‘Ustaad Bhagat Singh’ movie review: Harish Shankar, Pawan Kalyan’s film is is an incoherent bore

In 2012, when director Harish Shankar teamed up with Pawan Kalyan for Gabbar Singh, an adaptation of Dabangg, it resulted in a massy outing that capitalised on the star’s nonchalant attitude. The film entertained, even if it did not break new ground in storytelling. A lot has changed since then and the star is now the deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. In Ustaad Bhagat Singh, the director rehashes the outdated template of Gabbar Singh, and infuses it with a heavy dose of ideology that powers the actor-politician today. The result is a narrative that appears to be randomly stitched together to tick a few boxes on a checklist.

The story is strictly perfunctory. One doesn’t go to a Harish Shankar and Pawan Kalyan film expecting an out-of-the-box narrative. But then, even fan service warrants coherence in storytelling. The film begins with snapshots of a covert operation as political fortunes in a State turn upside down, and goes back in time to unravel the origin story of the protagonist.

A boy who grows up in the jungle is adopted by the village headmaster (KS Ravikumar). He is inspired by teachings of Bhagavad Gita and the story of Bhagat Singh. It’s a matter of time before the guru names him Bhagat Singh. The guru, who chooses to remain a bachelor, is called upon to join politics and serve the people of the State. He in turn, makes the boy promise that he, too, will give up everything and join the line of duty when asked to. This is just one of the many attempts to draw parallels to real-life references.

The bond between this guru and the protagonist is the foil within which a story of a fearless cop plays out. The cop is on a ‘clean and green’ mission. He decimates the nexus between a drug cartel and political heavyweights, punishes perpetrators of sexual assault, imparts tough lessons to those who disrespect religious sentiments and the Indian Army. These events are narrated in a disjointed and convenient manner. Take some of these episodes away and it will not alter the larger story.

The treatment of Ustaad Bhagat Singh is similar to the mainstream cinema of a decade or two ago. Neither the writing nor the technical departments bring in anything new. Devi Sri Prasad tries to do his bit with a few high-on-energy dance numbers and Thaman raises the decibel levels each time Pawan Kalyan’s aura has to be played up. The action sequences, too, are dated and appear to be hastily assembled on the editing table. The hovering camera movements in some sequences only add to the discomfort.

In a film where the broad story becomes pointless after a while, it’s not a surprise that the female characters are just meant to be decorative. If Raashii Khanna is shortchanged with a superfluous characterisation, Sree Leela’s does not rise above the chatty, bubbly trope. The therapy sessions featuring Raashii and Sree Leela’s radio jockey act with the ‘gala gala with Leela’ act are written so lazily that they end up being annoying than amusing. The romance between Sree Leela and Pawan Kalyan tries to give the story some emotional depth, but the age gap is glaring.

In the later portions of the film, the overdose of pandering to religious sentiments sticks out sorely. A sub plot on the lines of the ‘Nirbhaya’ incident reeks of voyeurism, as dialogues and visuals keep cutting back to the gruesome incident with a perpetual male gaze.

When the film emphasises on sindoor as a nod to Operation Sindoor, we know that the makers are finally done with their checklist and the story will be wrapped up. Pawan Kalyan is cast in a character that he can enact with his eyes closed. Parthiban, Rao Ramesh, Gautami, Kamal Kamaraju and Srinath Maganti are among the several actors who appear without any scope to make an impression.

Ustaad Bhagat Singh ends up as an example of a narrative that rehashes old formula, heaps it with verbose political messaging and hopes that Pawan Kalyan’s massive fan base will be forgiving and lap it up. His previous outing, They Call Him OG, at least boasted of a distinct style that made the film watchable. This one is a test of endurance. Even diehard fans deserve better in the form of entertainment.