Simmba Movie Review: Ranveer Singh starrer is old wine in new bottle
Simmba is a typical Rohit Shetty film helmed in a flashy style and exaggerated treatment. You can better call it a spinoff of Shetty's hit franchise Singham starring Ajay Devgn. Simmba is a vigilante cop drama about Bhalerao Sangram (Ranveer Singh), whose life changes after he gets posted to Goa's Miramar police station. ''Cough up the money or you are going to jail,'' this is Simmba's style of work. He comes to his new police station with the intention of minting more cash, unaware of the fact that a dramatic twist awaits him.
Shetty has taken his old and safe route for his latest venture Simmba starring Ranveer. Simmba is the louder version of Shetty's last cop drama Singham in which Devgn played the titular role of an honest cop. However, Simmba (Bhalerao Sangram) is nowhere close to (Bajirao) Singham. Simmba is an orphan and had an inclination towards money and power since childhood. Rohit Shetty has given South Indian treatment to the film and when we say this, we aren't talking about action sequence. The flamboyant and over-the-top mannerism of Shetty's lead character seems too much after a point of time. Simmba seems to be screaming for attention with his not-so-amusing one-liners. Having said that, Ranveer has aptly portrayed the characters, because just like Simmba, our Ranveer is always high on energy. Initially, Simmba is not portrayed as a hero, hence, to make him likable, Rohit Shetty has played with one-liners and Ranveer's machoism. There are Marathi dialogues but it is not difficult to get the gist of the conversation.
Simmba is the story of 'change of heart'. It talks about women empowerment and the differences between men and women that is deep-rooted in our society. It brutally bashes that 'male ego' which lead to heinous crime such as rapes. What works in the favour of such 'old-fashioned' film is mass appeal. The message of women empowerment is wrapped in a masala entertainer to create magic among single screen audience. Simmba has elements that will be warmly embraced by single screens- action sequences, machoism, handful of comedy scenes to name a few.
ACTING
Ranveer Singh gets into the skin of Simmba with so much ease. You don't need time to let that flamboyant style sink in. Dialogues seem to be flying out of his mouth and he is even awe-inspiring in the emotional scenes. Sara Ali Khan should be grateful for Kedarnath releasing before Simmba. The actress has nothing to do in this cop drama except romancing and that too is shallow. Ranveer and Sara's love track seems to have been added just for the sake of it. Simmba has good actors apart from the lead pair Ranveer and Sara Ali Khan. Ashutosh Rana plays the upright head constable of Miramar Police Station, who refuses to salute the corrupt Simmba as he is vexed with his dishonest approach. An actor like Ashutosh Rana is completely wasted in such a character, which adds nothing to the story. Though he does his part with perfection, we are left craving for more. Sonu Sood is the baddy Durva Ranade, who is politically well-connected. Sood looks all set to deliver kicks and punches with his beefed-up look. He is subtle and impressive in his role.
WHAT WORKS
The screenplay has incorporated all the emotions, ranging from romance to rage. It has comedy, action, romance, drama and is mostly enjoyable. All the actors have truthfully done their parts. Acting department won't disappoint you in any way. There are a couple of whistle-worthy scenes, especially in second-half, when action scenes take over.
WHAT DOESN'T
The major drawback of the film is that it is predictable. Neither the story is fresh nor the treatment. It is Rohit Shetty's film, so don't expect subtlety. Everything is direct to your face and loud. 40 minutes of the first half is easy-breezy and can be easily missed. It is after an hour that Simmba starts picking up the pace. It is old wine in a new bottle.
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