A Bit Incendiary, a Lot of fizz

Like the giant explosions in the second half of the movie, there are moments in Dabangg that are – well – explosive firsts in Hindi cinema in the action genre. What is not quite as catchy is the storyline, which gets caught in an uncertain zone between being the oh-so-familiar Bollywood melodrama, and being a loose vehicle for some over-the-top action sequences. With one-man action capers reminiscent of the likes of Desperado and Shoot ‘em Up, and liberal doses of inspiration from several other Hollywood flicks, this movie is on the one hand quite enough to be a popular hit, but could have gone much further in the over-the-top action genre. And then there is the issue of the never-ending careers of our Bollywood stars and whether it would have been really difficult to find a better lead than Salman Khan. In any case, watch this movie for the action, but you will not miss much if you snooze off whatever’s in between

10/20