Gabbar Is Back Movie Review

Akshay Kumar, has sort-of, reinvented himself as someone who leads these action films (Holiday, Baby, Gabbar is Back) which are commercial in their essence but they also manage to sneak in a social cause in their themes trying to educate the youth with problems plaguing India. Now, continuing in the same vein, Akshay is back with Gabbar is Back. The title of the film is eye catching and the trailers have managed to raise curiosity. So is it able to capture the audiences in Bollywood like the original film ‘Ramana’ did in Tamil? Is Akshay Kumar able to continue his good form after Holiday and Baby? Are Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Akshay Kumar able to deliver another blockbuster together (after Rowdy Rathore) as a producer-actor duo?

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Story: Gabbar is Back follows the original Tamil film Ramana to the tee but manages to Hindify a few things so that the context doesn’t feel too alien for the Hindi speaking audience. Aditya (Akshay) has lost his pregnant wife (cameo by Kareena Kapoor Khan) in a building collapse because of a mishap caused by the builders. Aditya survived and is now a professor with an army of loyal students. Along with his students, he devises a plan to tackle corruption head on by kidnapping corrupt public officials and killing them to root out corruption. In all this, there’s also a love angle involving the beautiful Shruti Hassaan and a villain who repeatedly keeps calling himself a ‘brand’. Suman Talwar who played the chief villain’s role in Rajnikanth’s ‘Sivaji the Boss’ plays the villain Digvijay Patil. There’s also Sunil Grover playing an incorruptible cop called Sadhuram who is responsible for discovering Aditya’s identity.

Gabbar Is Back Review: Krish, the big shot South Indian director, who makes his Bollywood debut with Gabbar is Back, does a decent job of bringing all aspects of the story together without losing its pace. It is a commendable effort to keep the essence of the original Tamil film and to keep the pace flowing. It is watchable because the film is rooted in a heightened realistic world which bears no resemblance to a real world where law and IPC exist. If you are fine with the world being shown in Gabbar is Back, then the film is right up your alley. The dialogues, however, could have been written in a more tasteful manner and the silly item number should have been done away with. It is time to rethink how Bollywood treats women.

The technical aspects of Gabbar is Back suit the genre of the film. The cinematography is decent enough for a commercial action film and the editing is fine too because the length is kept to a minimum of 132 minutes. As mentioned earlier, the dialogues are below par for a film which has been named after Gabbar Singh, probably Hindi cinema’s biggest Dialoguebaaz! The production design and costume design feel a little dated, unfortunately.

The music of Gabbar is Back is nothing special with none of the songs making a mark unlike Rowdy Rathore which had many chartbusters to its name. The only song which is hummable is the romantic track Teri Meri Kahaani.

Acting: Akshay Kumar is the headlining act of Gabbar is Back and rightly so. We can’t think of anyone who would have done better, as Akshay doesn’t overplay his role and keeps it subtle inspite of having powerful dialogues to deliver. He manages to show why his aura is still strong after 2 decades. Shruti Hassaan is the weakest part of Gabbar is Back as the lead actress. She is charmless. Sunil Grover is fantastic as Sadhu and you will forget his Gutthi act after Gabbar is Back. We hope to see more of this talented actor in the future. Suman Talwar is monotonous as the lead villain and doesn’t bring anything new to the film. Even Jaideep Ahlawat who is otherwise a fine actor disappoints in his role.

Conclusion: Gabbar is Back should be watched for what it truly represents: a commercial Hindi entertainer which tries to highlight a major problem of corruption which plagues the country. But the problem is, the issue of corruption isn’t topical anymore after the change in government last year. If it released a year back, maybe it would have been even more impactful. Regardless of that frailty, Gabbar is Back is largely entertaining and flows nicely; you won’t fall asleep because of the fast pace and also because of the glaringly loud background music. If you are in the mood for a full blown commercial Hindi entertainer, then Gabbar is Back is your best bet this week. And it is always nice to see Akshay Kumar in form!

Positives:

  • Akshay Kumar - absolutely incredibly in such roles! Charisma, superstar screen-presence, he’s got it all!
  • Sunil Grover is good too!
  • The issue of corruption is tackled in a commercial manner
  • The action scenes are impactful and the climax is good
  • Editing and cinematography suits the nature of the film
  • Gabbar is Back doesn’t bore the audience

Negatives:

  • The music and Shruti Haasan are the biggest disappointments
  • Villains don’t work
  • The production design and costume design make the film look dated
  • The Dialogues are bland and invoke a sense of the 90s

Rating: ★★★½☆ Must watch if you’re an Akshay Kumar fan or love commercial entertainers!

