Simmba marks a first for numerous reasons:
It’s the foremost collaboration between Karan Johar and Rohit Shetty, the novel pairing of Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan and Sara’s first time working with Karan and Rohit.
The team have been on a promotional spree and the song ‘Aankh Marey’ has gone viral… So there seems to be a good/confident buzz.
Simmba (Ranveer Singh) is an orphan from Shivgadh from where our beloved Singham (Ajay Devgn) was born and raised.
Contrary to the philosophies of Singham, Simmba believes that a Corrupt Officer’s life is an ideal life which inspires him to become one.
While Simmba enjoys all the perks of being an immoral and unethical Police Officer, a twist in the tale transforms him and forces him to choose the righteous path.
Read on to find out our opinion on the movie!
How relevant is the story?
Like every Rohit Shetty film, there is the standard elements that one seeks: the humour, heavy dialogues and full-throttle action sequences… Only this time, there are no flying cars.
The movie seems to fuse aspects of films like Dabangg, Singham and Rowdy Rathore so the story itself seems out-dated.
In the movie, we see the pivotal character fighting against rape, a heinous crime which, as the movie points out, is still rampant in India.
The well-intention of Simmba is visible.
We can see that the team have endeavoured to make a film which entertains as well as educating the audience.
However, in maintaining that balance between entertainment and education, the overall crux seems somewhat regressive.
Sure, there is a part where we see women fight back against the evil men, but this sequence is short-lived when that itself should’ve set the entire premise for the movie.
Hindi cinema has witnessed some excellent female cops, like Rani Mukerji as Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani.
One wonders that in the day and age of strong feminism, why is it always the butch, moustached and bad-turned-good cops defending female honour?
Ranveer Singh & Other Performances
The strongest point about Simmba is Ranveer Singh as he is dynamite who explodes on celluloid.
Unlike other Bollywood heroes, he doesn’t go overboard in displaying his machismo and nor does he go overboard with his chivalrous act. He is very consistent.
Sara Ali Khan wowed us with her vivacious and impressive performance in Kedarnath.
Though she looks gorgeous in this Rohit Shetty movie, she does not get much to do.
It is sad that an incredible talent like Sara gets a role which is reduced to a mere interest – that too within a film which is also about female empowerment!
Siddharth Jadhav leaves an impact as the police officer, Santosh Tavde.
We have been accustomed to seeing him do comic roles, but it’s refreshing to view him do a serious character.
Sonu Sood is his usual best as Durva Ranade, a dreaded gangster.
It almost seems like a mature and grown-up version of character Chedi Singh.
Ashwini Kalsekar essays Judge Smita Palukar her character is formidable and whilst she is seen briefly, she leaves an impact.
We needed more characters like Smita Palukar in this film, which sadly, we do not get.
What’s bad?
Unfortunately, there are a few direction flaws. Simmba takes a lift from a guy on a bike and keeps the keys but in the next scene, the guy just drives away.
Typical Hindi film cliches such as directly confronting the villain and warning them “I’m going to the cops” as well as losing the evidence quite conveniently.
Moreover, we see Singham (Ajay Devgn) heroically enter a place to help Simmba. It is unclear as to how he knew where the cop was. Some clarity on this would’ve made the narrative more consistent.
It is errors of this nature that gives Simmba the feeling of outdatedness.
Bollywood has come such a long way and it’s quite a concern that we still have to witness these formulaic features.
Overall, it’s good to see that reputable production houses making movies like Simmba which positively represent cops in fighting heinous crimes such as rape.
Whilst it would’ve been appreciated is a strong female cop fighting like Simmba, one hopes that this film will evoke a change within society.
(3/5 stars)
[…] and Singh have previously collaborated on the blockbuster film Simmba and the upcoming directorial Sooryavanshi, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus […]