The writing is terrible. It can’t decide whether to devote time to Chulbul Pandey’s “origins story” or focus on the present day, with a new villain.
Spoilers ahead…
The difference between a masala movie and a “mass” movie is a millimetre-thin line in the sand, but one way to gauge these two flavours of popular (populist?) filmmaking is to watch Dabangg and its two sequels. The former, directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap, was two films for the price of one: a deliciously cheesy, star-centric potboiler, plus a delicately textured relationship drama involving not just the wronged protagonist avenging his misfortunes, but also his stern stepfather, a mother torn between love for her first-born and loyalty to her second husband, a heroine determined to remain unmarried because of her father’s alcoholism, and most touchingly, her polio-stricken brother. In one of the film’s best exchanges, the pencil-moustached Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan) sees his future brother-in-law’s inward-turned foot and asks, in that characteristically casual style, “Do boond nahin pilayi?” The reply: “Baap ko peene se fursat nahin mili.”
You won’t find a single line of this class of dialogue-baazi – at once punchy and poignant – in the sequels. You won’t find the family playing as much of a part in the protagonist’s journey, which is, now, not so much about the character as the actor. Dabangg was about Salman Khan playing Chulbul Pandey with knowing winks to his stardom. The sequels are about Chulbul Pandey being turned into a star vehicle (and nothing but) for Salman Khan: hence, “mass”. Now, this type of film, too, can be hugely entertaining – but then, you need a strong villain with a strong motivation, good songs that are used well, and clever referencing of the earlier films. (You want to be reminded of the old, but you also want the film to be as new as it possibly can.)
But none of this was found in Dabangg 2, and none of it is there in Dabangg 3, either. This installment, directed by Prabhu Deva, has a terrific idea at its centre: Why not make an “origins story” for this super cop! Why not explain how he got his name, and how that signature style statement – sunglasses hung from the back of the shirt collar – came about! Why not show his first relationship (the character is played by Saiee Manjrekar)! Why not show how Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) was a part of Chulbul Pandey’s life even before he met her! (In the hands of a good writer, what a great set of masala scenes this could have become!) Why not show who Chulbul stole his amazing “Hum tum mein itne ched karenge…” zinger from!
But the writing is terrible, and it can’t decide whether to devote time to this origins story or focus on the present day, with a new villain in Bali (Kichcha Sudeepa). He gets an intriguing start, reminiscent of serial-killer thrillers like Sigappu Rojakkal / Red Rose. He buries women in his lawns and plants flowers to mark their graves. But this flourish goes nowhere. There’s another interesting thing about Bali – he had a run-in with Chulbul in the earlier timeline, too. But this, too, goes nowhere. You could yank Bali out of that story and the character wouldn’t have been any different. His arc simply says “I am bad and evil and terrible and horrible”. There’s no because…
There’s no because anywhere in Dabangg 3, no sense of cause and effect. Lines about women empowerment are dispensed like loose change to a traffic-signal beggar. I preferred the lighter scenes, which at least give the sense of watching a live-action cartoon. The one solid laugh I had was when a henchman begins to dance to the title song of Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin. It’s so absurd, it’s some kind of genius. Otherwise, all this film wants to do is refer to (supposedly) totemic moments from the earlier installments. The Munni song (now a Munna song). The shirtless climactic fight. The marriage-hall scene. (Now, it’s a comedy bit where someone feels someone else’s testicle and thinks it’s a gulab jamun.) The superb “Thappad se dar nahin lagta hai saab…” line that Rajjo utters in the first film. There, these words defined her character. Here, they’re reduced to a joke. That’s what the sequels have done, really. They’ve reduced the Dabangg universe to a joke.
Copyright ©2019 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Dhruv Krishna Goyal
December 23, 2019
Such an excellent read. I wanted to ask if you think that (most) films essentially lose the “masala” when the “star” overtakes the “character?” And, if one of the central things for these “star vehicles” to work best is to get that balance right between the two personas of the star?
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brangan
December 23, 2019
Dhruv Krishna Goyal: I think so. Because in a discussion today, we were talking about what a good masala movie RANGASTHALAM is — as opposed to a “mass” movie like TEMPER. In the former, the actor plays a character. In the latter, the character is essentially the things we associate with the actor.
Like DEEWAR is a great masala drama — Bachchan is not playing “himself”. He is playing Vijay. Like I said it’s a thin line in the sand because today, we know Bachchan so well that we can “see” Bachchan in Vijay. So this is not to say the star or actor “disappears” into the role in a “masala” movie.
