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 While looking at SINGH IS KINNG from a critical perspective, it's more appropriate to look into the impact of one man's presence – Akshay Kumar. I'll tell you very bluntly, Anees Bazmee's Singh Is Kinng Is a very mediocre project, typical to his previous 2007 film, Welcome. The story is unbelievable (and I mean that literally), the screenplay is overwhelmingly predictable, and the dialogue is quite cheesy at times. Yet, I've never seen a film so low on substance conquer Box Office records in such triumphant fashion!
Akshay Kumar truly is King of Bollywood. The man is simply unstoppable. The effort he has put into this rather modestly budgeted film is admirable. Apart from roping in International rapper Snoop Dogg for a promotional music video, the film has benefited from ridiculously high marketing and publicity. I'm afraid to say that it has reached the point where directors can throw any crap on screen and still make a hefty profit if they invest in one man (of course Akshay Kumar comes with a steep price tag). A healthy warning to all respectable film-goers: Leave all logic and sense at the door. This film will not make any sense to you if you expect it to. At times it seems like the writers are trying their hardest to drench you in laughter, while at other times they randomly throw in a tear-jerking sequence. Why? Because the script lacks immense focus. If we look at the film's structure, it's terribly lop-sided. You wish more attention was given to the development of the story. How did a lower-class Punjab village muster up the cash to send two of their residents all the way to Australia for the very first time in their lives? With all the tightness in airport security, how did they “accidentally” switch tickets and “accidentally” fly to Egypt instead of Australia? And of course the film is peppered with uncanny coincidences. However, most Bollywood fans are immune to that by now. In terms of directorial execution, Bazmee is for the most part very average. However, there are a select few sequences that have been extremely well executed, including the initial interactions between Akshay Kumar (Happy Singh) and Kirron Kher, and the scene where Sudhanshu Pandey (Raftaar) runs into his ex-girlfriend.
Kirron Kher and Om Puri stand-out in supporting roles. Yashpal Sharma, as Pankaj Udaas, is surprisingly funny in his melodramatic outpours. Ranvir Shorey is a completely miscast. The rest of the cast is forgettable. On a personal level, the highlight of this film lies in the beautiful song “Teri Ore,” composed by Pritam and rendered by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Shreya Ghoshal. The song is a gorgeous excursion on audio, but it's even more ravishing on screen. A must see song! SINGH IS KINNG is a total Bollywood escapist flick that requires a high-level of patience and a low-level of cinematic intelligence. This film just shoots Akshay Kumar's career into the outer-stratosphere, if it isn't there already. With Akshay Kumar, we're witnessing something extraordinary. How far will his streak go?
Aakash Gandhi is Managing Editor and Senior Writer for Planet Bollywood. He also freelances for the Asian Variety Show at avstv.com.
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Performances are nothing to rave about. It's no surprise that Akshay Kumar is extremely believable as the happy-go-lucky Happy Singh. The film doesn't demand much from him, but he slips into the character with ease. Katrina Kaif, as Sonia, is hard to watch. I mean, as a regular film-goer…she's gorgeous. But as a critic, her performance was hard to digest. She really needs to work on her Hindi. I know it may sound like nit-picking, but the delivery seems extremely rehearsed and unnatural.
