“Why do you watch Salman Khan movies? He is so repetitive”, one of my colleague asked me when I mentioned that I was going for Bajrangi Bhaijaan tonight.

“Because he never falsely advertises his movies to be epic and delivers exactly what you expect most of the times”, was my reply.

But I was wrong, Bajrangi Bhaijaan proved me wrong in the three hour span. The movie surpassed my expectation and giving its credit to Salman alone would not be fair.

A 6-year-old – Muslim girl Shahida accidently finds herself alone in a different nation, and she has no voice to explain herself. To top it off, the nation she is in, is filled with people who if not lover her, do not want to accept her. This is when Pavan Kumar Chaturvedi aka Bajrangi finds her and with the turn of events, makes it a mission to send her back home.

The Hanuman devotee at heart and Hindu by faith – Bajrangi juggles between his faith, his values and humanity in his pursuit. In the end, he makes Shahida meet her family and wins the heart of both nations along the way.

Character like Bajrangi is not a challenge for Salman any day. He knows how to woo audience by either dialogues, or flexing his biceps or by doing some chulbul pandey move. In the movie, he is introduced in a way that you’d expect him to be introduced, but as the movie progresses, he will show you how he grows in the character and even makes you question that is he the same Dabang guy?

For Harshaali Malhotra, playing the role of Shahida (aka Munni) I just have one word – phenomenal. She is one cute, adorable, lovely, sweet ball of talent. All the time in the movie, I was waiting for her to drop one expression that director wouldn’t have asked for, and I found none. She is what people call – born talent. Without a single dialogue (okay, one dialogue) she will win your heart.

Another interesting character i.e. of a Pakistani Reporter played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui will make you fall in love with the actor again. He is brilliant in what he does and with this performance he proves that he justifies that tag awarded to him of a versatile actor.

I love writing, and I love watching movies too, hence I write these reviews. People pointed to me in the past that I may not be an ideal critic and sometimes they catch me enjoying a movie, which might be rubbish in their opinion. I always tell them one thing – Don’t watch a movie just for the acting or screenplay or cinematography or any other technical detail, but also try to understand the point of view the director and writer had when they decided to make the movie.

The credit of success for Bajrangi Bhaijaan can’t be given to Salman, Harshaali, Nawazuddin or anyone unless it is given first to Kabir Khan and Vijyendra Prasad.

This is a movie which was due from a long time, not because it is something to be sent to the Oscars or win accolades, but because Bollywood needed it, we as audience needed it. Portraying hatred is easy, making people laugh on petty jokes is easy and even pushing a movie on the merit of patriotism is easy – but it not easy to make you feel love for two enemy nations at the same time.

When a multiplex jam packed with the audience from different communities claps for the whole minute on the roar of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ – you know that the movie has won the hearts. Go and watch this movie, I assure you that it won’t disappoint.

Jai Shri Ram!

Rating: 4.5/5