But he is still following the arc of the character. He is not fooling around with the character. He takes it seriously.
DABANGG is the same. You see Salman in a different flavour than READY, which is more “mass”
These two trashy sequels are more about Salman-worship — and even as “mass” movies, they fail.
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Spandana Vaidyula
December 23, 2019
Sir, was this masala (Rangasthalam) v/s mass (Temper) discussion online? Could you share the thread?
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ravenus1
December 24, 2019
Haven’t seen D3, but totally with you on D2. Quoting from my own blog review:
Here’s a movie “inspired” by the its predecessor to a degree so discomfiting it seems to use pretty much the same screenplay, several returning characters, and near identical locations, only with the fun snipped out. Of course, there are a huge bunch of fools that equate every “masala” movie released as the same, and thus the so-called sequel is also a box-office superhit. But if anything it totally misses the point on what made Dabangg such a great entertainer.
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Santa
December 25, 2019
BR, the opening line of your review reminded me of Langda Tyaagi’s classic opening line from Omkara:
‘Bewakoof aur chutiye mein dhaage bhar ka farak hota hai’
🙂
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brangan
December 25, 2019
Santa: HAHAHAHAHA!
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badri
December 26, 2019
Spoilers
In the prequel scenes, Chulbul and his step dad are civil towards each other…In the first and second part, they cudnt stand each other…I was waiting for a moment in the prequel which would have made them the rivals as they how they were depicted in the first two dabanggs…nothing makes sense in this!!
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e221
December 26, 2019
I sometimes do feel if we really live in the age of “millennial” or Gen Alpha. How come Salman and Sharukh and to some extent Akshay kumar play these kind of roles for like 30 years and People are still ready pay money?. Same with Rajni or any moves that stars a 50 plus something. I wish that De-ageing tech does not evolve else we are all doomed for eternity. These Dadas just freeze the time and make 2020 as 1990. No Wonder Ticket sales are dropping and People are terrified to go to movies because of them.
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rnjbond
December 27, 2019
There’s an important warning at the beginning of Dabangg 3 that lets you know what you’re in for.
“Story by Salman Khan”
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Alex John
December 27, 2019
@e221 You’re right about it. Technology is definitely exciting, but I am scared this decade will remain notorious for starting to let it tamper with characterisation and plot.
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Drax
December 28, 2019
@e221: What world are you living in? Have you heard of Ayushman Khurana, Rajkumar Rao, Karthik Aryan, Vicky Kaushal, Aalia Bhat, Bhumi Padnekar, Kiara Advani … they are the new-age icons. They are on top of the food chain, not Rajnikanth. We millennials are ruling this country and this world. Some “influential” non-millennials exist just because we allow them to survive. We let them share natural resources with us only as long as we want to.
You wrote that people are scared of going to cinema. You cannot be more wrong. The last two years have been one of the most profitable years for Indian cinema. More and more people are thronging in to cinemas. This world only belongs to us Millennials. I don’t know what age group you belong to or what you think of God but you can be rest assured that if there’s any God for you to believe in, it’s Millennial(s). If you don’t believe in God, you better start praying to Millennials. Being a Millennial isn’t just being a part of another generation, it’s being a part of a revolution and a cult. If you are a millennial, then instead of living in fear, be proud and remember we are culturally, biologically and intellectually superior to non-Millennials and channel this angst towards non-Millennials.
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Drax
December 28, 2019
@e221: Don’t worry about the anti-ageing technology. It’s just a matter of a few years before every anti-ageing technology will be banned globally. Just remember, there are only two kinds of people in this world: Millennials and non-Millennials.
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Madan
December 28, 2019
This millennial v/s non millennial is a false dichotomy. The two top boomer tech gurus, Gates and Jobs, created technology that added to and enhanced our experience whereas a lot of Gen X/millennial creations have sowed the seeds for the discord that haunts today’s discourse. Another could have caused serious damage to medical diagnostics but was nipped in the bud by brave whistleblowers and one dogged journalist. Of course I am being extremely simplistic and could come up with a long list of terrible GI/boomer figures too, but then this versus narrative is simplistic to the core and mostly rubbish too. What’s the meaning of slogans like don’t speak evil if you sell out data to those who want to rig elections.
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Madan
December 28, 2019
” We millennials are ruling this country” – Turning up to vote in elections would be a good start.
