Singham (2011 Film)

''Singham'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, based on a script by writers Yunus Sajawal and Farhad-Sajid. It serves as the first installment of Shetty's Cop Universe. A remake of the 2010 Tamil film '' of the same title'' by Hari, the film stars Ajay Devgn in the lead role as a police officer named Bajirao Singham alongside Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj, who reprises his role from the original film.

''Singham'' marked Devgn's return to the action genre after several years. It was theatrically released in India on 22 July 2011 with general positive reviews from the critics towards praise for action-emotional drama, dialogues and homage to 70s masala films. It opened with strong box office response; the film earned 876 million in India on the first day and a worldwide total of against a budget, becoming a box-office blockbuster.

''Singham'' gained a cult film status over the years, particularly for Devgn's portrayal of Bajirao. After the film's success at the box office, Devgn and Shetty collaborated for the sequel '' Singham Returns'' (2014) and ''Singham Again'' (2024). Devgn reprised his role in Shetty's directorials of ''Simmba'' (2018) and ''Sooryavanshi'' (2021), which together form Shetty's Cop Universe.

Plot

Inspector Rakesh Kadam, an honest officer, is falsely accused of corruption by Jaikant Shikre, a powerful crime boss, politician, and businessman running illegal rackets in Goa. Unable to bear the disgrace, Kadam commits suicide. His widow, Megha, vows revenge, declaring that justice will prevail.

The story shifts to Shivgad, a village near the Goa-Maharashtra border, where Bajirao Singham, an upright police officer, commands the local station. Respected for his informal yet effective problem-solving methods, Singham wins the villagers' admiration. His father Manikrao's childhood friend, industrialist Gautam Bhosle, visits Shivgad with his family, including his daughter Kavya. A series of comedic incidents lead to Kavya falling in love with Singham, admiring his integrity and simplicity.

Jaikant, out on conditional bail for murder, is required to report to Shivgad but sends a proxy. Enraged, Singham demands Jaikant sign in person. Humiliated by Singham in front of the villagers, Jaikant uses his influence to transfer Singham to Goa, where he begins a campaign of harassment. In Goa, Singham discovers the extent of Jaikant's criminal empire, supported by corrupt officials like DSP Satyam Patkar, who is his senior. Despite attempts to intimidate him, Singham resolves to stand firm, bolstered by support from Kavya and his team of junior officers, who also despise Jaikant but feel powerless due to his political clout. Singham starts dismantling Jaikant's operations by arresting his henchman, Shiva, on trumped-up charges. Shiva's arrest reveals Jaikant's involvement in Kadam's downfall. Jaikant escalates the conflict by kidnapping Kavya's sister Anjali but is thwarted by Singham, who rescues her. Jaikant's political party wins the election, and he becomes a minister, further complicating matters. He issues transfer orders for Singham, forcing him to leave Goa.

At a police function, Singham accuses his colleagues of betraying their duty by protecting Jaikant. His words inspire them to join his fight. With the support of the entire Goa Police Force, including Patkar, who has a change of heart, Singham leads a raid on Jaikant's residence. Jaikant is captured after a dramatic chase but is executed by the officers in a staged encounter, seated in Kadam's chair. The team exposes Jaikant's crimes, clears Kadam's name, and restores Megha's dignity. The film concludes with Singham and his colleagues saluting Megha, symbolizing the triumph of justice and integrity.

Cast

* Ajay Devgn as Inspector Bajirao Singham
* Kajal Aggarwal as Kavya Bhosle
* Prakash Raj as Jaikant Shikre
* Sudhanshu Pandey as Inspector Rakesh Kadam (special appearance)
* Sonali Kulkarni as Megha Kadam
* Sachin Khedekar as Gautam "Gotya" Bhosle
* Govind Namdev as Manikrao "Manya" Singham, Bajirao's father
* Meghna Vaidya as Lata Singham, Bajirao's mother
* Ashok Saraf as Head-Constable Prabhu Sawalkar
* Murali Sharma as DSP Satyam Patkar
* Ashok Samarth as Shiva Nayak, Jaikant's right-hand
* Ankur Nayyar as Sub-Inspector Abbas Malik
* Vijay Patkar as Havaldar Ramesh Kelkar
* Sana Amin Sheikh as Anjali Bhosle, Kavya's sister
* Anant Jog as Minister Anant Narvekar
* Besant Ravi as Sangam Talkies Goon
* Vineet Sharma as Sub-Inspector Dev Phadnis
* Suchitra Bandekar as Savita Bhosle, Kavya's mother
* Kishore Nandlaskar as Narvekar's peon
* Naushad Abbas as Jaikant's henchman
* Hari Bala as Nandu Singh, a villager in Shivgarh
* Vikash Kadam as Sadha Singh, a villager in Shivgarh
* Pradeep Velankar as DGP Vikram Pawar, Goa Police
* Harish Shetty as Vitthal Dalvi, Jaikant's ally
* Jayant Sawarkar as Kamalkant Bhosle, Kavya's grandfather
* Suhasini Deshpande as Suhasini Bhosle, Kavya's grandmother
* Ravindra Berde as Zamindar Chandrakant
* Agastya Dhanorkar as Nitin, Rakesh Kadam's son
* Neeraj Khetrapal as Jaikant's lawyer

Production

After the success of the Tamil film ''Singam'', directed by Hari in 2010, the film's remake rights were sold by the producers for Hindi and Kannada versions. The co-producers of the Tamil version, Reliance Big Pictures purchased the Hindi remake rights and announced in November 2010 that the version would feature Rohit Shetty as director and Ajay Devgn in the lead role.

