Gabbar is Back? Not really. It is almost impossible to recreate the tension that Amjad Khan created many years ago. The movie completely fails at creating a character as strong as the original Gabbar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T95zFC4Z2pY
I expected Gabbar Is Back to be a movie with mindless action and very high on the emotional quotient. Although it stands somewhat true to the violence, the movie fails to ignite the passion in the audience. It did get a few claps and cheers, though.
One reason that it fails at getting the audiences to rally behind the protagonist is because the villain is pretty weak.
The movie is all about Gabbar and the villain – Digvijay Patil – hardly gets enough space or screen time to make the audiences hate him. The villain’s entry just before the end of first half is too late. The first half is used mostly to portray Akshay Kumar as people’s messiah.
The other thing that the movie utterly fails on are the dialogues. They are not very strong and hence the actor delivering those look really ridiculous, at times. Then there are some very poor jokes that don’t make you laugh at all.
Action sequences, the mainstay of the movie are not that great either. Action scenes have an overwhelming feel of the Telugu movie industry where the distance of flying bodies equals the level of anger.
The main building collapse scene, the trigger for Gabbar’s revenge, has many flaws. It shows three buildings collapse because of poor construction and wrong licensing, but appear to come down in a planned demolition style.
But it is not all bad. The movie is edited very well and the pace is good enough to not get bored. It doesn’t dwell too long on a scene or doesn’t try to explain things at a very granular level – which is a relief. Watching PK was an agony!
Minimal songs – just three – help make the movie tight. The music is nice and the story moves along in the songs.
Gabbar is Back is the latest in the long line of vigilante movies from Shahenshah to Ghajini. It is not spectacular. But if you like to watch mindless action and are excited at the thought of killing corrupt office holders, you might like it.
Full marks to the director to end the movie on the right note. The danger of making a Vigilante movie is sending the message that it acceptable to break the law if you have been wronged. This is a dangerous message. But the end makes sure that the movie doesn’t send this message.