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AF
December 28, 2019
Please review Goodnewwz! as most of your Filmcompanion buddies (Anupama and Sucharita) have taken holiday! (very convenient!).
P.S. Not a Salman or Akshay’s super fan! just wanted to know your fair opinion about the movie!
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e221
December 29, 2019
@Madan..To go one step further its not even Gates or Job who created the core technologies that dirving everything now. That was created by US military. IF possible, You can read the book “The Value of Everything” by Mariana Mazzucato that debunks this myth about the biggies.
Coming back to de-ageing, its coming and for sure. These dadas would have watched “The Irishman” more than any cinema lovers because without creating a CG character like Gemini man and without compromising performance, The Irishman treated Deageing more like a make up rather than a distraction and it succedded. So though our Dadas cannot afford to Gemini man level of tech, they can afford Irish man and so its coming soon.
Almost all movies that released in tamil after Kaithi Flopped and they flopped big time.Even Gundu movie i believe failed at Box office. So i don’t buy with “content is King” argument and something else is driving the people away from movie theaters and Dadas could be one of them. (Chiranjeevi, Sharukh, Salman,Kamal and even Aamir khan last movie etc) Dadas movies flopped big time @ the box office.
And Finally to the point “We millennials”. Thats a joke rite? I mean 100 years from now if future Generation (lets Call it Gen AI”) looks at this time of history they will easily conclude ours is the most dumbest generation and that includes each and every one of us. How could any one can give up their privacy, their data , their life, their moments in such a stupid way not just to Biggies but to these app developers without even being aware of how its being used? How in the world we compromised everything for convenience?” How could people sign up for something like DNA testing and buy a tool kit. Man boom. You are just giving up the most sacred and valuable of the valuable data just like that. Just like that. Never in the history of human kind a single zuck guy literally tipped election and this is not a conspiracy.
Bonus point I saw a 2 year old easily navigate a phone, clicking videos going back and selecting what you want and that’s by design you just need 2 year old intelligence to use the tech gadgets. We have been given a illusion of wide spread choice but ideally its an illusion and there is no choice at all.
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Drax
December 29, 2019
@e221: You are clearly ignoring the box-office success of Ayushman Khurana, Karthik Aryan, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Padnekar, Aalia Bhatt etc. Yes, content is king but only millennial content. People are thronging in to cinemas to watch the aforementioned millennials. Who cares about what a few old actors do? (Their very existence is a joke for us millennials.) Who cares how many movies Kamal Hassan, Rajnikanth, Salman Khan etc. do? Dev Anand continued making movies way after his prime but that didn’t stop people from going to cinemas. Non-millennials (that includes people from every field) are just living on borrowed time. Anti-ageing technology has improved but the moral parameters of ageing have changed. It’s just a matter of time when 35 will become the new middle age and 40 will become hardcore old age. Just wait and see.
Being a millennial is not just being a part of a generation, it’s an ideology, a cult, almost a religion. We have effected a major shift in ideology and culture. We have changed how people think, how they live, how their relationships turn out, what food they eat etc. We have brought much needed swag, realism and pragmatism to the world. I don’t claim that Millennials are perfect people. Of course we have flaws but that’s what makes us humans. We aren’t heroes, we have shades of grey (just like the characters from the world of Ayushmaan Khurana, Anurag Kashyap etc.) We are like the vulnerable and brooding characters from high-concept cinema.
“We have been given a illusion of wide spread choice but ideally its an illusion and there is no choice at all.”
Who says choice is a good thing? Imagine a scenario: a world where hair colouring, Botox or any anti-ageing technology is outlawed and people found guilty are punished. Or would you prefer a “free world” where people can look or dress like the way they want to? Would you prefer a world where it’s illegal for actors over 40 to play younger characters or a world where anyone can make whatever they want? Would you prefer a world where non-millennials are allowed marry millennials? Or would you prefer a world where our personal and professional lives are carefully regulated, making sure there’s a right balance? Would you prefer a world where people have the choice whether to marry or not or a balanced, moralistic world where it’s mandatory for everyone to marry before 30?
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Madan
December 29, 2019
“To go one step further its not even Gates or Job who created the core technologies that dirving everything now. That was created by US military. ” – Oh, I don’t disagree there at all. I was simply making a generalised intergenerational comparison to debunk the millennial v/s others narrative. Forget military, the GUI was first designed at Xerox before Apple appropriated it.