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39 Comments

  • Wom is good and I heard that gabbar opening morning occupancy was 45-50% which is good..
    so we can expect opening around 15 cr…

  • just watched gabbar now!first day first show!
    and I have to say that it was super entertaining.hope it emerges a ‘HIT’!!!!!!!!!!!

  • “watch if you’re an Akshay Kumar fan or….”

    we akshay fans surely watch his films whether it gets 5 stars or 0 stars

  • if baby collected around 95 cr Then gabbar will easily collect around 110 cr or more
    I mean single screen audience were rejected baby but they accepting gabbar…
    so definitely multiplex + single screen – collection will be huge..

  • Another 60 crore film for 60 cr star Akki. Days are not far when he will get no roles and will hav to sit on roads for money.

  • I hd told earlier that this corruption movie theme is old…We hv seen such theme based movies 100 of times.. Nothing new.. This is poor start considering that today is holiday in major boxoffice circuits of India. Akki hs truly lost his multiplex appeal as GIB hs taken lower start in Mplexs than Roy, F7 & avenger which is shocking especially less than Roy.. Next week, Kuch kuch locha hain will rles.. That movie will take majority of SS count. Sunny leone is huge crowd puller in single screens.. The movie being sex comedy is enough to make cash register ringing at BO of SS. GIB hs only 1 week to make most of its opporunity..

  • i watched the first day first show..
    it such a excellent movie..in 2015-16-17-18 etc,no one can take place of gabbar is back…
    superbb ,i hope business will be 150 crore or above…

  • Watched it today here in multiplex nd it was Housefull ! first show was also Housefull ! didn’t get the tickets !

    Indicin
    well said
    *Akshays screen presence is just fantastic ! he has yet again prove dat No one can h his charisma nd luks !!
    * The Second half is just fantastic !
    *The First Only little slow bt the hospital scene fulfils its flow nd it’s damn Gud
    *Action Scenes r Mindßlowing nd real ! Akshay _/\_

  • Little Mistakes in the above cmnt due to excitement !!
    by the way It was Housefull here on greater noida ! Don’t know about all India bt hearing it has taken flying start in single screens nd white gud in multiplex too .

  • so I think as per your review the movie will work.but a lot depends on akki’s star power.if the weekend gonna be around 50cr then 100 cr is possible

  • @Floppy, I think what you mean to say is that days are not far when he will sit on road and road will turn to money

  • With out song and masala baby collected 95 crore.
    A b class comedy movie entertainment collect 72 crore(sandwiched between sr and kock,otherwise 80 crore)
    so gib collect atleast 130 crore

  • i just watched it nd come..it is a blockbuster..no doubt..first half is little bit weak but second half is extraordinar…shruti disappoints..sunil grover is great..i recommend everyone to go nd watch..it will no disappoint u.i bet that u will not regret ..it is a paisa vasool film

  • @floppy you’re still here…. you should’ve been thrown out long time ago…. Oh I forgot that has already been done by USB…

  • GABBAR IS BACK short review
    thumbs up
    1 a novel idea of a person using the name of the most feared villain of our cinema alongwith student power to eliminate corruption from our society by killing a highly or most corrupt person of a department.

    2 akshay’s earnest performance as aditya/gabbar

    3 scenes of gabbar army performing the act of eliminating corruption are enjoyable but lack realism

    4 the superb climax is actually the saving grace of the otherwise boring 2nd half

    thumbs down
    1 silly screenplay ruins the novel idea completely and makes the film under achieve to a large exrent

    2 pathetic performance by the villain.a nawaz or prakash raj in that role would hv been perfect

    3 irritating and meaningless romantic track between akki and single expression giving shruti

    4 the akki kareena flashback track needed to b top class as that incident in adityas life turned him into gabbar but unfortunately that was also poorly presented

    5 bad outdated action

    6 below average music

    7 ordinary direction by krish

    8 ordinary production value

    rating-5/10
    verdict-below average despite a good concept
    bo prediction-even though I didn’t like it but audience reaction in the theatre was gd plus opening is also fare.so I blv it will b a hit but not more than that as every section of audience won’t find it gd

  • Better than expected…it was a full on entertaining movie..Akshay Kumar is way ahead than others when it comes to action comedy..

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