Dabangg - External Reviews

Taran Adarsh seems to have gone bonkers on this one. However, truth be told, I wouldn't mind watching this film if it is as entertaining as it is being made out to be.

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/13793/index.html

Going to see this movie either Tonight. Not expecting much. I'm sure this would be like Wanted taken to the next Level.

Come to think of it, India needs such mindless flicks sometimes. :) WE ALL DO STUPID STUFF TOO .. :D

watched it today.. suuuuuuuuuuuuuuperhit.

Well, it is no surprise that I liked the film, Salman has done a good job, and the film is honest, unlike Peepli Live and the rest of that gang.

This film makes no bones about the fact, that the story is a rehash, that it is all about Salman, and that it is basically about having a good time!! Well, that I appreciate, and it is done without giving you a headache, unlike the other so called comedy films. And the dialogues are good, without being loud...
That says a lot!

"Films of this genre can't be bothered by things like consistency and comprehension, and this one at least makes an attempt. Fails miserably, but tries nevertheless. It actually takes time to set the characters and their relationships up. The script goes on to build on this background, too. But, the rush to wrap it up shows. The urge to put in more action and less story, becomes transparent. Thus starts a race for the quickest character transition - be it good to evil or the other way around. The change is glaring at you even harder because of the extremes that each of these characters have gone to in the opposite direction. You remember the 80s.

"The broad plot tries to say something about national issues, from political to social, from dowry to bribery. But then they are left loose. Not that I want any preaching from anyone. But those elements don't find conclusion and that's sort-of disorienting. You leave with questions that didn't look like they were intentionally so."

I think this whole part of your write up, is totally wrong, of course it makes sense, the film and the way it is done, given the masala film that it is. Who cares about character development etc, and other political issues, it is about the Star and how well the star has been projected in a "different light".

Chuckles! Meetu, you're FUNNNNY!
P.s- Salman is a rockstar, okay? :D

Well Andy, I did feel that Jodhaa Akbar and Namastey London were really bad movies :)

Usually I tend to agree with her reviews, though I actually did like Khosla Ka Ghosla

Well said meetu...you know wat...have a suggesstion for your site.
How about adding a feature (or an extra KPI) which gives us an idea about hits and flops
Like 1-2-3 weeks later when we see the review of movies, we'll come to know based on box-office collections whether the film was a hit or flop (( HIT, SUPERHIT, SEMI-HIT, FLOP) ...if you can add something like it, would be gr8 for those who wanna know whether their favorite movie was actually liked by masses or not.

Meetu,

It seems you enjoyed the movie, but did not 'like' it? Anyway, here is a review on Shaolin Soccer by Roger Ebert, where he explains his reasons for giving a movie the ratings he does.
Even if you may not feel he is a good reviewer, the points he raises are all valid.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040423/REVIEWS/404230305/1023

dabangg is teriblly entertaining .....just watch it ....ths movie is having d soul of every best feature of a movie .....salman is really rockkinggg...

looks like Salman has did it again !! awesome flick, complete family entertainer. albeit it has some Rajnikant style action and moves but it is still entertaining and Salman has done a great job there.

cheers
Dimpykash
TVForDesis.com

I understand that the role of movie critics/reviewers is to: 1) Analyze the content and predict how well it will be liked by the junta, 2) Give their personal opinion about the movie. How will just a personal opinion blog do any good to the readers? Wogma review so confidently states "watch if nothing better to do" and then gets out of the blame game saying it is just my personal opinion.
How is film reviewer any different from a common man coming out of the theater saying "kya bakwaas movie thi". If one wants share the movie review at a larger scale (website) it got to have more than just a personal opinion. If one is knowledgeable enough to judge a movie in different aspects, one should at least attempt to understand the "pulse" otherwise why would just one's personal opinion important enough to read. If you are watching people going crazy inside the theater and then why on earth you would come out and suggest other people "watch if nothing better to do". Don't you want people to enjoy???

@Meetu - "No one person can claim to predict how a certain thing (in this case let's say a movie) one thing will be liked by another person. Even if they are the closest friend or share the same blood." So you mean to say that all the people working on predictive modeling and consumer choice behavior are trying to achieve the impossible? And come on who can't predict what their closest friend likes or dislikes are and be correct majority of the time.
Why play in the safe domain. It would be a fun exercise to predict junta's verdict and see how it goes. This is of course after you express your personal valuation of the movie.
Also one question - you said what is NOT the role of a film reviewer. What according to you is his/her role?
And don't take my last sentence to your heart that you don't want people to enjoy. It was just a rhetorical question.

