When there's class and mass, there's Salman Khan. And that's exactly one of the dialogues in the movie. "Mein class aur mass, donon ke liye kaam kartha hoon." And when there's police and rowdy, there's Dabangg. Again, one of the dialogues in the movie goes: Mein police wala goonda hoon.

Well, in Dabangg 3, he is not Chulbul Pandey nor Robinhood Pandey. He is Karu Pandey, which means a dutiful police officer. Dabangg 3 courted controversy when Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) took objection to sadhus dancing with guitars. However, those scenes have been edited out. The movie starts with Salman Khan as Chulbul Pandey saying, "Swagath nahi karoge humara?" No surprise, every fan of the star was whistling in excitement. He punches goons, romances his wife Rajjo (played by Sonakshi Sinha), plays with his kid, helps his brother Makkhan, played by Arbaaz Khan, until he meets his long-lost foe Bali Singh, played by Kichcha Sudeep. The film delves into Chulbul's past, his earlier love Khushi (played by Saiee Manjrekar). What happened to her, what was Bali's role in Chulbul's past and how Chulbul the hero wins over Bali Singh, the villain, forms the crux of the story.

What works:
Salman Khan's movies are commercial. And as a lover of mass movies, yes the slow motion stunts and the apt punch dialogues while meeting those bulky thugs, are entertaining. The movie caters to his fans no doubt. The hero's performance is truly Dabangg in certain scenes when he loses his close one, and when he gets insulted by his family member. The song Munna Badnam Hua is the only song that's catchy, perhaps because it's reminiscent of the earlier version. Some dance moves make you wonder how he can pull that off. Humour in certain scenes are good especially the ones about Vasco da Gama and Jeevan Bhima. There is a message on water conservation, global warming, fit India movement and demonetisation. And finally, there's a reference to Shahrukh Khan and his movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. I couldn't help but wonder if that reference was deliberate. And Sudeep deserves special mention. He looks dashing and delicious and his performance is more than convincing.

What doesn't work:
While you enjoy the slow motion stunt scenes, after a point, it becomes an overdose. To the extent that I wondered, if the scene was devoid of slow motion effect, then he could have killed the goon quicker and saved the victim. Some jokes are below the belt and makes you cringe. And when there is an important scene in the story, the film cuts into a song and you'd want to pull Salman out of that track and show him the right track to the baddie's destination. And just when you enjoy Salman's stunts and applaud, he would let out a "constipated laugh" that would make you wonder if he's 'being human' after all. In the climax, Sonakshi Sinha would say, "Aise hi dialogues marthe rahoge ya hume bachaoge." Well, how true!

Ratings: 
I give this movie 2.5 stars. One for Salman Khan's mass appeal. The second for Sudeep's looks and his abhinaya, meaning expression. Well, no wonder he is called Abhinaya Chakravarthy. And the half for Prabhu Deva's direction and for the entertainment factor. Well, no wonder he is called Abhinaya Chakravarthy. At the end of it all, Sallu Bhai poses a question, a path that senior actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrugan Sinha have traversed through. My answer to that is no. Well, don't know if you'd agree.

Watch the review here:

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