Casting

Prakash Raj was signed on to reprise his role as the antagonist from the original, whilst reports emerged that Asin and Anushka Shetty were being considered for the female lead role.

In mid-February 2011, Kajal Aggarwal, an actress who predominantly features in South Indian films was signed in as the female lead.

''Singham'' went on floors in November 2010, with its scheduled cast. The first schedule began in early March 2011 with action sequences shot in Goa featuring technicians from South India.

A scene with Prakash Raj and Ajay Devgn was shot in Goregaon in Mumbai with around 500 junior artists as villagers. Another scene was shot at Vagator in Goa for which 100 police jeeps were called. The shooting was stalled by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) members who demanded 45 lakh to be paid to the workers when it was being shot in Film City in Mumbai.

Release

Reliance Entertainment released ''Singham'' on 22 July 2011 in 2000 screens worldwide with 1500 prints excluding overseas.

The film's DVD was released on 23 August 2011. The Delhi High Court, upon Reliance Entertainment's request, issued an order to all Indian ISPs to block file sharing sites to prevent unauthorized sharing of ''Singham''.

A promotional mobile video game was released the same year as a tie-in product for the film.

Ahead of the ''Singham Again'' release, ''Singham'' was re-released theatrically on 18 October 2024.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Nikhat Kazmi of ''The Times of India'' gave it four out of five stars and stated "''Singham'' is over-the-top retro kitsch, spilling over with high-voltage stunts, slow-motion action cuts and fiery dialogues delivered in high decibels. It is meant for all those action buffs interested in time travel to the angry young 1970s and 1980s when cinema was larger-than-life and totally unrealistic. But then, retro is currently chic, isn't it?" Komal Nahta of ''Koimoi'' gave it four and a half stars out of five and said "On the whole, ''Singham'' is a powerful action-emotional drama which boasts of equally powerful dialogues and absolutely power-packed performances. It's a super-hit and will be loved by the masses and the classes, the men and the women, the young and the old, the rich and the poor. It is the kind of film which consumes the viewer and gives him the feeling that he was part of the fight against corruption! The film has immense repeat-value. Its business in Maharashtra will get a further boost because of the liberal use of Marathi in the dialogues. Kajal Aggarwal acts with effortless ease. Her performance is good."
Suparna Sharma of ''The Asian Age'' gave it two out of five stars and stated "''Singham'' is a primitive, archetypal genre piece, and it is a hit. Rohit Shetty taps into the sentiment of the moment – emasculation, frustration – and gratifies it. But endowing a cop with nobility doesn't ring true, especially not when he is neither Chulbul-charming nor when the target of his anger and lashing is generic sleaze... Singham is vigilante cop let loose on all things foul. I felt fluctuating connect with Singham, but mostly he made me queasy." Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' gave the film four and a half stars out of five and said "Singham pays homage to the action films of the 1970s, which was known for the heroism, death-defying action sequences and pulse-pounding thrills. It's an acknowledgement to one of the most successful genres of Bollywood – action movies – known for the trademark good versus evil themes and well-choreographed stunts." Saibal Chatterjee from ''NDTV'' also gave four out of five stars and said "Singham is an old-fashioned but rousing Hindi commercial film that pretty much restores one's faith in this often-maligned brand of cinema. It has super-duper hit written all over it. No matter how dismissive you might be of films that have no space for shades of grey, chances are that ''Singham'' will disarm you, if only for a bit." ''Dailybhaskar'' gave a score of three stars out of five and said "The action takes over the romance in the film. Go for it, if you want to catch one hell of an action flick! "