@meetu:

Manorama is a rip-off movie, it's by a person who likes Hollywood not Hindi films.

I guess it's one of the reason i don't like Anurag's films, they have an agenda to bully group-think into people who like mainstream films like this via low self-esteem by calling them 'crap' not to mention he's 'liked' by the west which every low self-esteem person would ride high on and reject any mainstream film outright.

I guess it's one of the reasons i outright hate Abhay Deol.

I still haven't watched Dabangg, but it's really easy to bully mainstream Hindi cinema and people who like it on the Internet because it's the 'weak kid' who doesn't fight back or make people like Anurag realize that the mainstream films need to earn money to make his 'Independent' films.

You say

"2. That one person change with time.
3. That person can be in different moods at different times.
4. Not to mention enjoyment can differ depending on who you are watching the film with."

So why should you be any different, right? In that case, wouldn't the review depend upon what mood you watched the movie in and who you watched it with? If that is the case, thee scale makes no sense, because it is dependent on criteria other than the movie itself. Should a food critic criticize South Indian food, however delicious it is, just because he is in the mood for Chola Bhaturas? Should the public then trust the reviews of this critic if he is unable to deliver an unbiased opinion?

The point is, you are giving a judgment when you say "Watch if nothing better to do", and that judgment needs to be unbiased if you want the public to trust your opinion.

Surprising to see such heated debate (over the role of the reviewer) triggered off by a fairly ordinary film.
As I see it, one keeps coming back to a certain reviewer because one shares certain sensibilities with him (or her). And as Meetu pointed out, the same viewer may form two different opinions of the same film when viewed in a different set of circumstances, so total agreement on all films is completely out of the question. I feel the reviewer is well within his (or her) rights to rate the film as he (or she) chooses. 'Feeling the pulse' of the public is best done by the box office and people who feel that it's the critic's job should much rather wait for the business reports before watching the film. That way they would have a hundred per cent record of watching only the 'good' movies.

What good is a food critic, who likes food which is admired by just him? What would be the point of reading his/her recommendations, if you couldn't rely on them, if their opinion depended on their date for the evening, if their opinion depended upon whether they had a tiff with someone before coming to the restaurant.

If the food the food critic likes is admired by only him, and no one else, in the long term people will gradually stop depending on him for reviews...

its my request to all people to please see dabangg

Pure, unadulterated mindlessness.

Oh... Mindlessness se yaad aaya "Govinda ki movie bahut dino mein nahin dekhee"

dabaang is not a super duper hit.itz an average muvie
no story plot ,week character except salmaan
i think majority of indian audience r not sensible to differentiate between an average muvie and classic movie
salmaan remains salmaan in dabaanng
thatswhy this is the failure for him as an actor
dont except sensible movie from salmaan n akshay
they will never won filmfare in life for acting
its an bollywood failure.i have read om prakash mehra article in times of india that points at the inability of indian director to be a good story teller.thatswhy the bollywood film r only watched y indian in foreign
actor like salman n akshay didnt evolve as an actor after being industry for last 20 year

@Meetu, @lost in confusion – it is not about being Salman fan or not. I was observing this disconnect between reviews and junta’s response for quite some time. This disconnect was so apparent in this particular movie that I wanted to discuss.
@bhupusingh – you may have not liked the movie, but Dabangg is super duper hit, in fact it is an ALL Time Blockbuster – courtesy boxofficeindia.com

Bang on review, Meetu - I pretty much agreed with everything you mentioned. But perhaps Sonakshi deserved more credit for her debut, and she did go through the commercial movie lead's stock expressions all through, without seeming too awkward.

I enjoy commercial movies as much as the next person. Movies in point - The Munnabhai movies, 3 Idiots, JJWS, Chak De India, Andaz Apna Apna, QSQT, Lagaan, Cheeni Kum, to name just a few among those I've enjoyed, and they stand the test of time as well, over multiple viewings. Have been a huge fan of Big B movies as well, plus Khan capers too, in fact. Enjoyed Salman in Andaz Apna Apna, and thought he played off with Aamir very well consistently throughout.

