Singh Is Kinng:
Singh Is Kinng [sic] (Hindi: सिंह इज़ किंग, Urdu: سنگھ از کنگ, Punjabi: ਸਿੰਘ ਇਜ਼ ਕਿੰਗ) is a 2008 Bollywood film. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee and stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. About 75% of the movie was shot in Australia, around the Gold Coast region and Brisbane using an Australian production team (Instinct India). The film was released on August 8, 2008.[1]
The spelling of the word "king" in the film's title with an additional letter "n" was based on advice provided by a numerologist,[2] a practice which has become routine in Bollywood.[3]
[edit] Synopsis
Lakhan "Lucky" Singh (Sonu Sood) is the "king" of the Australian underworld, a position which he reaches after being jailed for a crime he didn't commit. Someone hides drugs in Lucky Singh's bag, and as soon as he reaches Australia, he is caught and jailed. He takes his revenge after completing the jail term by killing those involved, and eventually he becomes the king, accompanied by his associates (played by Javed Jaffrey, Neha Dhupia, Sudhanshu Pandey, Manoj Pawa and Yashpal Sharma). Back in India, Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar) promises to bring Lakhan Singh back to his village. However, his boarding pass gets mixed up with someone else's and he ends up in Egypt, where he meets Sonia (Katrina Kaif) whom he falls in love with. After he reaches Australia, a series of comic misadventures leaves Happy without any money. He finds Lucky's house, but Lucky tells him that he cannot come back to India leaving his business and throws him out. Happy is fortunate to find warmth and affection in a elderly lady (Kirron Kher) whom Happy treats like his mother. In a strange turn of events, Lucky is saved from a life-threatening attack when Happy risks his own life, but Lucky is paralyzed and Happy becomes the new "king". When he becomes the king he tries to help Lucky's Gang turn good.
The elderly lady comes back to Happy saying that her daughter is coming back to Australia. However, her daughter does not know that, after the death of her father some time back, her mother had lost everything that they had, and is now a poor lady surviving by selling flowers. Happy gives her a home and finds out that her daughter is Sonia and that she is engaged to Puneet (Ranvir Shorey). Puneet finds out that Happy is the king of the underworld and tells Sonia, who is disappointed by this because of her hatred for criminals. Puneet hires Mika Singh (Javed Jaffrey), Lucky's brother, who is hungry to become the "king" (the only thing stopping him is his partial blindness and deafness) to kill Happy. Mika tells one of his men to kill the paralyzed Lucky, while he will kill Happy at Puneet's and Sonia's wedding after he recives his specially ordered hearing and eyesight aid. When the hitman attemts to kill Lucky, Lucky snaps out of paralysis. At the wedding, when Mika's men attack, the cowering Puneet runs away and leaves Sonia alone. Mika's men try to grab her but Happy protects her and fights them and at the end, the priest unknowingly declares Happy and Sonia married. Happy tries to ask for forgiveness for this mistake and Sonia accepts him as her husband. while they are leaving Mika encounters them, now with his aid. Lucky then comes and shocks them all. Happy tells Mika that being the "king" is no great thing. Lucky always found sadness being the king, because a true king doesn't fight for himself but for others. He also says that there is only one true king, who is God. Mika then cries and hugs his brother. A scene during the closing credits shows that Happy brings Lucky back to India.
The film's plot has been compared to that of Frank Capra's films Lady for a Day (1934) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961), as well as Jackie Chan's Miracles (1989),[4] each of which also portrays a gangster who helps a poor woman pose as wealthy to impress her daughter and her daughter's fiance.
The music was composed by Pritam. The song "Singh Is Kinng" was composed by the British bhangra band RDB. The soundtrack was launched officially at the IIFA Awards in Bangkok on June 8, 2008, where Akshay Kumar and RDB performed two songs from the soundtrack.
