There was a time, not so long ago, when Hindi blockbusters stood apart from mythological soap operas and the kitsch of satellite TV. But recent years’ complacency and opportunism have blurred that line almost entirely, leaving audiences ambivalent. Adipurush (2023) was awkwardly crafted yet heavy with piousness, and much of the same can be said for Singham Again, marketed as an action-packed team-up film in the vein of The Avengers, but often resembling a tourism campaign for the Ramayana trail.
Ajay Devgn leads the latest addition to Rohit Shetty’s growing cop universe, following two previous Singham films and standalone entries Simmba (2018) and Sooryavanshi (2021).
The film opens with a curious disclaimer: although inspired by the story of Lord Ram, the characters are not to be seen as deities. It’s an odd warning for a Rohit Shetty film, as his protagonists—especially the somber supercop Bajirao Singham—are revered almost as deities. His every entrance is heralded by hymns and the aura of divinity. In one scene, Singham enters a nightclub, prompting the DJ to cut the music—a surprisingly sensible reaction.
After his stints in Goa and Mumbai, Singham (Devgn) is stationed in Kashmir, heading a Special Operations Group. The reappearance of his old nemesis, Omar Hafeez (Jackie Shroff), propels the story. Hafeez’s grandson, Zubair (played by a grinning Arjun Kapoor), is a notorious drug lord in Sri Lanka, seeking revenge. Singham’s new ‘Shiva’ squad—an off-the-books police unit—shuts down Zubair’s operation, prompting him to kidnap Singham’s wife, Avni (Kareena Kapoor Khan), who runs a Ramleela theater. Despite being built up as a brutal antagonist known as ‘Danger Lanka,’ Zubair’s role is overshadowed by the sheer force of Bollywood heavyweights rallying to take him down.
The nearly five-minute trailer for Singham Again had already spoiled several surprises, including cameos by Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Ranveer Singh, and Akshay Kumar, while also revealing the Ramayana as the film’s central theme. Shetty weaves Avni’s Ramleela sequences into the narrative, creating clumsy parallels, such as a character named Mrigaya (deer) aiding in a Sita Haran homage. Akshay Kumar’s Jatayu works well given his helicopter fixation, while Shroff’s martial arts-friendly Laxman is harder to interpret.
Ranveer Singh’s Simmba, filling the role of Bajrang Bali, shines in his limited screen time, adding humor and charm to the otherwise serious scenes. During the ‘Lanka Dahan’ sequence, Singh’s playful delivery—“Sorry to inconvenience you, bro”—stretches vowels like bubblegum, a reminder that he’s here to ensure the audience enjoys themselves. In contrast, Devgn’s stern portrayal dampens the few ‘mass moments’ Shetty crafted for him, including a scene where he appears to ‘finger-cock’ a thug into submission.
In the trailer, Devgn stands beneath a saffron flag bearing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and an image of the Hindu god, later changed to a neutral red by the censor board. Nevertheless, the message remains clear. As with previous films in the franchise, Singham Again underscores Singham’s Maratha and Hindu identity, linking it to national pride. At one point, Singham proclaims, “I respect Gandhi but worship Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” while Omar idolizes Genghis Khan.
Given the franchise’s history, the overt religious and nationalist undertones in Singham Again are hard to miss. Terms like ‘Ayodhya’ and wordplay on ‘jhanki’ and ‘baki’ permeate the script. Shetty might defend this film as escapist entertainment, but even by those standards, it falls short. The star-studded climax is as predictable and uninspired as the one in Sooryavanshi, showing that the Cop Universe may be nearing its creative limits. Not even a cameo from a famously buoyant Bihar cop can conceal its lack of fresh ideas.
