There are three movies struggling to emerge fromSalman Khan's Popeye-like biceps. A cheeky, live-my-life movie where abodyguard who travels by local train gets to share space with a princess who lives in a palace in the fictional Jaisinghpur. A sexy, physical romance where Khan's pectorals are in conversation withKareena Kapoor'saesthetically curved belly, bared in a sari that stays up through sheer will power. And a social drama which pits a feudal sarkar-raj mindset with a modern urge to choose love.
Unfortunately all three sub plots are crushed under the mighty weight of the Khan star machine. It is relentless. Khan invents dance steps which will no doubt be immediately cloned in wedding parties across India, flexing his biceps and twisting his calves. He finds everyday elements to beat his opponents, from tree trunks to shovels, and doesn't think twice about using the latter as a back-scratching device. He also makes jokes in rhyme (I'm not a fool/You think I'm in nursery school?). When a local train is going in the wrong direction, he simply flies through the air using cables to get to his destination.
Anyone who has watched Khan's recent movies will recognise the signs -- a killer dialogue which will be remembered till the next blockbuster is manufactured, a signature ring tone, and a pre-fight ritual-in this case, it is taking off his watch. The familiarity is somewhat comforting. The fort where the climactic action scene is staged, with Aditya Pancholi as a worthy opponent, has appeared in Wanted. The shirt flying off and revealing Khan's taut torso is achieved with a jet of water and not wind as in Dabbangg, though the effect is the same. And Khan, as bodyguard Lovely Singh, is as enterprising with his fights as Ready's Prem.
The viewer is not enthralled but bhaijaan has done the best that his comic strip straitjacket could allow him. It helps that Kareena Kapoor doesn't break into giggles when he plays the tentative lover.
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