Coming to Dabanng - a mess it surely is, along with being an insult to the senses as well. The best thing I can say for it is it's slick look (which is commonplace nowadays in big budget commercial cinema), it's relatively short running time, and, of course, Sonu Sood (IMO, this generation's Big B, Small B notwithstanding), and some nostalgia value gleaned from recognizing Dharam-paaji's moves being aped by Salman, not just in the dance and action sequences, but also in the movie's emotional scene (good god!). It was also nice that the songs were kept to 2 stanzas, since those sequences were insufferable as well. Though I am disappointed at it's box office (copycat alert, sequel alert, more Salman doing his thing...), it is not really surprising. A better done commercial movie with it's tongue firmly in cheek was Tashan, which did not get the attention I think it deserved (it had it's share of flaws and mis-steps too, but not to this extent). Adding more disappointment to this disjointed, far-fetched movie was seeing the (once upon a time) hot/talented Dimple Kapadia looking as jaded as only she does now (not just a case of role-based makeup anymore, am sure), along with her lead of many cool-looking movies, Vinod Khanna (both reduced to caricatures, but then, why am I complaining?). Incidentally, the unpredictability of the Vinod Khanna - Arbaaz Khan - Salman sequences was one thing I could sit through with enough curiosity (wish the movie had concentrated more on that, with Sood playing Arbaaz's role instead, and Abhay Deol / Abhishek Bachchan stepping in Salman's place, that may have been a movie I'd have enjoyed instead, but that's just me; and if only wishes were horses....). :-). Mahesh Manjrekar was wasted as well as Murli Sharma. Speaking of Manjrekar, since when did rape start being treated in a manner as cavalier as it was done in the jail sequence with Manjrekar-Sonakshi-Salman? I mean, is that comedy? Looking at it from the 'aam-aadmi' POV, and judging by the guffaws and the cheering I heard at the cinema during this abhorrent sequence, I guess Abhinav (and whoever the writer is) 'know' the pulse of their audience. If this is the crowd that is making Dabanng a hit.....

Guddu Bhai, Sesh ji aur hitesh bhai Dabangg to blockbuster ban gayi 150 crore bhi kama liye. Crap pictures itna nahi chalti.Lagta hai aap srk ke fan hai aur salman ki success aap se pachi nahi.

Sahab forget Dabangg its become history!

Watch out for Big Boss 4 where Salman not only entertain you all guys but also raises his own standard by smashing all trp's.

Amit i am not a srk fan,although i like his personality as a bollywood icon globally renowed.I am a assissant scriptwriter and salman is the man i wish to work with.Dabangg is a movie with no basic plot,the story shakes and disbalances countlessly over the course of the movie.The movie doesn't explores any emotions for any characters.Romantic portions are also one-liners and never evocative.there is no reference as such robin hood.U call it a movie?Transformer 2 was one of the high grosser of last year but didn't had any substantial value like 1st one and subsequently took golden raphesburry award for worst picture.This movie is just recriprocating it.The point is movie like this don't hold any artistic merit for salman as an actor which makes me awkward as one of his fan.

meetu-don't take this as i am trying to criticize or avert you.your review seem to be pretty much like user's one.I have read it before but i never checked out the munni badnam reference.Now that's what i felt offended about,i know u never mean to do that (except for salman fans)but u did some of your own's.Don't get easily swayed away from the movie content no matter if it offends you and express ur feelings so vulnerably.Be more rigid and stick to the subject.As a consistent follower of ur reviews,i ave the right for ur drawbacks.
No offence
have a nice day

i meant launda badnam hua from the album balma bada bavali.why did you included such indecent things in your review .when i checked it i saw a bald guy seducing a item girl in the album cover.I felt like u r trying to say people who enjoyed munni badnam are people who enjoy this kind of trash.They both differ immensly,and i can gurantee that this one must have been way too vulgar than it appears.well,i ave read many critic's reviews but none of them ave ever used this kind of attachements.To be honest i wasn't that serious but did taken aback.Don't use them next time.It does'nt suits you either.
Thank u

The song might have been what made this movie hit. I am not a Salman fan but I do watch his movies when I have forgotten how bad his movies are. This was one such instance. Don't know if its all brawn that can make you so lovable ..

i was waiting for the hat-trick of salman khan for giving us continiously three disaster movies.

I love salman khan