Singh is Bliing: A blundering mess

Singh is Bliing has all the stereotypes and clichés associated with senseless Bollywood comedies, writes Deepa Gauri.

By Deepa Gauri

Published: Sat 3 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Sat 3 Oct 2015, 11:08 AM

IF THERE IS a certain low denominator that Prabhu Deva sets for himself in the name of entertainment, he pushes it a few notches deeper with Singh is Bliing.
But that, apparently, serves the purpose. Prabhu Deva makes money-spinners even if the films under his baton are some of the worst in the careers of the actors who star in them.
Maybe that is why he gets to make big budget masala movies, travel the world in the name of shooting it, and get A-list actors to behave like fools before the camera.
And then we have the tactical marketing support rendered by critics who see 'entertainment' as necessarily 'mindless.' They say films are for the masses, and that masses are the ones who come after a hard day's work to enjoy.
Prabhu Deva, therefore, makes 'mass enjoyment' movies - meaning the ones that toast stereotypes and are empty, stupid and often vulgar. What else explains that brief appearance of the director in Singh is Bliing - where he does an obnoxious toilet act on actors? Maybe it was his cue to all his critics. But if that is meant to be funny, if that is what 'hard working' people need, yes, let us make more of Singh is Bliings.
No amount of forewarning prepares you for the jumbled, blundering mess of a movie that awaits you. What really is the film all about? Why are these actors behaving with such utter naiveté? And why is Lara Dutta calling this her comeback vehicle just because she gets to crash coconuts on men where it really hurts?
Well, the questions are irrelevant. This is an Akshay Kumar movie, where obviously the actor is having so much fun. He makes the film bearable because he brings that nonsensical quotient to the proceedings, telling you with his every gesture that Singh is Bliing is a reel-after-reel of absurd frames.
As Raftaar Singh banished by his dad to Goa so he can become more responsible, Akshay does some fine comedy with total deadpan ease. Surprisingly, for a large part of the movie, he happily plays second fiddle in the action scenes to Amy Jackson (as Sara, who has arrived from Romania in search of her long-lost mother).
Yes, in Singh is Bliing, the hero looks on as the heroine rescues him. Bravo, Prabhu Deva, you have learnt the art of not being misogynistic, compared to some of your earlier movies.
In a movie that appears to have no script at all, Amy, however, shines. She carries her role with a certain élan that no others in the film get to do.
And yes, we also have the extremely talented Kay Kay Menon as Mark who is out to take revenge on Sara for humiliating him in public. Mark is an arms dealer who even kills his own father. In one act, he is shown faking his sadness for his father's death, mouthing some of the most inane lines written in Bollywood. And Menon pulls it off.
Therein rests a clue to 'the Prabhu Deva school of movies.' And that is to entrust utterly bad roles to great actors. They will bring a certain modicum of respect to the movie.
Singh is Bliing, for all its spectacular visuals and mix of songs that are meant to be foot-tapping, is what its name suggests: A fake bling with no value that makes viewers go 'pling.'