Singh is Kinng - Movie Review

Published: September 1, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Javed Jaffrey, Sonu Sood, Om Puri, Kirron Kher

A good-hearted Punjabi simpleton (played by Akshay Kumar), who’s a fish out of water in a Western country, falls in love with a Westernized Indian girl (Katrina Kaif) and helps her prepare for her wedding to the wrong guy while hoping she’ll realize he’s Mr. Right. Sound familiar? Re-treading the same story as Namastey London (2007), with the same lead actors, is almost as much fun as the first go-around, but while Kaif sparkled before, her character this time is flat and underdeveloped. Nonetheless, this action comedy delivers plenty of thrills and laughs, and Kumar—the hardest working man in Bollywood—displays an energy that’s borderline manic.

The action in this movie takes place in Australia instead of England, but the story begins in a small village in the Punjab region of India, which is predominately Sikh. Happy Singh (Kumar) means well, but he’s constantly causing problems for his fellow villagers, so they come up with a plan to get rid of him. A mob boss in Australia, Lucky Singh (Sonu Sood), is from their village and his life of crime is a disgrace to their community. They send Happy, along with another villager, Rangeela (Om Puri), to Australia to try to reform Lucky. The two take an accidental detour to Egypt, where Happy meets Sonia (Kaif), on their way to Australia, where Sonia also happens to live. Happy and Rangeela end up staying with a flourist (Kirron Kher), who turns out to be Sonia’s mother (oh, the coincidences!). Happy rescues Lucky from an attack by a rival mob, but Lucky is paralyzed. His underlings, which include Julie (Neha Dhupia) and Mika (Javed Jaffrey), think Lucky wants Happy to replace him as boss. Happy’s stupidity makes him fearless and his frankness endearing, even to criminals, who loyally follow their new bumbling leader. Sonia returns home with her wealthy fiancé, Punit (Ranvir Shorey), who’s a complete jerk. Happy must hide the fact that he’s a mob kingpin from the upstanding Sonia, so he pretends his mansion really belongs to her mother, and he secretly uses his wealth to throw her a lavish wedding. Happy’s selflessness toward everyone around him redefines what “king” means.

American rapper Snoop Dogg has a cameo in the film performing the title song, marking the first time a mainstream U.S. artist has performed on a Bollywood soundtrack.

Incidentally, the extra “n” in the word “kinng” in the film’s title was added for numerological reasons. Alternate spellings of English words in Bollywood film titles are common.

A sequel, Singh is Kinng 2, with Kumar and Kaif reprising their roles, has been announced and is scheduled to begin shooting in mid-2010.

Singh is Kinng is rated Worth Watching.

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