The foot of a khaki clad man kicks the ground and a cloud of dust fills the screen. Now the khaki clad legs walk in an imposing style and the message ‘Fate loves the fearless’ appears on the screen. We don’t yet see the man. Then we see an instantly recognisable silhouette from back, and a slight profile. Just as the full figure of the khaki clad man is about to be visible through a veil of dust, the name-plate Chulbul Pandey along with a number is seen. As the man tries to shake off the dust, we are told that the good hearted bad ass cop is back. Now the man himself finally appears and asks cockily ‘swagat nahi karoge hamara?’ The viewer by now is totally gripped by the proceedings. Then we are promised of ‘more moves’, ‘more romance’ and ‘more style’ with Chulbul Pandey jumping, punching, kicking and breaking the baddies’ bones in style, romancing Rajjo ( who puts the goggles in Chulbul’s signature style in the back-string of her blouse!) and mouthing dialogues like ‘hum ahinsawadi thanedaar hai. Goli toh kya gaali bhi nahi dete’ and some tough and mean looks later ending it with a cheeky ‘Jhootiya saala’! That’s Dabangg reloaded for you!
The trailer is undoubtedly very good but despite getting to see the expected one is not totally convinced about this trailer. Except for the promise of more, we don’t see anything more than what we have already seen in part 1. Hopefully, we get to see that in subsequent trailers. The trailers of the original Dabangg had left everyone awestruck and tremendously excited and curious about the film. The excitement and curiosity is there even this time around but the effect of the trailer for some reason doesn’t appear to be quite the same.
Dabangg 2 is obviously a different film but comparison with the original Dabangg is inevitable.
The character of ‘Robin hood’ Pandey was introduced in the first part. The character of a quirky bad ass cop with a good heart was gradually revealed along with other characters, taking the story forward and making Dabangg a very interesting and entertaining film. Now that we already know him, everything has to move a step further. How the makers are doing it, is not very clear from this trailer. They have promised that it will have ‘more’ of everything. Does that mean it’s going to be repetitive? May be. Does that mean it’s not going to be interesting? Not necessarily.
Dabangg had got the entire mix just right. Achieving the same with the Part 2 without overdoing anything, would be a great challenge. If things go even a little off balance, everything will start looking artificial or far-fetched.
If we talk about just the look, the original Dabangg had a uniform brownish tinted look achieved with probably a peculiar, special lighting. That particular look is missing at certain points in the Dabangg 2 trailer. The reason could probably be the original DOP not being available for the film. But the look is definitely not inconsistent.
The action that we saw in the original was earthy yet stylish. That style seems to be somewhat missing in the trailer. It looks more violent than stylish. More on the lines of Singham than Dabangg.
The songs and choreography in original Dabangg were highlights of the film. From what we see in the trailer, the choreography also doesn’t appear to be belonging to the same style. A frame or two even look chaotic.
Thankfully, the writer of the original Dabangg, Mr Dilip Shukla is writing the sequel as well. So, a good consistency on the story and the script part can be expected.
Now the best part of the trailer – and that’s unquestionably Salman Khan. The most convincing, the most consistent and assuring thing about this trailer has to be Salman Khan. He seems to have effortlessly carried on from the first part without any gap or drop whatsoever. The character that was supposed to be grey ended up being a hero because of the way Salman Khan played it. The charismatic actor seems to be in the same form and that’s great news for the fans.
From this trailer, it’s not clear whether Chulbul goes on a bigger mission or he is dealing with the local goons yet again. With family matters resolved and Rajjo having been won over, it also remains to be seen what provides the emotional edge to the further episodes in Chulbul Pandey’s life.
I think it is too early to draw inferences about the film and it would be wise to wait for the second trailer.
People didn’t know what to expect in part one and were blown away by the character and the film. Now that they know him well and love him, they will be expecting a lot. Dabangg 2 will have to carry a tremendous pressure of these vague expectations. When films like Dabangg get made, magic happens but when sequels to such films are made, the magic has to be created. It is an extremely tough job and I hope Arbaaz and team have pulled it off.
Check out the trailer right here:
Dabangg 2 Official Theatrical Trailer | Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha
Dabangg 2 releases 21st December 2012.