It takes a Dabangg

Dabangg, starring Salman Khan, was the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2010. While it definitely had the advantage of the Eid holiday, there were several other things that really worked in its favor. Oh, and by the way, I am serious about writing this blog on Dabangg, so let’s dive into some of the best things about the movie.

No preaching, no management learning, no social messages

This is hands down the best thing about the movie! The movie doesn’t want you to achieve excellence so that success may follow. It simply delivers what it promises: entertainment. Pure, 100% solid, Salman Khan-style entertainment! And if you look back, movies were always made for entertainment purposes. In fact, if you take a look at the list of the top 50 highest-grossing films worldwide (try Wikipedia), a vast majority of them do not intend to preach. However, I have nothing against movies with social messages. Chak De India is one of my all-time favorites.

Superb action

The gravity-defying action in the movie is brilliant. A few scenes stand out, like the fight sequence at the railway station and, of course, the climax. Let’s be honet, action-packed Indian movies aren’t as common as love stories, but they’ve always had their share. Dabangg’s action is in a league of its own, ‘stylish’ in its own way – something Salman Khan pioneered after Wanted, where he is not just beating the goons, but doing it while wearing his Ray-Bans the entire time 😎.

‘Munni Badnaam Hui’

Apart from the amazingly shot and choreographed (especially when Salman breaks into the scene!) yet somewhat cheesy Munni Badnaam Hui, there are other songs in the movie that stand out. The title track leaves an impression, with Sukhwinder Singh knocking it out of the park once again. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan proves his dominance with Tere Mast Mast Do Nain, and Sonu Nigam excellently renders Chori Kiya Re Jiya! The music of the movie is a hit and a huge plus.

Thick cast

Apart from the pivotal roles of Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, and Sonakshi Sinha, the movie features various veterans in supporting roles. This is something Wanted and even Ghajini couldn’t accomplish. So here you have Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Mahesh Manjrekar, and Mahie Gill in supporting roles – a thick cast indeed. An ensemble like this is a big draw for the movie.

Salman Khan

Let’s face it – the name says it all! Bhai’s fans don’t want him to pull off a National Award-winning performance, nor do they go to theaters to see an Auro or an Akbar. They go to see Salman Khan. They want him to get shirtless, kick some bad guys around, and have some fun. Salman delivers exactly that. Sporting a moustache for the first time in his career, Chulbul Pandey seems to be enjoying the character like anything.

As you may have guessed by now, I absolutely enjoyed the movie. What did you think about it? And if you haven’t seen it yet (Abe kamaal karte ho!), I strongly recommend this one – even though I’m not a Salman Khan fan and have never really liked his movies much 😊.