Diljit Dosanjh’s Super Singh Is No King: Movie Review

Super Singh(Punjabi)

Starring: Dilip Dosanjh, Sonam Bajwa,Pavan Malhotra

Directed by: Anurag Singh

Rating: **(2 stars)

 The good news about Diljit Dosanjh’s super-hero act is that  it was released on the same fateful Friday when Riteish Deshmukh—another entertainer  like Dosanjh justifiably  known for his comic timing—was caught ‘wrecked’-handed robbing a bank.

Compared with Bank Chor, Super Singh is  like a bowl of meltingicrecream after a particularly indigestible frozen meal. But it’s still not good enough to be considered a worthy desi super-hero successor toCaptain America  or Dead Pool . The special effects are cringe-worthy , and when Diljit Dosanjh flies he looks like Ashok Kumarmarching across the army base in a  comatose condition in ManojKumar’s Clerk(check  out the famous sequence on the internet).

But let’s be fair.Dosanjh has considerable rustic charm of the regulardesi bloke who drinks lots of lassi(no hard drinks unless hard feelings are to be handled)  flirts harmlessly with women(Kylie Jenner ,Sonam Bajwa… ki farq painda???) and makes fashion statement out of not speaking English properly.

Doesn’t he remind you of  a certain Kapil Sharma?In fact I’d like to see Kapil play a Punjabi super-hero with Sunil Grover as the arch-villain.

Dosanjh is engaging when he woos women in Canada with his rusticity . The supposedly sophisticated co-star Sonam Bajwa(why is  she not being lapped up by the heroine-famished Bollywood film industry?)is  allowed to pull up Dosanjh for his poor command over the English language.She is Parveen Babi to Dosanjh’s Bachchan inAmar Akbar Anthony.The sophisticated lady who probably dreams in English.

All this banter and backslapping keeps the proceedings lively and perky . Once Dosanjh dons the super-hero mantle he must strike out a balance between being self-deprecatory and  super-heroic.

The entertainer falls between the two stools. Neither Super  Hero  norAam Aadmi Dosankh is like a  caped Kejriwal trying to convince the world he must be taken seriously even when he doesn’t take himself seriously.

Dosanjh comes across as somewhat anxious in his efforts to woo audiences in his new avatar. The performances lacks the effortlessness of Udta Punjab.Nonetheless Dosanjh is fun to watch when hanging  out with Bajwa.She is required to only give ego-boosting cues toDosanjh. She knows she is in a situation where she must play theselfstyled Super Hero’s Insignificant Other. She does it with grace.

Unforgivably the film wastes the extraordinary talents of PavanMalhotra, one of Indian cinema’s  most underused actors , used effectively in Anurag Singh’s Punjab 1984, here reduced to a preposterous prop.

Why did Malhotra do  it? Why, for that matter would director AnuragSingh waste his talent directing a poorly conceived super-hero film? Who would want to see Dosanjh in a cape suit when the Wonder Woman is passing by ?

Dosanjth’s diehard fans may find his aerial antics amusing , but only to a point. After a while the OMG scale of performances gets on your nerves. Akshay Kumar’s turbaned goofiness in Singh Is Kiing was far more endearing.Akshay is the original Dosanjh.But if you have beenmisfortunate enough to see Bank Chor this week Super Singh may just be the antidote that your nerves need.