LET’S FACE IT: Nobody signs up to watch ‘Baaghi 3’ for a cerebral, intelligent-viewing experience, but to see gleaming torso of Tiger Shroff do impossible stunts with those muscles fists. He seems to be modelled after fading Hollywood’s cult action hero ‘Rambo’. Director Ahmed Khan takes such cartoonish liberties that you mind boggles at the nonsense that’s being hurled at you. Apart from the impressive stunt sequences and nuggets of humour that lands, there’s very little working for ‘Baaghi 3’ where Ronnie’s rampage goes global and he wants to take down militant outfit in Syria. The viewers thought? Who will save us from Ronnie?
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THE PLOT: Tiger Shroff returns as Ronnie, the son of a righteous cop (Jackie Shroff) who harbours incredible love his older sibling Vikram (Riteish Deshmukh), who is something of a helpless wimp. Vikram gets into any minor scruff and Ronnie exacts revenge on his behalf and beats up the baddies into a pulp. Just like some soppy ’80s Bollywood potboiler, their dad on his death bed makes a young Ronnie swear that he will always protect Vikram with all his might. The seeds of unnatural co-dependence is sown and Ronnie turns indestructible saviour to his sibling. Vikram, who becomes a cop as his dad was in the force (nepotism anyone?), becomes a celebrated police officer because his muscled-brother helps him catch all the scruffy bad guys in his Agra locality. Stakes become big when he goes on an assignment to Syria and gets kidnapped by a militant group that rules Syria. All hell breaks loose and the movie descend into a creative purgatory.
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WHAT WORKED FOR ‘BAAGHI 3’: If well-oiled torsos could speak, then Tiger Shroff’s buffed body would tell you that they are doing all the heavy-lifting in ‘Baaghi 3’. The climax, with gravity-defying stunts, gives Shroff’s upper body ample time to shine. Watching him hang off a helicopter and swoop from dilapidated buildings is a treat for sore eyes, but how long can you just marvel at his perfect physical form? Shraddha Kapoor, as the feisty Sia who falls in love with Ronnie for no rhyme or reason (perhaps his torso), is the token female presence and has not much to do other than look like a damsel in distress.
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WHAT DIDN’T WORK? THE LIST IS ENDLESS: Firstly, the Arab stereotyping in ‘Baaghi 3’ which feeds the stereotype that it’s uncivilised, roguish and demonic is disheartening to watch. Syria — which is shown as Daesh leader Abu Jalala Gaza’s dark den filled with slaves and weapons — is shown as the land of belly-dancers and roguish population. Ronnie and his chirpy girlfriend Sia (Shraddha Kapoor) penetrates the Daesh ring as if it’s child’s play. The speed with which they enter the country and find Gaza’s hideout is ridiculous. The villains in black robes and kohl-lined eyes and wavy facial beard is unintentionally funny and cartoonish. The Syrian rebels who speak Hindi is another laughing point. Instead of painting a ruthless image of Syrian badlands, they make it look like a Disneyland for dummies.
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COPY CAT: Secondly, seeing a scene where the Arab villain Abu Jalal Gaza tries to escape the cops by hiding in a dumpster and physically hurting himself to look like a smelly street urchin seems to be plagiarised from the hit web show ‘Money Heist’. Such blatant copying is a sign of creative bankruptcy. Disha Patani - who looks to be in superb form — in a song cameo as a scantily-clad belly dancer doesn’t help things chug along.
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DEFIES ALL LOGIC: Thirdly, the incoherent storyline that has two Indian brothers up in arms against an armed militant group and succeeding with their bare arms forces you to suspend belief. The emotionally-charged sequences at the climax is a hoot because it’s a crash course on over-acting and hamming. Riteish Deshmukh is weighed down with his badly-written role of a dim-witted, easily-scared elder brother with no agency of his own. His job is to make Ronnie look spectacular.
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THE VERDICT: Unless you want to tear your hair out in frustration at the cinemas, duck this crazy cinematic missile. It’s a misfire from the word go. DETAILS: Film: Baaghi 3. Director: Ahmed Khan. Cast: Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh. Stars: 1.5 out of 5
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