Forget movies, we are seeing de-aging in sports like tennis. I mean, sport is a non make believe, brutal reality zone and the brutal reality today is 30 something guys playing better than ever. Federer is 38 and played what is, I believe, the second longest Wimbledon final ever and which couldn’t become the longest only because they introduced a fifth set tiebreak at 12-12. I know the big guys have lots of resources but it is still incredible what these resources are able to achieve for them. Forget just staying injury free, Fed is more agile and active footed at 38 than McEnroe would have been at 25. And Mac supposedly took horse steroids on somebody’s advice back in the day. Heck, Fed is more agile than Sampras was at 32 and Sampras was certainly a better natural athlete than Fed but I have seen Fed make slam dunk smashes from super close to the net at this year’s Wimbledon that would have been hard for Sampras in his last years on the tour.
We see this same scenario playing out in rock and pop music too. Nobody ever gets too old and rock n roll never dies. Most of the biggest live concert draws are bands that have been around from the 70s and the 80s. This scenario of being great in one’s winter years is not totally new and many jazz and classical (Western and Indian) musicians achieved it, but we’re talking about guys who ravaged their body with drugs and booze and are still kicking ass live. One may look at it as depressing or glorious – I am kinda in the middle, as with lot many other things – but it’s a reality and it’s here to stay. And we have only just started. The sky is the limit as far as deaging goes. Deaging will be banned in a few years? Lol, genie’s out of the bottle already, it’s too late.
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Madan
December 29, 2019
Oh, and I didn’t even touch upon hologram tours. I would love to use the facepalm emoticon for it as this is one trend I positively abhor. Fans of the supposedly authentic classic rawk bands crowing about Dio and Freddie Mercury holograms as if a hologram somehow indicates that they are there in spirit. As you have mentioned w.r.t Dadas, the current tech allows these tried and tested entertainment products to never age and for them to be recreated (even after death!) for the edification of the cultists. It is not surprising that cult of personality has gripped democracies even in advanced nations today because this cult obsession has already pervaded showbiz and has done so for very many years already. We have long since stopped caring about new things in art and the old cycle of new replacing the old is in seemingly permanent freeze.
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Madan
December 29, 2019
“You are clearly ignoring the box-office success of Ayushman Khurana, Karthik Aryan, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Padnekar, Aalia Bhatt etc. Yes, content is king but only millennial content. ”
The biggest box office success and also the most influential and far reaching epoch of recent years was the Baahubali franchise and it was made by a Gen Xer and had a Gen Xer as its male lead (Prabhas). It starred Ramya Krishnan, another Gen Xer, and two boomers (Nassar and Sathyaraj). Ayushman Khurana is a year older than me. Borderline millennial at best. Karthik Aryan has succeeded in a few middle budget films. And how much of a draw do you think Karthik by himself is (or Vicky Kaushal for that matter)? At least Ayushmann and Aalia Bhatt do have strong name recall rather than simply having acted in successful films. At any rate, to claim ONLY millennial content is king is a preposterous lie when Badla did the same amount of business as Pati Patni Aur Woh with a Silent Generation dude in the male lead. Speaking of Silent Generation, two of the leading candidates in the Democratic Primary are Silent Gen-ers and the third one is a Boomer. The boldest ideas put forth in the Primary have come from a Gen Xer.
“We have effected a major shift in ideology and culture. We have changed how people think, how they live, how their relationships turn out, what food they eat etc. We have brought much needed swag, realism and pragmatism to the world. ” – Pray what are these big shifts, especially as far as INDIAN millennials go? Many of my colleagues are millennials and the one common factor between them is belief in the notion of “Hindu Khatre Mein Hai”. Which, whether or not you agree with the notion, is hardly a revolutionary idea seeing as its origins date back to pre-independence days. Swag, you say? Would that be the swag Genie Bouchard flashed with zero major achievements to speak of before getting thoroughly humiliated on the biggest world stage that tennis has (namely the Wimbledon Final)? Please tell me you’re trolling and I sincerely hope you are.
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Santa
December 30, 2019
“If you don’t believe in God, you better start praying to Millennials.”
“We are like the vulnerable and brooding characters from high-concept cinema”
“remember we are culturally, biologically and intellectually superior to non-Millennials”
“It’s just a matter of time when 35 will become the new middle age and 40 will become hardcore old age”
So, either @Drax is trolling or he/she/they is being serious.
I truly don’t know which is worse.
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