Singh Is Kinng

''Singh Is Kinng'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Anees Bazmee from a screenplay by Bazmee and Suresh Nair. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Javed Jaffrey, Sonu Sood, and Sudhanshu Pandey. In the film, Happy Singh (Kumar) is sent to Australia to reunite Lakhan Singh (Sood), a crime boss, with his ill father but finds himself facing love and trouble instead. The film also featured a song and a music video with American rapper Snoop Dogg.

A major part of the film was shot in Australia. The film marked the fourth collaboration of Kumar and Kaif after '' Humko Deewana Kar Gaye'' (2006), '' Namastey London'' (2007) and '' Welcome'' (2007). The spelling of the word "king" in the film's title with an additional letter "n" was based on advice provided by a numerologist.

''Singh Is Kinng'' was released on 8 August 2008 with mixed to positive critical reception. It became a huge commercial success, earning ₹136 crore worldwide, thus becoming the third-highest grossing Hindi film of 2008. At the 3rd Asian Film Awards, ''Singh Is Kinng'' received 1 nomination – Best Actor (Kumar). Moreover, at the 54th Filmfare Awards, the film won Best Female Playback Singer ( Shreya Ghoshal for "Teri Ore"), in addition to a nomination for Best Actor (Kumar).

The film spawned a standalone quasi-sequel '' Singh Is Bliing'' (2015) also starring Kumar in the lead role.

Plot

Lakhan “Lucky” Singh, known as the "Kinng," is the kingpin of the Australian underworld, accompanied by his Sikh mafia associates Julie, Mika (Lucky's brother), Pankaj Udaas, Raftaar Mann, Dilbagh Singh and Gurbaksh Singh. In Lucky's birthplace in Punjab, another Sikh named Happy Singh often causes trouble despite his good intentions, leading the villagers to send him on a mission to Australia with his friend Rangeela to bring Lucky back and reunite him with his ill father, hoping to get rid of Happy for a while.

At the airport, their tickets to Australia get swapped with those of Puneet, who was headed to Egypt. Consequently, Happy and Rangeela find themselves in Egypt, where Happy meets Sonia, a lawyer, and falls in love with her, but they part ways without him expressing his feelings. The two then proceed to Australia, where Lucky dismisses Happy's request to return to Punjab and throws him out. Stranded, Happy receives kindness from an elderly lady who offers him food despite being a stranger.

A series of incidents instigated by Happy result in Lucky getting severely injured and paralyzed. Surprisingly, Happy is then made the new Kinng by Lucky's associates, who misread Lucky's intention to kill him, much to Lucky's chagrin. The elderly woman who helped Happy reveals her plight: her daughter is returning from Egypt with a wealthy fiancé, revealed to be Puneet, and she is worried her daughter will discover they are now living in poverty due to her father's death. Happy offers her Lucky's mansion to stay in and has the mafia associates work for her. When the daughter arrives, Happy is shocked to see that she is Sonia. Although Sonia begins to fall for Happy, she is conflicted because of her relationship with Puneet, who grows increasingly suspicious of Happy. Over time, the members of Lucky's gang, inspired by Happy's kindness, begin to reform their lives. Puneet eventually learns Happy's true identity as the Kinng of the underworld and shares this revelation with Sonia. Initially shocked, she is later convinced by her mother, Rangeela, and Lucky's gang members that Happy wants nothing else but to see others happy and peaceful. Meanwhile, Puneet conspires with Mika, who wants to become Kinng himself, to kill Happy. Their motives differ: Puneet wishes to eliminate Happy to keep Sonia, while Mika wants to seize power.

On the day of Sonia and Puneet's wedding, a confrontation ensues when Happy and his associates crash the event and fight Mika's goons. During the chaos, Puneet abandons Sonia to save himself, allowing Happy to take his place at the altar and unintentionally marry Sonia. Puneet later seeks forgiveness as his father takes him away. Meanwhile, Mika's guard tries to kill Lucky, but the trauma causes Lucky's paralysis to be cured. Realizing Mika's betrayal, Lucky is heartbroken.

As the confrontation escalates, Mika, equipped with special glasses and a hearing aid, prepares to shoot Happy, but Lucky intervenes. A tense standoff unfolds, with Happy advising Mika on the qualities of a true Sikh. Lucky confesses that being Kinng was a source of misery for him, as a true Kinng fights for others, not himself. Remorseful, Mika drops his weapon. The film concludes with Happy and Sonia's wedding and the gang members returning to their village, where they find peace and redemption. A final image shows Lucky reflecting, "And that’s how they became real Singh and real Kinng."

