3 years after ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, Salman Khan and Kabir Khan reunite for the biggest release of the year so far ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. The film promises to be an emotional drama that promotes friendship between two religions and neighboring countries.
Story: ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is a story about a young Pakistani girl (Harshitha Malhotra) who comes to India with her mother for treatment. While her mother is asleep, the girl slips out of the train and misses it as it crosses the Pakistani border. She then boards another train and bumps into Bajrang Bali ka Bhakt a.k.a Pavan Kumar Chaturvedi a.k.a Salman Khan. The rest of the film is about Bajrangi and the young girl Munni’s journey back to Pakistan and the hurdles they face.
Review: ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has a fantastic first half and slightly over-the-top second. Kabir Khan has taken plenty of cinematic liberties and the story gets highly unrealistic at times. The ease with which Salman crosses the border and the scenes that follow are hard-to-digest. Also, every character in the film is a hero, who eventually has a change of heart and helps Bajrangi and Munni.
However, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has several applaud-worthy scenes:
- The scene in the first half when a grown up Salman Khan lookalike is shown. It’s hilarious.
- The scene just before the interval when Bajrangi saves Munni. It takes the film to an altogether different level.
- A lot of people might remember the ‘Karachi Se Log’ funny video featuring reporter Chand Nawab. Nawazúddin’s character in the film is named after the journalist and he does the exact same scene in the film. Watch the video below, if you haven’t already. You’ll enjoy the actual scene in the film a lot more!
- The scene in the second half when Nawaz makes Salman his begum.
- The climax may not work for a lot of people, especially the multiplex audience. Way too over the top, but we liked it for its message.
One other department where ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ doesn’t quite live up to expectations is the music. None of the songs are pleasing to the ear, except ‘Zindagi’ in the second half. The cinematography is top notch, Kashmir has been beautifully captured.
Acting: The star of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is Harshitha Malhotra, who looks adorable in every scene and doesn’t get a single expression wrong. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a news reporter, a funny character inspired from a Youtube video that went viral on the internet. He is terrific. Kareena has limited screen-time. She has two songs and a couple of scenes in the first half.
And finally. The superstar himself. Salman Khan underplays his role and shares excellent chemistry with both Harshitha and Nawazuddin. ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ isn’t a typical Salman Khan film, but the makers have included a couple of fan-pleasing scenes – one shirtless scene and a couple of action scenes.
Overall, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is a good commercial entertainer that should work with the youth, family audiences, the masses and the classes. It has a bit of everything – comedy, romance, action, friendship, love and religious harmony.
At the box office, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is set for a strong start. The film should collect Rs 100 crore in its first weekend itself and then build from there depending on the response it gets.
Rating: 
