Himmatwala Review

Himmatwala Review by Indicine critic Joginder Tuteja.

When the remake of Himmatwala was announced there were obvious questions around how the film would be presented in the current times. After all, the Jeetendra starrer was a melodramatic affair and for audience of today, it may have been difficult to digest the proceedings in as-is format. However, since it was said that the film would be presented in a new avtar to cater to today’s audience, there were expectations of something really interesting in the offering. As it turns out though, a major part of it is very similar to the original. Also, it catches your attention on and off, not in entirety.

Let’s face it, the very core of Himmatwala isn’t really striking enough to make you expect anything extraordinary. A son (Ajay Devgan) taking on the village lord (Mahesh Manjrekar) since he has scores to settle for death of his father and poor state of his mother (Zarina Wahab) and sister is a storyline that was explored multiple times in the 80s. Of course this is where the treatment comes into picture. The 80s version did work but in the current times, one would have expected something really strikin

Himmatwala ReviewHimmatwala Movie Review

This is where Sajid Khan brings in certain elements as well which do aim at bettering the original. One such element is the tiger track which is indeed woven well in the film. Whether it is the first sequence where Ajay takes the tiger heads on or later when latter comes back on the scene,  there are moments of genuine thrills. The fight sequence in the truck, where Ajay beats the pulp out of a goon, is executed well too. Also, the last 20 minutes of the film where Zareena Wahab indulges in some dialoguebaazi works as well, more so due to the fact that it makes you feel nostalgic about films of yore.

However, and as stated earlier, this by itself isn’t really something that holds the entire film together. This is because as a core storyline, Himmatwala doesn’t have much to offer. The plots around Ajay’s sister being tortured and later Tamannaah coming to Ajay’s rescue don’t really engage. The dramatic quotient isn’t as striking either while the flashback sequence is ordinary. Yes, Sajid Khan thankfully does eliminate a couple of sub plots centred on a deaf-n-villager (which was quite loose in the original as well) as well as a relative who intends to marry the heroine. However from the add-on perspective, he is further limited by the distance he can cover due to an ordinary core base of the film.

Thankfully Kadar Khan’s track from the original is very well brought back on scene with Paresh Rawal not just emulating the character but also the actor himself. Watch out for the way he communicates with the camera, a la Kadar Khan; it is truly nostalgia from the 80s. Moreover, his dialogues should find good acceptance from the masses. Mahesh Manjrekar does play to the gallery though one misses the occassional menace that Amjad Khan brought in the original. Adhyayan Suman, who reprises Shakti Kapoor’s part, is okay and so are the other supporting actors.

As the actor in and as Himmatwala, Ajay looks the part and going by the theme, is convincing as the character. He bashes up the goons, teases the heroine and also indulges in comedy. The part doesn’t require him to turn overtly intense though. Tamannaah is decent though one waits to see how she performs in a character that comes with more meat. She is a good dancer and that is an added plus. Music goes well with the film’s narrative.

Overall, Himmatwala is a film that could have done better with newer elements added to the overall narrative. With more than just the core of the original being retained, there was as much distance as the film could have travelled.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Do post your Himmatwala Reviews in the comments section below.

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30 Comments

  • Sajid Khan has locked himself in his room. The crowd outside his house is getting uncontrollable as all of them want their ticket money back. Sajid Khan had claimed that if people did not clap at Ajay’s entry, he will return their money.

  • If Ajay Devgan continues to act in movies like Himmatwala, days are not far when his neighbors’ kids will confuse him with Rikshawalas

    and for all ajay devgn fans who think he is a superstar and ahead of hrithik,akshay,aamir nad srk.. the Himmatwala opening proves that he is nothing without Rohit Shetty

  • @sushant

    Himmatwala may not have worked at the BO. But Ajay was praised by all critics for his role. Film was bad due to Sajid’s worst direction & his over confidence.

    Ajay has given lots of superhits like OATIM,Dilwale,PAK,PTHHT,HDDCS etc etc without Rohit Shetty.

    But one thing is sure that Shetty is nothing without Ajay & you will get it with the release of CE.

  • Feel sorry for Tamanna. :-( I was waiting for her bollywood debut. But sadly, seems like the movie has disappointed everybody;neither critics nor the audience. It’s ok my dear Tamu;all the very best with your next with Akshay.

    Sajid Khan is so overconfident about this movie. I wonder if he thought that he is a star like SRk, Salman, Hrithik or Amir, to be so sure that just because of his namesake people would go and watch his movies. Hope he won’t make such stupid comments about his next movie and get screwed. Plus he must continue to do modern comedies like his previous 3 movies. I actually love all 3 of them.

    @sushant : “days are not far when his neighbors’ kids will confuse him with Rikshawalas”… Ha ha ha… Very funny…!!! You have a great sense of humour I guess. Agree with you.. :-)

  • @sumeet Thanks.

    Himmatwala reviews and opening also proved that Ajay Devgn is average without Rohit Shetty and Sajid Khan is average without Akshay Kumar. Bad luck Ajay, you need to add ‘a’ back in ‘Devgn’.

  • only akki fans hate ajay sir because ajay always showed prowess which akki failed to do so

    @sushanth no one said ajay ahead of anyone…either ur srk fan showin ur anger becoz son of sardar giv gud competition or ur akki fan..

  • Himmatwala is one of the best movies of this year. Really enjoyed the movie. Going to watch again tomorrow

  • My short review of Himmatwala

    Currently in Bollywood there are two sets of movie makers, one those who believe in experimenting and coming up with something unique and then there are a set of directors who stick to their normal entertainment package.

    After watching movies like Heyy Baby and Housefull series as an audience we know what we are to expect from a Sajid Khan movie but this movie lacks the class as well as the panache of his earlier movies.