Cast

* Akshay Kumar as Happy Singh
* Katrina Kaif as Lawyer Sonia Singh, Puneet's fiancée
* Om Puri as Rangeela Mann
* Ranvir Shorey as Puneet Sabarwal, Sonia's fiancé
* Jaaved Jaaferi as Mika Singh and Mr. Param Sabarwal, Puneet's father (Dual Role)
* Neha Dhupia as Julie Gupta
* Sonu Sood as Lakhan "Lucky" Singh / Ungli Baba
* Kirron Kher as Mrs. Rose Singh (Sonia's mother)
* Kamal Chopra as Guruji Gurbaksh Singh
* Sudhanshu Pandey as Raftaar Mann
* Yashpal Sharma as Pankaj Udaas
* Satwant Kaur as Lakhan's mother
* Manoj Pahwa as Dilbagh Singh
* Chayan Sarkar as Man at Airport
* Gurpreet Ghuggi as Manjeet
* Snoop Dogg as himself
* Gleven Roy Abugan as himself
* Tyson Bradly as DJ
* Khyali Saharan as groom
* Sanchita Choudary as Tanya Singh
* Moksha Rana as Little Blind Girl

Music

The music of the film was composed by Pritam Chakraborty and the lyrics were written by Mayur Puri. The title song was composed by the British band RDB. The soundtrack was launched officially at the IIFA Awards in Bangkok on 8 June 2008.

Snoop Dogg has a cameo in the video of the title song.

Shreya Ghoshal, who sang the song "Teri Ore," won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and the IIFA Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Mayur Puri was nominated for the Star Screen Awards, in the "Best Lyrics" category, for the same song. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's third highest-selling.

The song "Bhootni Ke" used in the film is sung by Mika Singh.

Track listing

Reception

Critical response

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, and stated "''Singh Is Kinng'' lives up to the hype and hoopla. At the box-office, the film will fetch a hurricane-like start and will be record-shattering. Notwithstanding the new oppositions in the weeks to come, it will rule the hearts of the ''aam junta''. Blockbuster Hit!" ''Times of India'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "The film has an entertaining first half. The second half does get cluttered, clumsy and loose with loads of wasted talent in the likes of Ranvir Shorey, Javed Jaffrey and a side-lined Om Puri." Gaurav Malani of '' Economic Times'' stated, "This king doesn't quite rule your heart unconditionally." Rajeev Masand gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, and stated "''Singh is Kinng'' celebrates the spirit of being a Sikh, and yet it completely disregards the most basic detail of Sikh identity – how can your Sikh characters sport turbans but not full beards?" Aseem Chhabra of Rediff.com gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, and stated "Akshay is the ''Kinng''". Lisa Tsering of ''Hollywood Reporter'' stated, "''Singh Is Kinng'' is a rollicking late-night party you don't want to end - with a friendly, funny and generous host; gorgeous women; pumped-up bhangra music and an extravagant, booze-soaked scuffle or two." Shubhra Gupta of ''The Indian Express'' stated, "Whatever else it notches up, Singh Is Kinng''' will always and forever be known as the first Hindi film in Punjabi : everyone talks as if sarson da saag is coming out of their mouths."

Amodini of Friday Nirvana gave the film 0 out of 5 stars, and stated that it was a "dumbed-down masala". Janak of Cinema Online Malaysia gave the film 5 out of 5 stars, and stated "''Singh Is Kinng'' is a fantastic five-star movie with wonderful casts and beautiful songs. You may find all the elements of Hindi cinema in this film, from action to comedy, and drama to romance. This is a movie not to be missed, especially if you are a Punjabi and a Bollywood fan. I'm still buzzing from the soundtrack!" Wietske Uneken of Cinemagazine gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and stated, "Thanks to its humorous approach, Singh is Kinng''' is an entertaining film." Sri of Frames N Pages stated, "The film lacks logic, but still a great entertainer." R. Paul Dhillon of '' Georgia Straight'' stated, "The filmmakers seem interested only in manipulating the audience, with absolutely no regard for plot, characters, or believability." Molodezhnaja gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5. Rachel Saltz of ''New York Times'' stated, "''“''Singh Is Kinng” isn’t a great movie. But the immensely likable Akshay Kumar shines as a Capraesque hero who spreads bedrock Indian values." Sonia Chopra of Sify gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "And there it is: yet another critic-proof film that the audience has pre-decided to like, such that you imagine them displaying the relevant finger to those who disagree.''"''

Sikh controversy

Some members of the Sikh community had expressed their dissatisfaction over the portrayal of Sikhs in the movie. On 1 August 2008, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) wrote a letter to Sheila Dikshit, the then Chief Minister of Delhi, asking her to ban the movie, as the trailer showed Akshay Kumar's character sporting a trimmed beard. According to their religious guidelines, male Sikhs should not trim their beards, and the DSGMC found this offensive. After negotiations with the DSGMC authorities, the film was given clearance on 7 August 2008.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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2000s action comedy-drama films
2000s Hindi-language films
2000s Indian films
2000s masala films
2008 controversies
2008 films
2008 romantic comedy-drama films
Films about organised crime in Australia
Films about organised crime in India
Films about Sikhism
Films directed by Anees Bazmee
Films featuring songs by Pritam
Films set in Australia
Films set in Egypt
Films set in Punjab, India
Films shot in Australia
Films shot in Egypt
Films shot in Punjab, India
Hari Om Entertainment films
Indian action comedy-drama films
Indian romantic action films
Indian romantic comedy-drama films
Indian slapstick comedy films
Indian-Australian films
Reliance Entertainment films
Religious controversies in film
Religious controversies in India
Sikhism-related controversies
Viacom18 Studios films