It took a Rohit Shetty cop universe to bring six major movie stars to come under one roof. Or rather, under a fleet of flying cars. Of course, it's taken the filmmaker 13 years to put this together since the first instalment of Singham. Its threequel Singham Again, headlined by Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor, has other massive stars like Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Tiger Shroff walk in and do their bit without elbowing for more screen space. 

Ajay and Kareena's story

From the start of the film, right till the end, Rohit Shetty is sure that Singham Again has to stay true to its franchise's leads. The universe doesn't get the better of the franchise as Bajirao Singham (Ajay) and his wife Avani's (Kareena) story remain at the heart. She gets abducted by Danger Lanka (Arjun Kapoor), Singham's nemesis, prompting the fierce cop to plan a rescue mission. Their story also takes a leap forward from Singham Returns, which released 10 years ago. Their son is now on the verge of adulthood and has an arc of his own, becoming a patriot like his father from a Gen-Z kid who looks down upon Indian culture and aspires to make a life in London.

Singham's proteges

A gripe that cinephiles have always had with Rohit Shetty's cop universe is that there's no woman donning that uniform. Kajal Aggarwal, Kareena, Sara Ali Khan in Simmba, and Katrina Kaif in Sooryavanshi – they've always been seen as either the damsel in distress or romantic props. Shilpa Shetty changed that with her turn of a gritty, no-nonsense cop, Tara Shetty, in Rohit's debut show, Indian Police Force, earlier this year. Deepika Padukone took it up a notch further with Shakti Shetty, introduced with much fanfare as Lady Singham.

It's also interesting that Deepika's character is stationed in Madurai, the same place where the train journey starts in Rohit's 2013 blockbuster Chennai Express, in which Deepika played the lead part. Deepika here starts off as a jester, but soon reveals shades of her character as the situation turns grim. By the end of the film, she's out there redeeming herself from lapse of responsibility by fighting besides her mentor. Ajay and Deepika's scene also lends some emotional heft to the proceedings. Even if Kareena's role is narratively restricted to the wife who needs saving, there's also a Deepika getting her hands dirty and saving the day.

Another protégé steps in to play his bit in the film – ACP Satya (Tiger Shroff). He's billed as the Lakshman to Singham's Lord Rama. But again, his character isn't limited to just being the sidekick. He's shown as an orphan taken under the wing by the founder of a Kalaripayattu ashram. This helps lend not only a backstory to Tiger's role, but also breathes new life into his action scenes. We've seen him dish out kicks and punches in his signature malleable fashion so many times. But to watch him take a belt sword, dip it in fire, and unleash flaming fury on the bad guys is a treat to watch. Characters like him and Lady Singham may soon get their spin-offs, but it's smart to plant their presence in a much bigger movie.

Why not play the bad guy?

A movie completely on Tiger Shroff's shoulders hasn't always proven to be a sound investment. The same is the case for Arjun Kapoor. It makes sense then to allow them to play to their strengths as actors. Like Tiger, who's mostly reserved for high-octane action sequences, Arjun has been relabeled as the bad guy. He isn't the first actor who couldn't prove his worth as a conventional hero and found his footing as the villain. In fact, his uncle Sanjay Kapoor has turned out to be an example himself. Arjun hasn't been better on screen in a long time than he is in Singham Again – using that rugged look and full-toothed grin to his advantage. He's touted as a modern-day Ravana, and the introductory sequence of him beheading police officers at a station only adds to the character's mythic menace.

Return of the trio

After putting up a united front in Sooryavanshi, Singham, Simmba (Ranveer), and Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar) team up together again. Ranveer delivers the laughs as he pops up to play the jester in this ensemble. He's branded as Lord Hanuman, with whom he shares personality traits like loyalty and sense of humour. At one point, he even sits on a pile of ropes as Hanuman does on his tail coiled up. He also puts the enemy turf on fire, in typical Rohit Shetty fashion – by dropping cylinders from a moving car – so that the ‘Golden Lanka’ is spotted on his team's radar, allowing them to send back-up.

Akshay Kumar is probably the only actor of the lot sans his moments. He does pull off a couple of whistle-worthy action sequences, but that's home turf for the action star. He's one of the few lead actors who hasn't shied away from doing two-hero movies. He's a busy man, so dates could've been an issue, too, which also seems to be the excuse to justify the CGI-reliant end-credit cameo of Salman Khan as Chulbul Pandey. Gratuitous gimmicks like these are the only factors that weigh the ensemble down.

Despite these minor setbacks, Singham Again still shines as a progressive step in the direction of ensemble casting and writing. Actors keeping their egos aside, producers working out their fees as per the budget and screentime, and directors striking narrative balance could significantly help an industry that's in dire need of more multi-star vehicles like these to pull in an audience. If there's one aspect of the Ramayana the industry can learn from today, it's that there's space for each character to mark their presence, but not enough for them to make the story only their own.

Read Also: Not Jigra, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is your latest Bhai Dooj watch. Here's why – Spoiler alert!