Starring: Pawan Kalyan, Kajal Aggarwal, Sharad Kelkar, Mukesh Rishi.
Dir by K.S. Ravindra.
Rating:
Ever saw a man preening before the lift mirror? Sardar Gabbar Singh is a bit like that. It is self-indulgent and irritating. Surprising, because Pawan Kalyan’s massive fan base notwithstanding, the actor is rooted in earthiness. Pawan, who stepped into politics with his Jana Sena, uses SGS to talk about caste inequalities, mining mafia and farmer displacement. The tale of a fearless cop sent to lawless Rattanpur (an imaginary town on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border) to rein in mining kingpin Bhairav Singh (Sharad Kelkar) is told drearily. Gunfights break out too often; scenes appear disconnected. So director K.S. Ravindra throws in comedy, a princess (a svelte Kajal Aggarwal), a couple of antaakshari scenes and some forgettable songs. Pawan’s comic timing and dialogue delivery are the only saving grace. Essentially, it is an honest cop vs evil, rich man movie. Several lines cater to Pawan’s political ambitions, like, “Raaju kulam nunchi kaadu, janam nunchi pudtaadu (A king is born not from caste but from people’s affections)”. The takeaway scene, however, is of a half-shaven Pawan, chasing after goons in a lungi and later muttering, “Asale sagham geddam geesukoni chirrakga unnanu (I am in a bad mood, what with my shaving being interrupted)”.