inclusion of the hip hop sensation Snoop Dogg in the promos should turn out to be a masterstroke in overseas.
Media Awareness by Spice has been up to mark.
Business Analysis
Balle Balle, its bhangra time at the theatres near you.
The biggest release in the history of bollywood cinema (1800 prints worldwide, 425 digital prints, more and more shows in multiple screens, Cinemax has set a record of having 28 shows of this film), the hype, the Punjabi feel, Akshay in top form with his lucky charm Katrina, hit music, prudent promotion & no competition will see the movie doing roaring business in Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai, & in Overseas, especially in Canada. Unfortunately the audience in south & east will be disappointed cause it lacks in the entertainment quotient for them, and that can hamper the movies overall standing at the B.O.
But definitely it’s a winner elsewhere be it a single or a multiple screen theatre, the only question is how much will it earn and what will be the margin.