(Starring Salman Khan, sonakshi sinha, Kichcha Sudeepa, SDaiee m Manjrekar, arbaaz Directed by : Prabhu Deva)
Almost a decade after the first instalment of the Dabangg franchise hit the screen, Dabangg 3 ia a weak rehearse of its earlier movies, the same revenge saga that has been done and dusted umpteenth times in Indian celluloid. This time, it’s the worst of them all. The film showcases the star’s all-too-rotten capabilities as a badass cop who now is posted as a SP in a nondescript town in Northern India and his confrontation with the local goon Bali Singh (Kichcha Sudeepa).
Credited with writing the story and screenplay of the movie (remember Suryavanshi and Veer), the film is a prequel of sorts of the first two films of the franchise, which tells us how a simple villager got transformed to Chulbul @ Robinhood pandey, and the events thereafter. A treatment straight out of the nineties, Dabangg 3 is a sad shadow of the freshness the first film offered to us.
There are ample clap-worthy and whistle moments in the film for Salman Khan fans to lap up. Yes, he takes off his shirt, flaunts his well-toned, perfectly-greased body and beats up the goons to pulp. The action is raw and solid, however, most action scenes are unreasonably stretched. While the story is clearly predictable, in this one again, Salman’s star power, swag and style remain intact. There is an attempt to infuse comedy in the story, but it seems rather forced. The storyline is not cohesive and the narrative is loosely strung together.
On the whole Dabangg 3 is a predictable revenge saga which capitalises on the star power of Salman Khan. At the box office, it has enough masala for Salman Khan fans which will resulted in terrific opening weekend, but sadly it heralds the death of the so much loved character of Chulbul Pandey which endeared the masses and classes alike. I’m going with two out of five for Dabangg 3. Watch it if you are a die-hard fan of Chulbul Pandey, otherwise give it a miss. You won’t regret it.