He is pushing 45 but still doesn't seem like throwing in the towel. He is someone who makes the crowd go wild once he takes of his shirt and shows his chiseled body.
Born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan and popularly known as Salman or Sallu he is one of the few actors apart from Aamir and Shahrukh who is still going strong.
Salman has been the enfant terrible of Indian cinema industry, having being embroiled in controversies like the black buck shooting/hit and run case or his affairs with his co-stars. None of this seemed to have made a dent on his fan base which has only grown.
If you are looking for something which is the in thing nowadays like Peepli Live or path breaking cinema you are better advised to stay away. But then if you are someone who wants to watch the kitschy old tale of sibling rivalry, a dishonest cop who has a softer side, a village belle to whom he loses his heart and then as usual the villain, Dabangg (fearless) gives you more bang for the buck or in indian lingo paisa vasool fare
Salman plays Chulbul Pandey aka Robinhood pandey a Police Inspector for the district of Laalgunj, Uttar Pradesh. Salman with a moustache is a rarity and he manages to pull it off. Chulbul doesn't get along with his step dad (Vinod Khanna) and his step brother Makki (Arbaaz Khan). The one person Chulbul is fond of and who dotes on him is his mom (Dimple Kapadia)
Chulbul is a corrupt cop who gets hold of the bad guys but stashes away their loot. He is generous to help someone out financially when they are in distress. Salman loses his heart to a village girl Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha in a debut role). So what's missing ...well you guessed it, the villain whose funnily named Cheddi Singh (Sonu Sood) :)
The movie is a no brainer with a predictable story line but there is a difference and that's Salman Khan. Salman towers like a colossus in the movie and you just can't have enough of him. It's Salman, Salman and more of Salman even in the presence of veteran character artistes like Vinod Khanna, Om Puri and Dimple Kapadia.
Action by S Vijayan is terrific, impressive music track scored by Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit. My favorites are man bharwaan and Tere Mast mast do nain. Sonakshi Sinha as Rajo comes as a breath of fresh air. As one article rightly quotes, having seen nearly anorexic heroines (remember size zero) it's nice to some one who resembles the typical curvy Indian woman. Acting wise, Sonakshi is not a disappointment. In an typical Indian action movie where the actresses are just there for the glamour quotient even in her brief role, she does show some spunk. Of course being the daughter of yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha does help.
I was myself shocked to see Sonakshi who is a fashion designer transform into a gorgeous woman. 2 years back when I saw her on television she was more on the heavier side and voila look at her now.
Coming back to Salman, he does run into some serious competition here even in terms of physique. Yes its the villain played admirably by Sonu Sood. Sonu Sood is a talented actor who is also blessed with good looks but sad to see him play a villain again. Hope he doesn't start getting typecast. This movie also marks the directorial debut of Abhinav Kashyap, the brother of Anurag Kashyap who is into "the realistic" mode of cinema. Its interesting that Abhinav has chosen to direct a conventional bollywood movie.
In India or anywhere else you despise a corrupt cop but Chulbul Pandey is a different animal. You love him for what he is and yes as the title suggests he is truly Dabangg (fearless)
(Image courtesy: http://media.photobucket.com/image/dabangg )
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