From ordinary to adventurous

For sure with Salman Khan at the helm of affairs, the larger than life hero is waiting to be launched and marketed. The nuances of the avatar may be different but with every new avatar the promise of return to glory and grandeur is not: the filmi promise of Sambavami Yuge Yuge! As a prelude to Prem the superstar is seen discarding in haste the image of the larger than life muscle flexing man.

In contrast he hesitates to even discard the shirt and flaunt the biceps of fame. What makes the film click is that while it is Salman-centric, the task of carrying is assigned to others and they deliver with panache. An important factor that makes the film worth viewing is that it eschews the temptation of Pakistan baiting in the name of jingoistic patriotism.

At a time when news headlines hardly suggest sanity across borders, it is refreshing to notice that ordinary citizens across the borders still nourish warmth and hope. May be cinematic, plain, over simplistic and even impractical but it is not based on spilt blood, vomited vitriol and cross border chest beating. Director Kabir Khan also shifts his style a tad from paying more head to scale than tale. This time round while the background is awesome as ever, it is not distracting.

Bajrangi (Salman Khan) is part of the brigade that has not much to do but is committed to saffron group that with flags and slokas believe that the strength of the Almighty is an assurance for all the challenges of life. As he arrives at Kurukshetra for Lord Hanuman-related event, he runs into moppet Munni alias Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra). Shahida is from Pakistan.

She is dumb and comes to India with mother (Meher Vij) to visit the mosque of Khaja Nizamuddin. Both loose each other. While the mother returns to Pakistan, the daughter is lost in India and is clueless as she cannot speak or tell anyone about her whereabouts. Bajrangi promises to ensure the return of Shahida to Pakistan. After an abortive attempt to obtain a visa to go to Pakistan (he does not have a passport either), he decides that he would any which way cross the border and ensure that Shahida returns home.

Obviously the government and people of Pakistan suspect the motives of a fugitive on the run. Even as the local police and the army have chanced encounters with him and his innocence, there is a local TV journalist Chand Nawab (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who first sees a story, then builds one but soon becomes part of the plan to see that Shahida returns to her parents. With the police on a hot trail and the girl unable to map her route homewards we have an adventure unfolding itself before us.

Having ensured that the script is not an excuse to go on a crush Pakistan exercise, the director takes on the task of telling the story at a simplistic level. Over simple in fact. However, as is obvious it is a script that is centred around Salman and his underplayed heroics. Thankfully he is not the ‘Kick’ and ‘Bodyguard’ guy. This time round he is the naïve muscled guy with a pot of gold for heart. He has a love interest in Rasika (Kareena Kapoor) who is very incidental to the script or the story.

The film, however, rests on the skills of the amazing Harshaali Malhotra who plays the central role of the Pakistan girl lost in India with absolute finesse. Trust Nawazuddin to steal the show – which he does effortlessly. Yet again awesome and mind boggling in his understanding of the role and the capacity to go underneath it completely and give you a hitherto unseen dimension of him.

Bajrangi on his arrival becomes his film. Till then it is a bit strenuous and tiring. However, in the post interval narration he adds the right fizz to the tale and effortlessly glides the goings on in his favour. Watch the film for him and enjoy yet again a fine performance that lifts the script from the ordinary to the imminently viewable.

Film Name : Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Cast : Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Harshaali Malhotra and Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Direction : Kabir Khan

Genre : Drama/ action

Likes : Two performances

Dislikes : Too long for entertainment

Rating : ***

By L Ravichander