| Singh Is Kinng Posted: Three and a half stars for this one.
Okay, SINGH IS KINNG is pretty silly, but tubloads of fun. It's mostly a comedy but with several action sequences thrown in. And, naturally, a romantic subplot creeps in.
In the Punjab region there sits a tiny village, in which dwells the well-meaning but ridiculously accident-prone Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar). When Happy's most recent escapade - in which he tries to capture a runaway chicken - ends up wrecking half the village, the outraged villagers concoct a scheme to get him out of their hair. The scheme pays off as it results in Happy volunteering to go to Australia to fetch back the notorious gangster Lucky Singh, who hails from this same village and is causing it massive levels of shame with his illegal exploits. So off Happy goes.
Except that a ticket mishap has him making a brief stopover in Egypt, where he meets and falls for the gorgeous law student Sonia (Katrina Kaif). Finally in Australia, Happy finds himself getting the brush off from Lucky, who'd rather stay in Australia and keep on living it up as a powerful gangster. But when Lucky is paralyzed (in a hilarious sequence), Happy is, sort of, elected as the new don, the new king of the Australian underworld. So, now, Singh is Kinng.
Yes, the plot is absurd and over-the-top. The characters are full-on stereotypes. And if you haven't seen a lot of Bollywood films, this one might make you groan quite vigorously. One constant in Bollywood is the big coincidence, and that's here, too. I don't think it's much of a shocker when you find out that the girl Happy meets and falls for in Egypt turns out to be the daughter of the kindly old woman who befriends him in Australia.... And following that age-old Bollywood story device, of course, the daughter is already engaged.
Speaking of that old woman, the plot takes time to borrow a page from Frank Capra's Lady for a Day. Seems that, once upon a time, the old woman was very rich but since then has fallen on tough times. Her daughter, Sonia, is returning from her time abroad, expecting to still be rich. Happy Singh, as the new and wealthy crime lord, decides to have himself and his gang pose as the old woman's household servants. He also lets her pass off his opulent mansion as her own.
Now, can Happy not only pull off this masquerade, but also rehabilitate his incorrigible henchmen? And can he get the girl? By the way, these questions are purely rhetorical, since the answers are pretty much no-brainers.
This movie ended up ruling the box offices in India, and it's largely because of Akshay Kumar, who is right up there now amongst Bollywood's current royalty. Akshay has by now proven that he can cover both dramatic and comedic roles. He's amusing here as Happy, but then convincingly cool and heroic when the story calls for it. Happy Singh is reminiscent of Akshay's backwoods character in Namastey London DVD. And a bit like in NAMASTEY LONDON, there are moments here in which Akshay indulges in wistful glances at Katrina. SINGH IS KINNG is Akshay's fourth film with Katrina Kaif, and, by now, this teaming is a proven recipe for box office success. NAMASTEY LONDON is what put Katrina on the Bollywood map and also the film which shows off her best acting performance. Here, her acting is okay and, as usual, she looks stunning. But I wish there were more depth to her film character.
SINGH IS KINNG offers up harmless, exuberant entertainment, zany shenanigans, and lavish musical numbers. And lots of bright, sunny colors. The end credits showcase the "Singh Is Kinng" track, with this one featuring Snoop Dogg. It's worth it just to see Akshay and Snoop side by side. By the way, just about every song in the soundtrack is good and catchy, but my favorite has to be the very smooth "Bas Ek Kinng."
There are parts which will make you smile. I liked everything involving "Saint Divine Finger" (the nickname of the ex-mob boss Lucky, after he became paralyzed). Those familiar with Bollywood will get a kick out of one particular sequence, in which crooks masked as famous Bollywood actors kidnap one particularly annoying character. Of course, as mentioned, there are parts which will probably make you groan. Me, I didn't care too much for the hen-chasing scene or any of the scenes with the brother who's nearly blind and deaf in one ear. Like I said, much of this is silly. But Akshay makes it fun, and I enjoy ogling Katrina Kaif.
What I have is the fancy "Kinng's Edition" 2-disc dvd package. It comes with six "Singh Is Kinng" postcards, a "Singh Is Kinng" decal, and some kind of green bauble. Disc 1 has the feature film. Disc 2 has the following: the "Making of the Movie" segment (with cast interviews, partly in English); "Making of the Music" (but with barely a mention of Snoop); the title track (featuring Snoop Dogg), the tight "Bas Ek Kinng" remix, the full "Teri Ore" song, "Kinng in Toronto" - a live promo segment in Toronto, with appearances by Akshay and RDB (the great British bhangra group who wrote and helped perform "Singh Is Kinng"); and the theatrical trailer. Not half bad for bonus stuff (but I suspect the green bauble is worthless). |
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