At one point in Dabangg 3, 
Chulbul Pandey says –
hum class aur mass 
dono ke liye kaam karte hain.
This statement was true 
for the first instalment of the film
which introduced us to the irreverent, 
rule-breaking, rogue cop Chulbul Pandey.
Chulbul was the sort of 
law enforcement officer
who pauses mid-fight to appreciate 
a bad guy’s caller tune.
He also famously declares –
hum tum mein itne chhed kar denge 
ki confuse ho jaaoge
ki saans kahaan se lein
aur paadein kahaan se.
Chulbul, who combined wit with swag, 
was an absolute delight.
But as the franchise has moved forward, the
fun has leaked out of it like air from a balloon.
Dabangg 3 is a joyless, exhausting ode to
the superstardom of Salman Khan.
It’s a masala movie 
with little spice in it.
As Chulbul, Salman Khan dominates 
every frame of this film.
He’s also co-produced and co-written it.
Salman had earlier written the largely unwatchable
Chandra Mukhi and Veer
so you have some idea 
of how this one pans out.
Dabangg 3 is set up as an origin story - 
we discover how Chulbul,
whose original name is Dhakad, 
became Chulbul.
This means we get a de-aged Salman 
romancing debutant Saiee Manjrekar
whose character Khushi 
hasn’t turned 18 yet.
Khushi is a champion chess player 
who dreams of being a doctor.
But she agrees to 
marry the jobless Dhakad.
Dhakad is so progressive that he wants to
marry only when Khushi has completed her studies.
Dabangg 3 tries strenuously to get on the
bandwagon of women empowerment.
So Dhakad smilingly tells Khushi that he'll
be fine if she decides to keep her own surname.
In another scene, Dhakad, now Chulbul 
married to Rajjo describes himself
as a patni vrata pati.
Chulbul is even shown putting a drawstring
in his wife’s petticoat.
But it’s all lip service,
because the female characters 
are written as docile and decorative.
They're good for singing songs 
and being kidnapped by the villain.
In different scenes, both end up tied 
and hanging in mid-air.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen this
in a movie since the 80s.
Dabangg 3 is a film 
that worships its hero.
He swaggers, throws punches 
in slow motion,
gives lessons on courage and responsibility
to the general public
and, of course, pulverizes everything 
that gets in his way.
Every time his fist or foot connects with
a bad guy’s body,
the background score goes ballistic 
with crunching sounds.
In one bit, when he arrives, the background
music helpfully declares: Bad Ass.
There’s even a meta-reference to Salman
in the song Munna Badnaam Hua –
the film’s director Prabhu Deva enters the frame 
wearing Salman’s trademark blue bracelet
and the song goes: Dil tere naam hua darling tere
liye Salman Khan hua darling tere liye.
But here’s what I don’t get –
when so much time, talent and money 
is being expended to showcase the superstar,
why not also provide
him with a script?
You see flashes of the fun and cheekiness
that made Chulbul so entertaining in the first film,
but mostly, Dabangg 3 is a checklist
of fight, song, family scene strung together
in no particular order.
Sonakshi Sinha purses her lips 
and wears colorful saris.
Saiee does even less.
The most effort comes from Kannada actor 
Kiccha Sudeep who plays the baddie Bali Singh.
Sudeep gives Bali a nice poetic villainy.
He’s a murderous psycho 
who wears beautiful scarves
even when he’s heading 
for a showdown with Chulbul.
I liked that.
When you step into Dabangg 3, you know 
you’re in for a Salman Khan extravaganza.
Which would be fine if there was 
some attempt to tweak the formula
or push it into a new direction.
But sadly, the makers seem content to deliver 
exactly another dose of the same.
But it’s been 9 years.
Even the mighty Chulbul 
needs an upgrade.
