'Singh is Bliing' review: Watch it if you've waited long enough for Akshay to play a Sardar again

Film: Singh is Bliing 

Directed by Prabhudeva

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Lata Dutta, Kay Kay Menon

Rating - **1/2 (Two and half stars)

What's it about 
Singh is Bliing is a typical Prabhudeva outing with better production values and an inspired performance by Lara Dutta. If you have followed the choreographer turned directors work then you know what to expect. Also with Akshay Kumar playing a bumbling sardar Raftaar Singh there isn't much of a scope for innovation. However, on the bright side the story about a simpleton from Punjab whose buffoonery provides ample humour and chuckles keeps the tepid plot from crumbling under the weight of its cramped up cast. Amy Jackson plays Sara, the kick boxing athletic mean girl who sports a bikini with as ease as she breaks the bones of an eve teasing goon. The plot oscillates on one important point which is these two characters are lost in translation and can't understand each others dialects. Enter Lara Dutta, an interpreter who is perhaps the best written and executed character in the film. Kay Kay Menon plays another caricature of himself rolling his eyes and mouthing strange lines like "I love it". The story revolves around Sara's hunt to find her long lost mother and Raftaar's attempt to help her along the way. 

What's hot 
If you enjoy slapstick, with those funny noises that happen in the background during a comic scene then SIB has plenty to offer. Akshay Kumar is in top form and makes Raftaar endearing without making him seem boring or over the top. He's clearly in familiar territory and loving every bit of it. His scene with the South African lion in the first half will definitely get the kids excited. Locales are beautiful and the production value is clearly a notch up than what've seen in recent times. Amy suffers from the parameters of restraining her act to either looking mean or  feeling sad, but shines the most in the action scenes. She clearly has the physique and on screen persona to do some convincing fight stunts. But the show stealer in the film is Lara Dutta who is a refreshing choice to play the cartoonish interpreter who has shades of Lucille Ball (from the I Love Lucy show). Her scenes with Akshay and Amy are the best written moments in the film and there is no doubt that she's clearly enjoying her time doing comedy. Songs are catchy, especially the Aja Maahi number. 

What's not 
Prabhudeva sort of rehashes and repackages what he's done before. We have come to predict and anticipate what to expect from his stable, and that doesn't bode well for the director. Singh is Bliing might be set in the North and travels all over the world (Romania, South Africa, Goa), yet it has that stamp of a loud south Indian film that relies more on the theatrics than actual material. Also the pace dampens in the second half  and the climax could have easily been trimmed by 20 odd minutes. Amy's change of heart on finally finding her mother and then reconciling with her in the climax is utterly unconvincing. We are to believe that after all these years when she finally sees her mom, there is no attempt to have a dialogue with her ? Also the part where buffalos graze with human voice overs had no relevance to either the plot or where the story was going. Kay Kay Menon's bad guy act is obnoxious. If we are to dread him then the fear comes from the fact that this actor has made zero attempt to put any life in his shoddy character. 

What to do 
Singh is Bliing has some genuinely funny moments and Lara Dutta brings a certain freshness to the film. Watch it if you've waited long enough for Akshay to play a Sardar again.