Akshay Kumar has made a career out of portraying the stereotypical Punjabi male. Ahead of the release of his latest film, action-comedy Singh is Bliing, we look at five blockbusters in which he shines as a turban-wearing Sikh who dances and fights with equal aplomb.
Singh is Bliing (2015)
Directed by Prabhu Deva
Akshay Kumar and Prabhu Deva team up again for Singh is Bliing, which they say is similar to their first movie together, Rowdy Rathore, rather than a sequel to Kumar's 2008 hit Singh is Kinng.
Raftaar Singh (Kumar) is a village simpleton and the apple of his mother's eye. However, his father, who thinks he's good for nothing, sends him from his native Patiala to Goa to work in his friend's company. He gets embroiled in a series of adventures, including a face-off with a power-hungry bad guy, played by Kay Kay Menon, who lives surrounded by wealth and bodyguards in Romania.
Singh also becomes the object of affection of two women, the deceptively simple Emily (Lara Dutta) and the mysterious Sara (Amy Jackson). Part action and part romcom, the movie promotes the concept of "Singh-giri", the innate quality of well-meaning Sikh men, who are known for their magnanimous personalities and a happy-go-lucky attitude.
Patiala House (2011)
Directed by Nikhil Advani
This movie offers a poignant look at the struggles of a Punjabi family living in Southall, the "mini-India" of London, England.
Foreboding patriarch Gurtej Singh Kahlon (Rishi Kapoor), who suffered racial discrimination as a young man, is adamant that his talented son, Parghat Singh Kahlon, aka Gattu (Kumar), will not play for the England cricket team.
Contrary to his other super-colourful Punjabi characters, Kumar was lauded for his restraint in this film - in which the premise was bigger than the performances. The inner workings of a North Indian family - where the patriarch typically lays down the rules - were also well portrayed, although the movie has the obligatory happy ending - a typical Bollywood rule.
Singh is Kinng(2008)
Directed by Anees Bazmee
A riot of noise and colour, the film tells the story of Happy Singh (Kumar), a prankster from Punjab who unwittingly becomes the "king" of a group of Sikh mafiosi in Australia.
A hilarious case of mistaken identities ensues, as Happy, ever the do-gooder, tries to imbibe honourable values in his trigger-happy gang of villains (Sonu Sood, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Pahwa, Neha Dhupia and an excellent Javed Jaffery). He reminds them of the good times to be had in simple village life, while doling out lessons from the life of Guru Nanak and, to their utmost horror, revoking free-firing privileges.
Katrina Kaif plays Kumar's love interest while Om Puri raises the film's Punjabi-ness with his vibrant attire and jargon-rich dialogue. One of the first Bollywood films to put a leading actor in a turban, Singh is Kinng was appreciated for its typically Punjabi-style music, including songs by Snoop Dogg and the British bhangra band RDB.
Namastey London(2007)
Directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah
This East-versus-West romcom centres on the Indianisation of Jazz (Katrina Kaif), who was born and raised in London, and so does not identify with her Punjabi roots.
Enter Arjun Singh (Kumar), a super-simple man from a small village in the heart of the Punjab, who can't believe his luck when he marries the beauty. He insists on calling his new bride by her real name, Jasmeet, and tries to teach her the balle balle dance, among other be-proud-to-be-Punjabi ploys. Jasmeet eventually discovers her hidden Indian pride and grows to love the husband chosen for her.
While the movie satisfyingly derides the perception that India is all about snake charmers and tandoori chicken, the forced arranged marriage of Jazz and Singh was a tad too traditional for many tastes.
Mr and Mrs Khiladi(1997)
Directed by David Dhawan
Having played the action man in a host of films, Kumar lent his favourite khiladi (player) title to this inane - but quite enjoyable - comedy.
He plays a horoscope-believing slacker called Raja, a distinctly un-Punjabi name for sure - but the heavy North Indian accent and profanity-spewing mum trying to protect her beloved "puttar" had the audience in splits.
The character became most memorable for his "Bache ki jaan lega kya?' dialogue, and the song Akela Hai Mr Khiladi, shot in Canada and the Niagara Falls.
Juhi Chawla plays Mrs Khiladi, aka Shalu, a rich man's daughter who can't get married to Raja until he earns enough money to impress her father (Kader Khan). The ensuing drama is a mixed bag of exaggerated miscommunication, action scenes parodying Kumar's previous films and is, in true David Dhawan-style, a comedy of many errors.
pmunyal@thenational.ae
