Plot
A corrupt police officer faces challenges from his family, gangsters and politicians.

Release Year: 2010

Rating: 6.4/10 (5,037 voted)

Director: Abhinav Kashyap

Stars: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Vinod Khanna

Storyline
Set in Uttar Pradesh, Chulbul Pandey is a young boy who lives with his mother Naini, stepfather Prajapati, and younger half-brother Makkhi. Chulbul is constantly angry that his step-father is always partial towards his own biological son. 21 years later, Chulbul is a rowdy, mischievous, and sometimes crooked cop, who refers to himself as "Robin Hood." He does everything in his own indomitable way; whether it's dealing with corrupt politician and thug Chedi Singh, fighting a family feud, or romancing stunning Rajo.

Writers: Dilip Shukla, Jalees Sherwani

Cast:
Salman Khan - Chulbul P. Pandey
Sonakshi Sinha - Rajjo
Vinod Khanna - Prajapati Pandey
Dimple Kapadia - Naini P. Pandey
Arbaaz Khan - Makhanchan P. Pandey
Om Puri - Inspector Kasturilal Vishkarma
Anupam Kher - Dayal Babu
Sonu Sood - Chedi Singh
Tinnu Anand - Ghatyal Master (as Tinu Anand)
Mahesh Manjrekar - Haria
Murli Sharma - ACP A.S. Malik
Malaika Arora - Munni - Dancer / Singer (as Malaika Arora Khan)
Mahie Gill - Nirmala (as Mahi Gill)
Feroz Abbasi - Bholaram
Mahesh Ahuja - Jyotishi

Official Website: Official site |

Release Date: 10 September 2010

Budget: $9,370,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $628,137 (USA) (12 September 2010) (62 Screens)

Gross: $9,705,998 (Worldwide) (31 January 2012)

Goofs:
Continuity: When Chulbul goes to buy a water pitcher from Rajo, he offers her rs.500. In alternative shots, the currency note is furled and unfurled

WARNING: This film is NOT for Pretentious Snobs!

Rating: 8/10

I don't normally bother to write any reviews for films I have watched. But after reading some of the reviews of imbeciles who CLEARLY missed the point of Dabangg, I felt compelled to add my two cents.

Firstly, to all those people who are bashing Dabangg because it's action scenes are over the top, or it can't decide whether it's an action film/comedy/drama etc........here's a thought.....do you think maybe (just MAYBE) that was the whole point in the first place??

This is generally the problem with the nouveau Indian cinema goers of the multiplex era. They will happily watch Bruce Willis in Die Hard 4 bring down a helicopter with a taxi cab. They will applaud when Jason Statham drives a car off a bridge and lands it perfectly on to a moving truck in The Transporter. They will not bat an eyelid when Pierce Brosnan drives around in an invisible car in Die Another Day. Uma Thurman single handedly killing a hundred Chinese assassins with a sword in Kill Bill? "Sure, that can happen. And a very good movie from Tarantino" they might say. But GOD FORBID that any Indian movie has action scenes where the hero launches a guy in front of a speeding train and pulls him back just before the train smashes into him. "NOOOOOOO!!!!" they will scream. "That is so stupid!" they will say. "Where is the REALISM?" they will exclaim. A bunch of HYPOCRITES if you ask me! I mean honestly, any person who expects a serious and realistic action film after the first scene in Dabangg where the two main character's names are established as "Chulbul" and "Makkhi" (and after seeing the trailers of the film no less) is, quite frankly, a moron of the highest order.

Dabangg is a film which doesn't take itself seriously for a single second (which already makes it FAR superior and a more honest effort than the over-hyped Ghajini that took itself ridiculously seriously while at the same time offering NOTHING new). It is what it is; a complete no-brainer masala film. And tell me, what is wrong with that? Reading some of the reviews here about how Dabangg is "taking the Hindi Film Industry backwards" you would think that other film industries all over the world just churn out serious films all the time. NEWSFLASH! They don't (as you can see from the list above). Then there are complaints about how some action scenes are copied from Western films (namely Salman's opening scene resembling Transporter), second NEWSFLASH! Hollywood copies A LOT of it's action scenes from Hong Kong and Chinese cinema all the time. But do you complain about that? Of course you don't. Because you are either ignorant or, as said before, hypocritical. As long as the scene is done well, who cares if it's copied from another film?

Dabangg sets it's stall out very early on in the proceedings and it has a fabulous kitsch appeal to it. Salman Khan bites into his role with relish and he is clearly having a lot of fun playing Inspector Chulbul Pandey. This material in the hands of other actors might have gone down in flames, but Salman grabs the film by the scruff of it's neck and runs with it. Make no mistake about it, this film is a one-man show and, luckily for us, Salman carries it off with élan. He plays the role of Chulbul with just the right amount of self-mockery (the type of which Shahrukh Khan was aiming for in Om Shanti Om but failed miserably at). There are moans about how actors like Om Puri and Anupam Kher aren't given enough scope, but who cares? Like I said before, this film really doesn't require brilliant performances from secondary characters. Character development is not the agenda here. However, it has to be said that débutant Sonakshi Sinha does perform very well in her (smallish) role.

Bottom line: if you are expecting an intelligent and realistic action thriller like any of the Jason Bourne series, then avoid Debangg at all costs. With that sort of mindset you are sure to be disappointed. BUT, if you are in the mood for an old fashioned masala movie in the mould of films such as Die Hard 4, Kung Fu Hustle and Desperado, then you are in for a treat. Just sit back, relax, accept the film for what it is (a pure popcorn and purposefully OTT flick) and let Salman Khan entertain you.

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