'Sardaar Gabbar Singh' Review: An action fest for Pawan Kalyan fans

Film: Sardaar Gabbar Singh
Director: K S Ravindra
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Kajal Aggarwal, Brahmanandam, Sharad Kelkar, Ali, 

What it's about:

This movie comes two years after Pawan Kalyan’s Attarintiki Daredi which was a big hit. The story and screenplay are written by Power Star Pawan Kalyan in this movie directed by K S Ravindra. The 44-year-old star has written the story for his film after more than 10 years. A sequel to his Gabbar Singh that came out in 2012, Sardaar Gabbar Singh tries to outdo the film in every way possible. Pawan Kalyan plays Sardaar Gabbar Singh, a police officer, who gets transferred to Rattanpur, Madhya Pradesh, near the AP border. He is told by his senior officer that there are problems here and he needs to solve them. When he arrives he finds it is a lawless land ruled by Bhairo Singh (Sharad Kelkar) and his goons. There is also a palace and royalty who live there but he doesn’t know who. Meanwhile, Sardaar bumps into Arshi (Kajal Aggarwal) one day and happens to fall for her. Sardaar and Gabbar Singh develop an enmity but they also fancy the same woman. So how does Gabbar Singh get rid of the bad elements in the village? And what happens to his romance with Arshi? Does he win the girl?

What’s good:

This movie which has been made on a budget of Rs 70 crore has everything possible for a Pawan Kalyan fan. Sardaar Gabbar Singh is a man who has so many skills that it is mind-boggling – he’s a mean gunslinger, swordsman, horse rider, bike rider, martial arts specialist, singer and dancer. And he can also do all these things in tandem. What Pawan Kalyan has tried to do is package everything possible in this film – action (75%), comedy, dance, revenge, fight, romance, drama and politics too. In the film, some of the dialogues sound like what a politician would say when he’s out campaigning. 

Sardaar is the good man who has come to save the people from the baddies and the village people rally behind him. The movie is able to showcase all these facets of Sardaar ample times because it’s shot like a Western film. In fact, Rattanpur is a replica of those towns you find in those old Clint Eastwood Westerns. The fights that take place are similar to those Westerns too because Gabbar carries numerous guns and when the men there get into a fight, it’s a full-on shotgun fest. Oh yes, there is a bar too with women and Raai Laxmi comes in at this point to do an item number with Sardaar.

Sharad Kelkar has just one expression for most of his screen time but then he is a baddie in a Western so we can't expect more.  Kajal Aggarwal as Arshi, the princess, suits the role well - she wears some beautiful outfits, appears coy and shows the right amount of emotions. Brahmanandam and Ali provide comic relief along with a host of others. As for the music, Devi Sri Prasad’s loud BGM tries to make every step the actor takes larger than the screen and some of the songs are clearly meant for the masses/ fans. Pawan Kalyan goes a step further and uses some of his older brother Chiranjeevi’s popular songs as well in one sequence. 

What’s not:

The Telugu star has tried to come up with something engaging and entertaining for the audience and the film does have its moments. The story offers nothing new to the viewer and with a running time of 164 minutes, it is a tad too long. Some of the scenes in the film can actually be edited out because they don’t add to the story. Since the movie has so many characters, the effort of fitting them all into the story has actually made the script go haywire. The movie relies heavily on action with other elements thrown in and sitting through it for 163 minutes does get trying.

What to do: It may be Pawan Kalyan’s take on the classic Sholay but this movie is only for Pawan Kalyan fans.

Rating: **1/2