Super Singh review: Diljit Dosanjh back in his super fun element

Film: Super Singh (Punjabi)
Director: Anurag Singh
Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Sonam Bajwa, Pavan Malhotra
Rating: 3/4

After the success of his serious performances in the recent Udta Punjab and Phillauri, Diljit Dosanjh returns to what he does best, charming us with his humour, innocence and general silliness in his latest avatar as a superhero.

Set between Canada and Punjab, Super Singh is the story of a happy-go-lucky Sajjan Singh aka Sam (Dosanjh) whose only aim in life is to get a white Canadian girlfriend and marry her.

With this in mind, he tries to befriend Cathy who thinks his people and culture are very different from hers. This hurts Sam who jostles with his identity as a turbaned Sikh in a foreign land, caught between trying to blend in or maintain his identity to appease his mother.

Meanwhile, he suddenly finds himself imbued with superhuman strength through an ancient Sikh relic, a turban, which gives power to its wearer, creating Super Singh.

Together with his friend Ustad, a young boy with oodles of common sense and spunk, they figure out the abilities of Super Singh. But there are highly motivated people who have been searching for the turban and Sajjan decides to return the relic to its rightful place.

Super Singh is quite enthusiastic to use his powers and do good deeds for the community. In one incident, he saves a local store from being robbed and the proprietor, a Punjabi aunty, gives him bananas and Rs51 as shagun!

Filled with catchy one-liners, a hallmark of Dosanjh’s films, there are several entertaining moments, especially when Sajjan is trying to discover the source of his power. The dialogues have the audience in splits and Dosanjh’s comic timing and expressions are spot on.

As the first Punjabi superhero film, Super Singh is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, so when Sajjan sends people flying with a flick of his finger, bends bullets or lifts up a cruise liner sky high to rescue the people aboard, we go along with it. The film generously borrows sequences from a slew of Hollywood superhero films like The Avengers, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Dr. Strange etc. and the choppy visual effects leave much to be desired. But none of this really matters as the core of the film is its humour and positive message for the youth.

Amidst all the joviality, Super Singh also touches upon some crucial issues, especially the erosion of a Sikh identity where the youth is increasingly doing away with the turban and adopting English names to fit in with foreign cultures.

The film also exposes the religion-politics nexus in the form of a religious baba, who pretends to be a sewak while hatching deadly plots with a politician. The drug mafia in Punjab makes an appearance as Super Singh situates itself within contemporary realities of the state. This is refreshing as the film does not shy away from addressing social concerns within a mainstream, commercial framework.

A super entertainer, the film works because of Dosanjh’s charm. If Jatt and Juliet and Sardaarji are any indication, then the film seems geared for a super sequel soon and with Dosanjh as the consummate entertainer, we look forward to it!