Ustaad Bhagat Singh: Pawan Kalyan's star power can't make up for choppy writing and ordinary music

A super cop shot to emphasise his status as hero. Two young women vying for his affection.

A nasty villain. Much violence with all manner of implements. And a dance with many extras to make the hero look good. It is the Dabangg formula which director Harish Shankar exploited so well in Dabangg’s Telugu remake Gabbar Singh (2012), starring Pawan Kalyan. But it’s been 12 years since Gabbar Singh. Off-screen Kalyan, known as the ‘Power Star’, is Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He is still cool, but his new movie isn’t. The writing is choppy, the music ordinary, and even the bubbly RJ (Sreeleela) cannot inject enough liveliness into this snoozefest. There is an underlying message about how we have changed as a society — as a young tribal boy, our hero is given the chance to be named Gandhi or Bhagat Singh. He chooses the latter. The blood bath that follows is justified. This is nation building one battle at a time.