Bajirao Singham changed the whole city, but his style remained unchanged. Rohit Shetty’s 2011 film “Singam” made many viewers take a different look at the notorious Indian cinema, which previously seemed more like an annoying parody than an independent art form. The ambitious director gave us a meeting with the incorruptible inspector Bajirao Singham, who preached his own legislative philosophy, in which there was no room for compromise. Fearless policeman from the outback performed by the magnificent Ajay Devgan subtly felt the situation, knew when a criminal can be released with a pure heart, and when he needs to shoot a bullet between his eyes. As you know, India can hardly be called a model of the legislative order, and the filmmakers tried to pull out all the problems of society, giving them a tough, spectacular rebuff, which from a certain point of view can be counted as a motivation to act. Of course, it was impossible to change the corrupt, bureaucratic system by Singham alone, and yet the hero of Ajay Devgan gained a kind of cult status both on the banks of the Ganges and in Western countries, which revealed the beauty of modern Indian cinema. At the same time, Rohit Shetty did not abandon the favorite techniques of the corporate grotesque from Bollywood, including songs, dances, fantastic acrobatics and completely unrealistic tricks that emphasize the power of the main character, framing them in a digestible, ironic form that allows you to perceive what is happening with amazing ease, which does not cause absolutely any alienation. By all accounts, the successful film simply could not remain the only one of its kind, and therefore Shetty, Devgan and the company considered it useful to return to the popular story three years after the release of the original. “Singam 2”, or “The Return of Singham”, naturally continued to develop the heroic biography of Inspector Bajirao, partially cutting ties with the first part and very radically changing the serene tone of the narrative to serious police drama, excluding clowning, musical numbers and artistic exaggerations.
Angels and Demons
The action of the sequel is transferred from the ever sunny state of Goa to one of the most densely populated metropolises in India, Mumbai. The big city gives people almost unlimited opportunities, which everyone tries to use in their own way. Sage gray-haired politician Guruji (Anupam Kher) is preparing to go to the next election together with a renewed team of associates, consisting mainly of people of the younger generation, trying to change the stagnant foundations of his native land, drowning in impunity, corruption and circular hand of the powerful. Unlike dishonest competitors who build a reputation on hundreds of corpses, Guruji fights against the system to his last breath, perfectly realizing that sooner or later he can be overtaken by the retribution of dissenters who are used to solving problems with the help of a kidney of money and a gun to his head. In opposition to Guruji, a spiritual leader, one of the most revered preachers of India, Babaji (Amol Gupta) was put up. Incendiary sermons and successful acquaintances in the highest administrative circles allowed Babaji to become an influential figure in the political environment, which he does not disdain to use. Being in the status of a guru does not prevent Babaji from building intrigues designed to increase his influence, and as a result, his well-being. The henchmen of the preacher without a shadow of embarrassment send to the next world all the undesirables, and at a certain moment the incorruptible Guruji becomes in the ranks of Babaji’s opponents, perhaps India’s last chance at rebirth.
47 thousand lion hearts
After edifying and brutally dealing with the dishonest criminal businessman Jacant Shikre, Bajirao Singham receives a well-deserved promotion and becomes deputy chief inspector of Mumbai. With an innumerable army of henchmen and impressive powers at his disposal, Singham is still himself, not abandoning even the smallest cases, by definition unworthy of the attention of a high-ranking police officer. When our hero sees hooligan students, he does not shift the duties of the defender of order to the henchmen, because the law is the same for everyone, including both violators and police officers. Hundreds of crimes occur on the streets of Mumbai every day, but with the arrival of Singhama, the situation is slowly but surely moving forward. And to the great misfortune of some local criminals, for some reason they miscalculated the equation, missing out on such an impressive magnitude as Singhama. The notorious guru Babaji, who challenged the idealist Guruji, automatically became a traitor to the law, and thus to Singhama. Threats, attacks from the shadows, attempts to settle the conflict with money are nothing compared to the honor of the uniform. The lion heart of the province will never cool, because it burns to the ground, to the very end. Bajirao Singham goes hunting again and there is no doubt that his victim has only to count the last days.
Developing the sequel to “Singama” Rohit Shetty primarily focused on the foreign audience, favorably received Inspector Bajirao and allowed him to the big screens. Long gone are those days when movies were made solely for the sake of art. Thus, multi-million investments in the production of a particular picture should necessarily be covered by a larger amount, allowing to further develop the entertainment business on the scale of a non-stop conveyor. In this regard, Rohit Shetty abandoned some of the successful moments of the original, linking what is happening on the screen to Indian culture, making “The Return of Singham” a democratic spectacle, painfully reminiscent of diligent Hollywood cinema, which sometimes has the property of terribly annoying. For the entire considerable timekeeping of the film, there is only one musical sketch that does not cause any special emotions, except the realization that the director is trying to add a couple of additional minutes to the tape. Shetty’s callous selection was also not avoided by numerous jokes, which are one of the strongest sides of the original. No, of course, “The Return of Singham” at the right moment tries to defuse the situation, returning to the narrative a pinch of clowning, but unlike the “Jacant Shikre case”, the investigation in Mumbai looks like a frowning, dramatic spectacle, trying to artificially pull a fake smile on its appearance.
A radical change in the mood of the sequel is able to disappoint fans of the first part, but as an independent work, “The Return of Singam” looks confident and quite frolic. The film does not have a special detective intrigue, since the name of the criminal becomes known literally from the first minutes, but this does not mean that the viewer will not be interested in watching Bajirao Singham approach the enemy, crushing him with a powerful blow that breaks both the Constitution and laws, and the physiognomy of presumptuous criminals. To add realism to the film, the director reduces the number of unimaginable tricks for which Indian cinema is so famous, building action scenes according to the patterns of mass cinema, which in recent years has been experiencing a craving for believability. And this circumstance, as well as not always organic attempts to joke, reduces the degree of admiration for “The Return of Singam”. In an attempt to keep up with greater fame, Rohit Shetty personally destroyed a significant share of the charm of the charming franchise. And if not for the efforts of the always inimitable Ajay Devgan, the semantic message of the film would drown under the failed ambitions of its creator.
In the end, I want to say that “The Return of Singham” despite dubious attempts to please everyone, it is still worthy of being read. It’s not a perfect sequel, but it’s done.
7 out of 10