    I would like to tell you about the story but then it is the same story that you have been told again and again so no point in going there. When you have a story like this all comes down to the directors presentation and here the presentation of the director just gives you headaches.
    Ajay Devgan has achieved a new low with this, if you thought Son of Sardar was bad then this is even worse. Then you have the supremely talented Paresh Rawal for who you lose all the respect that he has gained after doing OMG and Table no.21 just by looking at his get up ( he even tries to mimic Kader Khan but fails terribly) then you have two comedians or villains i.e., Mahesh Manjarekar and Aditya suman who have absolutely no purpose what so ever in the movie. Then there is the beautiful Tamannah Bhatia and that is all she had to do just be there in every 15th minute of the movie and you can see Asrani saab still doing his Sholay gimmicks (SONGS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE MOVIE BETTER NOT BE TALKED ABOUT).

    Every person who sits through this entire movie is certainly a HIMMATWALA

  • Remaking Himmatwala in itself was one of the worst decisions that Sajid Khan could ever take. Just imagine someone trying to remake Ek Tha Tiger, Ready, Tees Maar Khan or Ra One in 30 years from now?

    It’s not about box office success. Sajid could have remade any film there were so many good options. I know 1980 Himmatwala was a major success, but as a movie it sucked a lot.

  • I watched the movie and thought it was a decent entertainer. Not getting the negativity. Even people who have not watched the movie are making fun of it. Come on now. You know what to except from Sajid Khan films. Its the same what you get in Himmatwala.

    If Housefull and Hey Baby were hits, I dont see why Himmatwala wouldnt. Critics are just a minute irrelevant section of the audience. I will wait for the audience verdict.

  • @manish, damn !!!!!! you hit it right….. dude your observation is just bammm right on target…… just remaking those movies which were box office success doesn’t guarantee you success, rather remake a well made movie even if it was flop or average, you could fix it a little and again present it, best example agneepath, old one was cult movie but was flop, new one created records at box office and was praised by critics and audience alike.

  • No disrespect to Ajay Devgn but he should stop doing these kind of movies. And for Mr. Sajid, I guess, he was too over-confident about this movie.

  • Wow what a movie ? There is really a healthy competition between Shirish kunder and sajid khan, who make worst film ?

  • tamannah kind a look like that singer shreya ghoshal. anyway havent watched a movie so cant say how it was but i liked his movie housefull. i will watch it give my review and sajid is over confident fool.

  • Hmm Reviews are bad , but is it as bad as SOS ? all the cretins , dimwits & nincompoops combined cant match the idiotness of Sajid Khan , mixed 80s with 2013 , So awkward feeling -_- ! waiting for Ajay Devgan of Legend of Bhagat Singh & Gangazal , He is good in intense role , he should avoid this kind of slap stick comedies ! All the best to him ofr his next projects , waiting for Satyagrah

  • Himmatwala First Day Business
    Saturday 30th March 2013 11.30 IST
    Boxofficeindia.ComTrade Network
    Himmatwala did well at single screens and collected around 10.50-11 crore nett as per early estimates. The multiplex business was low and Delhi city and East Punjab multiplexes had dull collections while multiplexes in other areas were average.
    The film has done very good business in UP as Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Allahabad etc all put up strong numbers. The divide in the Delhi/UP circuit is so huge as it so rare for a film to be at such low levels in Delhi city but such high levels in UP. Even Singham which did not do well in Delhi city did not have such a gap.
    Although these mass type of films tend not to show growth on Saturday there is a chance for Himmatwala as multiplexes especially in Delhi/Punjab are at low levels.
    The business on Saturday at multiplexes will be keyand growth at multiplexes is a must if the film is tohave any chance at multiplexes over the long run.

  • @sushant..well said. i completely agree. sajid khan should do movies only with Akshay kumar. Ajay is nothing..without rohit shetty!!even crap movies like golmaal and all..god knows how it became hit!! ajay devgn should not follow on the steps of akki n salman…he should go back to roles like in gangaajal or khakhee(negative roles)..he should realise he’s not that equal to akki n salman.

  • You have to go to theater with empty brain and an expectation that you will watch a no brainier masala entertainer. Then you will like it.

    Current problem with directors is that they claims they will cook a biriyani and ends with cooking pav bhaji. At least Sajid did not claimed that. He prepared a masala chaat and yes its tastes like chat only.

    In theater there were two types of people. some left movie before half time and some were watching credit roll also. this type of movie can not be justified, all depends on with which view you are watching it.
    (3/5)

  • I have watched this movie at a single screen and it was houseful and i loved it . it was amazing entertainer by sajid khan after houseful 2 and story was decent people were enjoying and laughing of paresh rawals act and its action sequences were far far better than khiladi 786 and i personally think it was a great entertainer worth watching one time nd i also know all these negative comments are because of the review and they have not watched the movie bt they r just following others . now a days there r two type of good movie in bollywood which are unique and extraordinary movies like kahani , vicky donor , special 26 , kai po che , gangs og wasepur and barfi rockstar which are made for winning awards and others are great masal entertainers like dabbang 2 , SOS, houseful 2 and himatwala are that kind of films that are made for entertaining people and as far as box office and critics is concerend indicine gave ek tha tiger 2.5 stars and was the second highest box office grosser in india after 3 idiots so chilax and go watch the movie it is worth watching movie for being entertained !!

  • WHY WHY WHY….? people like sajid khan get chance to make movies… sajid khan should be banned from industry. on his slate you get crap like hey baby,housefull 1,2 and recent garbage Himmatwala..
    And now icing on the cake is big b is going to work in his next film that only means big b is not getting any movies or he desperetly need money.. people like big b who are known for quality work only encouraging sajid khan aka overconfident self declared smart a** to boast in front of the world about their garbage films as superhit…

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