The film's music received particular attention in the United States due to the involvement of rapper Snoop Dogg, who has a cameo in the film performing the title song. Snoop Dogg's performance has been described as "the first time that a mainstream American artist has performed on a Bollywood soundtrack".[6]
The tracks from the film include:
| Track |
Singer |
Duration |
Notes |
| Singh Is Kinng |
Snoop Dogg, DPGC, RDB, Akshay Kumar |
4:55 |
Pictured On Akshay Kumar and Snoop Dogg |
| Jee Karda |
Labh Janjua, Suzanne D'Mello(a.k.a. Suzi Q.) |
4:51 |
Pictured On Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif |
| Bas Ek Kinng |
Javed Jaffrey, Neeraj Shridhar] |
4:40 |
Pictured On Akshay Kumar and Lucky's Gang |
| Bhootni ke |
Daler Mehndi |
5:02 |
Pictured On Akshay Kumar |
| Teri Ore |
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shreya Ghosal |
5:39 |
Pictured On Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif |
| Talli Hua |
Neeraj Shridhar, Labh Janjua |
4:50 |
Pictured On Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif |
| Bas Ek Kinng - Tiger Style Mix |
Javed Jaffrey, Neeraj Shridhar, Hard Kaur |
4:04 |
| Bhootni Ke - Tiger Style Mix |
Mika Singh |
4:45 |
| Talli Hua - Jay Dabhi Mix |
Neeraj Shridhar, Labh Janjua |
4:33 |
| Jee Karda - Remix By Hyacinth |
Labh Janjua, Suzanne D'Mello(a.k.a. Suzi Q) |
4:52 |
| Teri Ore - Lounge Mix |
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shreya Ghosal |
6:09 |
| Bhootni Ke - Remix |
Daler Mehndi |
3:54 |
[edit] Reaction from the Sikh community
Before the movie was released, it was reported that the Sikh community in Khar, Mumbai was very pleased with the portrayal of the Sikhs in the film. Vipul Shah, the producer of the film, was felicitated at the Khar Gurdwara on June 18, 2008. He said, "Our intention was to portray the community in the right way and I am glad that we have managed to achieve it."[7]
However, some members of the Sikh community had expressed their displeasure over the portrayal of Sikhs in the movie. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) announced that it was up to the audience to decide whether they want to watch the film or not.[8]
On August 1, 2008, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) sought a ban on the movie, saying that it 'ridiculed' the Sikh community. It wrote a letter to Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister of Delhi, asking her to ban the movie.[8] The main objection raised was that the film promos showed Akshay Kumar's character sporting a trimmed beard, which some orthodox Sikhs found offensive. Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah had a 50-minute discussion with the DSGMC authorities, in which they explained the positive message behind the film. The DSGMC members requested twelve changes, which the filmmakers complied with. Akshay Kumar also said that the film was aimed at portraying "how strong and brave Sikh community is." As a result of the discussion, DSGMC gave a clean chit to the movie on August 7, 2008.[8]
However, on the same day (August 7), the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal asked all sikhs to protest against the movie. The first showing of the movie in NM Cinema Hall of Amritsar on August 8, 2008 was disrupted by some Sikh protesters, who vandalized the hall and damaged property.[9]
[edit] Review
The movie has been well received until now with most theatres outside India reporting 95%-100% attendance. Reviews have also been very favorable. Taran Adarsh, of indiafm.com stated, "Singh is Kinng lives up to the hype and hoopla. Want a joyride without taxing your brains? Board the SINGH IS KINNG wagon. At the box-office, the film will fetch a hurricane-like start. The paid previews, the opening weekend, the first week business, everything will be record-shattering. Notwithstanding the new oppositions in the weeks to come, Singh is Kinng will rule the hearts of the aam junta [whose verdict matters the most] as also the box-office, proving a record holder in the final tally." NDTV India gave the movie 2.5/5 stars. Hindustan Times gave the film a 2/5 stars. The film turned out to be such a great success that it was showcased at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.
[edit] Box office
Singh Is Kinng had a record opening in India. It opened to 95-100% occupancy. Its weekend net gross was Rs. 29 crores breaking the previous record of Rs. 22 crores set by Om Shanti Om. Singh Is Kinng went on to gross Rs. 43.77 crores in the first week in India alone. This broke the record for the highest opening week gross also previously held by Om Shanti Om, which grossed Rs. 41 crores in first week in 2007. Singh Is Kinng has grossed over Rs. 73 crores in India as of 7th September. It's doing record breaking business in Delhi, Rajasthan and East Punjab whereas the rest of India is doing good business.
Worldwide, Singh Is Kinng had excellent opening. It shattered records in Pakistan. It has grossed over 2 crores in Pakistan in two weeks, which is a record for any Indian film. In the North America, it grossed $1.1 million USD in the first weekend. In the UK, it grossed approximately $1 million USD. Singh Is Kinng has been declared a blockbuster worldwide and a hit/super hit in India (not declared blockbuster because of the high cost the movie was sold at to its distributer).
[edit] References
- ^ "Singh Is Kinng". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.
- ^ "Akshay reveals curious tale of how Singh became 'kinng'", The Times (Johannesburg) (2008-07-06). Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
- ^ Agarwal, Nikhil (2008-08-17). "Bollywood plays the numbers game", The Times (Johannesburg). Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
- ^ Leydon, Joe (2008-08-13). "Singh Is Kinng", Variety. Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
- ^ Official website
- ^ Perry, Byron (2008-08-01). "Snoop Dogg's Bollywood cameo", Variety. Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
- ^ BollywoodHungamaNewsNetwork (2008-06-18). "Sikhs give thumbs up to Singh is Kinng", Expressindia. Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
- ^ a b c "'Singh is Kinng' gets clean chit from Delhi Gurdwara panel", Yahoo! India News (2008-08-07). Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
- ^ "Singh is Kinng screening disrupted in Amritsar", The Economic Times (2008-08-08). Retrieved on 30 August 2008.
[edit] External links
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