Sukanya Venkatraghavan from ''Filmfare'' gave two stars out of five and said "''Singham'' is a film that will invoke wolf whistles and applause from its audience. It is gloriously massy. The movie knows its job and does it well. It does nothing out of the box to grab your attention and yet it does. Pretty easily. Watch it for its robust potboiler personality. With extra masala as garnish. Ajay Devgan pulls out all stops for this one. He is fierce and impactful. This is his show all the way. His quirky forte for comedy too comes forth in the ubiquitous ha ha sequences with leading lady Kajal Aggarwal who looks pretty and has done what she has been told to, but probably deserved a meatier debut." Kaveree Bamzai from ''India Today'' gave three out of five stars and deemed that "Mr Devgn tries hard, growling like a Singham, and acting like a superman, but I was more interested in Prakash Raj's two tone Al Capone shoes." Raja Sen from ''Rediff'' gave one and a half stars out of five and said "All I can personally say about this trend of remaking one-note Southern hits as a viewer is that it's an exhausting one. It is in the tiny victories that we must seek refuge after a film like this: I'm just glad the hero, so eager to peel off his uniform, left his pants on." Sudhish Kamath from ''The Hindu'' said "The original wasn't the best film around but it had a few smarts, pace and fury, and worked despite its cheesy visual effects purely because of Suriya who made the corniest lines sound good. Devgn does exactly the opposite. He takes some half-decent lines (by Farhad and Sajid) and makes them sound cheesy." Rajeev Masand of ''CNN-IBN'' gave 2 stars out of 5, commenting "Remake of the 2010 Tamil blockbuster of the same name, 'Singham' has occasional bursts of comedy (both puerile and genuinely funny), but it's never quite as entertaining as the similarly intentioned 'Dabangg'."

Shubha Shetty Saha from ''MiD DAY'' gave the film a score of two stars and deemed that "Nothing turns director Rohit Shetty on more than cars meeting midair. We all know that by now. And this film has some breath-taking action sequences, too. That's about it is." Meenakshi Rao from '' The Pioneer'' describes the film as "the David Dhawan of action, or for that matter the Golmaal of fights. To keep the audience engaged all through such unending babble needs some kind of acumen which normal people do not always have and through which people like Rohit Shetty get to make a whole lot of money, if not sense." giving it seven out of ten stars. Kunal Guha from ''Yahoo! Movies'' gave two stars and says that "The film's assumption that mispronunciation is funny makes us endure words like honest (with a loud 'h'), clean cheet (clean chit), noun-saans (nonsense) and sooocide (suicide). The dialogues are spouted with immense enthusiasm, but the words defuse the intensity and make them seem trivial. Devgn does a fair job and conveys sufficient conviction and humility through his character. Kajal Aggarwal makes an unobjectionable debut and her eyes would surely inspire a few compliments."

Box office

''Singham'' started extremely well at single screens with occupancy around 90% and was average at multiplexes with 50%–60% occupancy, In the first four days, the film collected . After five days, the earnings were around without any drop. The opening week gross collections were in India and from overseas to fetch a total opening week gross of , thus putting the nett weekend collections at , including in Mumbai area alone. In the second week, it collected nett to take the total two-week net collections at . The film is currently the sixth highest second week grosser. The third weekend collections were estimated to be . After three weeks, the nett collections amounted to . It collected in its fourth week bringing its collections to in four weeks. ''Singham'' earned nett in India, at the end of its theatrical run.

The film grossed over worldwide. It has grossed a total of worldwide, including in India and () overseas.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by Ajay–Atul, with lyrics penned by Swanand Kirkire.

Accolades

Protests in Karnataka

''Singham'' had been removed from cinemas in Karnataka while some cinemas had cancelled the shows following pressure from various groups protesting against derogatory statements against the Kannadigas. Various organisations raised voices against the anti-Kannadiga dialogues in ''Singham'' and the film which was released faced problems in continuing with the shows. There was a demand to remove such scenes from the film and the filmmakers contemplated on the next course of action.

Legacy

The music video for the 2020 Black Eyed Peas song "Action" pays tribute to Indian film action scenes, including ''Singham''.

Animated series

An animated series based on ''Singham'' premiered on Discovery Kids (India) in April 2018.

Sequel and spin-offs

'' Singham Returns'', a sequel to ''Singham'' directed by Shetty and produced by Ajay Devgn Films, released in 2014. Devgn reprises his role from the previous film, while also co-producing the project. Kareena Kapoor plays the female lead. The film was also simultaneously made in Marathi. The film was released worldwide on 15 August 2014. The plot is loosely based on the 1993 Malayalam film '' Ekalavyan''.

''Simmba'', a spin-off to ''Singham'' directed by Shetty and produced by Dharma Productions, was released in 2018. Starring Ranveer Singh, the film features Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao, a corrupt cop hailing from the same town as Singham. Devgn reprises his role in a special appearance. Another sequence or spin-off, ''Sooryavanshi'', starring Akshay Kumar as another DCP named Veer Sooryavanshi who join hands with Simmba and Singham to stop a terrorist attack on Mumbai is directed again by Shetty.

The fifth installment, ''Singham Again'', was announced in December 2022, with Ajay Devgn reprising his role as Singham.

References

External links

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2011 films
2010s Hindi-language films
Indian action films
2011 action films
Films shot in India
Films set in Goa
Hindi remakes of Tamil films
Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police
Films directed by Rohit Shetty
Films scored by Ajay–Atul
Cop Universe
Reliance Entertainment films
Films shot in Goa
Hindi-language action films
Films adapted into television shows
Race-related controversies in film
Films adapted for other media
2011 controversies