Gabbar Is Back Review

Rating: 3/5 Stars (Three stars)

Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Shruti Haasan, Suman Talwar, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sunil Grover,  Kareena Kapoor (Cameo), Chitrangada Singh (Item Song)

Director: Krish

What’s Good: Gabbar Is Back actually lives up to the line ‘Naam Se Villain, Kaam Se Hero’ and manages to give a new angle to the most dreaded villain Gabbar. The film is a complete entertainer filled with punchlines, action and an absolutely hot Akshay Kumar.

What’s Bad: It is a mindless entertainer and hence you have to let go the loop-holed story. Also, being a official remake of the Tamil film Ramanaa and coming from a director from down South, the film making is completely southern and you may need to shut your ears if the background sound goes all harsh.

Loo break: Yeah! One won’t harm.

Watch or Not?: Gabbar Is Back is a typical massy commercial film which thrives on its lead star Akshay Kumar. The story is highly predictable but if you are a fan of films that have dialogues like ‘Sher Ka Shikaar Karna Ho Toh Bakri Ko Aankhon Ke Saamne Rakhna Padta Hai’ then this one is your sure shot weekend watch.

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Aditya (Akshay Kumar) is an extremely righteous professor who dreams of creating awareness among the youth and making them ‘doers’ instead of being ‘watchers’ to the rotten system of corruption. He is a professor at National College, which seems more like a hypothetical college where no police can enter. Aditya along with a team of his students who have now branched out of college and are placed in various government organizations chalks out a plan to erase the top-most corrupt officials. Calling himself as Gabbar, Aditya kidnaps Tehsildars, Collectors, PWD official and even a police official and kills them. Of course, no man with a clean past would voluntarily take up such a cause of teaching the society a lesson hence we learn about Aditya’s past.

Been married to Kareena Kapoor’s character, five years back Aditya is all set to start his family when in an unexpected mishap of a building collapse, he loses his pregnant wife. Naturally, agitated by this, after digging up information on the building collapse, Aditya gathers evidence against Digvijay Patil (Suman Talwar), who is the builder. While Patil almost kills Aditya, he is miraculously saved by some medical students who find his body lying in front of their bus. The new lease of life that he gets is to make sure that he teaches not only Digvijay but the other corrupt officials a lesson.

On the other side Sadhu (Sunil Grover) is an honest constable who in spite of his wit is always a butt of jokes amongst his seniors. It is Kuldeep Pahwa (Jaideep Ahlawat) who comes as the special officer who finally recognizes Sadhu for his work.

And well, in the end Gabbar is successful in creating the desired revolution amongst the youth.

Gabbar Is Back Review: Script Analysis

Well, what would you expect from a film that is a South remake of an out an out commercial drama. Heavy dialogues, heightened background score and a forced item song, this film once again makes me wonder why Bollywood originally lacks the brains to come up with such stories. I agree, the story is larger than life but somehow it does hit the right nerve and you want Gabbar to kick the asses of those corrupt officials. I would say if you can’t do it in real, at least get happy watching it on screen.

One particular scene where Gabbar uncovers the face of some disgustingly corrupt doctors was actually a brilliant thought. When it comes to the loopholes, I could list out too many. For starters, Shruti Haasan’s character of a lawyer seems to be like an IIN ad since she keeps quoting Google every now and then. She is a lawyer who knows how to deliver a pregnant women’s kid in a car because she read it on a Google. I mean on one hand if you are saying youth power is required to brush off corruption, the first thing we need to do is put off the bloody technology pseudo-intelligence amongst them. Basically, the story boils down to only one thing and that is the fact that it is highly larger than life and finding its connect to reality would be a crime.

Gabbar Is Back Review: Star Performances

This film is all about Akshay Kumar. He rules the character from the first frame itself. Any other person being cast for this role would have made it a flop remake. Akshay’s voice truly enthralls the audience when he speaks as Gabbar. This vigilante is not just hot but hot-headed too. Gabbar Ke Taap Se Tumhe Ek Hi Aadmi Bacha Sakta Hai.. Khud Gabbar!

After Akshay if there is someone else who is extremely impressive in the film is Sunil Grover. He pulls off the role of simplistic Sadhu with full might. Forget Gutthi, Sunil Grover needs to do much more roles like Sadhu.

Jaideep Ahlawat fails to impress in his role. I wonder why he looks so lost in spite of being a wonderful actor. For me, his role of Shahid Khan in Gangas Of Waaseypur was epic and he certainly will not top that with characters like these.

Shruti Haasan tries to be the bubbly heroine but well, her character is a yawn fest. She is still at the same place where we left her in Ramaiya Vastavaiya and the girl needs to step up and work some magic now.

Suman Talwar as Digvijay Patil is the usual South villain. I would have preferred if he was little meaner and had a better introductory line than ‘Digvijay Patil Ek Brand Hai’.

Kareena Kapoor in her cameo lights up the screen with her glamour. She is a sight on that big screen.

Gabbar Is Back Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

Krish makes his Bollywood debut and he has learnt his lesson well on how to survive in Bollywood. He starts off with a remake and that’s the key to success currently. His film making is completely South style and hence the action sequences are extremely typical. The music is fine but the background score and echoes of dialogues are unbearable.

Cinematography is a disappointment as there is nothing exceptional other than Teri Meri Kahaani – the song. Krish has a masala script and a star like Akshay in hand and he uses both these elements to full potential except that he could have kept it a little short. The last scene where Akshay addresses a crowd is a drag and too preachy too. Krish may not make to the list of favorite directors for people who do not prefer massy dramas.

Gabbar Is Back Review: The Last Word

If you enjoy films which have the good vs evil story with full on action and ‘Dhamakedaar’ dialogues, this is your film. For Akshay Kumar fans this one is a treat as the weekend watch. I found it entertaining in parts and I am going with a 3/5 for this film.

Gabbar Is Back Trailer

Gabbar Is Back releases on 1st May, 2015.

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