| Singh Is Kinng | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Anees Bazmee |
| Screenplay by | Anees Bazmee Suresh Nair |
| Story by | Anees Bazmee |
| Produced by | Vipul Amrutlal Shah |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sanjay F. Gupta Ben Nott |
| Edited by | Amitabh Shukla Prashant Singh Rathore |
| Music by | Songs: Pritam RDB Background Score: Salim–Sulaiman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 136 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages |
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| Budget | ₹30crore |
| Box office | est.₹136crore |
Singh Is Kinng is a 2008 IndianHindi-languageaction comedy film directed byAnees Bazmee from a screenplay by Bazmee and Suresh Nair. The film starsAkshay Kumar,Katrina Kaif,Om Puri,Ranvir Shorey,Neha Dhupia,Javed Jaffrey,Sonu Sood, andSudhanshu Pandey. In the film, Happy Singh (Kumar) is sent toAustralia to reunite Lakhan Singh (Sood), a crime boss, with his ill father but finds himself facing love and trouble instead. The film also featured a song and a music video with American rapperSnoop Dogg.
A major part of the film was shot in Australia. The film marked the fourth collaboration of Kumar and Kaif afterHumko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006),Namastey London (2007) andWelcome (2007). The spelling of the word "king" in the film's title with an additional letter "n" was based on advice provided by anumerologist.[3][4]
Singh Is Kinng was released on 8 August 2008 with mixed to positive critical reception. It became a huge commercial success, earning ₹136 crore worldwide, thus becoming thethird-highest grossing Hindi film of 2008. At the3rd Asian Film Awards,Singh Is Kinng received 1 nomination –Best Actor (Kumar). Moreover, at the54th Filmfare Awards, the film wonBest Female Playback Singer (Shreya Ghoshal for "Teri Ore"), in addition to a nomination forBest Actor (Kumar).
The film spawned a standalone quasi-sequelSingh Is Bliing (2015) also starring Kumar in the lead role.[5]
Lakhan “Lucky” Singh, known as the "Kinng," is the kingpin of the Australian underworld, accompanied by his Sikh mafia associates Julie, Mika (Lucky's brother), Pankaj Udaas, Raftaar Mann, Dilbagh Singh and Gurbaksh Singh. In Lucky's birthplace inPunjab, another Sikh named Happy Singh often causes trouble despite his good intentions, leading the villagers to send him on a mission to Australia with his friend Rangeela to bring Lucky back and reunite him with his ill father, hoping to get rid of Happy for a while.
At the airport, their tickets to Australia get swapped with those of Puneet, who was headed to Egypt. Consequently, Happy and Rangeela find themselves in Egypt, where Happy meets Sonia, a lawyer, and falls in love with her, but they part ways without him expressing his feelings. The two then proceed to Australia, where Lucky dismisses Happy's request to return to Punjab and throws him out. Stranded, Happy receives kindness from an elderly lady who offers him food despite being a stranger.
A series of incidents instigated by Happy result in Lucky getting severely injured and paralyzed. Surprisingly, Happy is then made the new Kinng by Lucky's associates, who misread Lucky's intention to kill him, much to Lucky's chagrin. The elderly woman who helped Happy reveals her plight: her daughter is returning from Egypt with a wealthy fiancé, revealed to be Puneet, and she is worried her daughter will discover they are now living in poverty due to her father's death. Happy offers her Lucky's mansion to stay in and has the mafia associates work for her. When the daughter arrives, Happy is shocked to see that she is Sonia. Although Sonia begins to fall for Happy, she is conflicted because of her relationship with Puneet, who grows increasingly suspicious of Happy. Over time, the members of Lucky's gang, inspired by Happy's kindness, begin to reform their lives. Puneet eventually learns Happy's true identity as the Kinng of the underworld and shares this revelation with Sonia. Initially shocked, she is later convinced by her mother, Rangeela, and Lucky's gang members that Happy wants nothing else but to see others happy and peaceful. Meanwhile, Puneet conspires with Mika, who wants to become Kinng himself, to kill Happy. Their motives differ: Puneet wishes to eliminate Happy to keep Sonia, while Mika wants to seize power.
On the day of Sonia and Puneet's wedding, a confrontation ensues when Happy and his associates crash the event and fight Mika's goons. During the chaos, Puneet abandons Sonia to save himself, allowing Happy to take his place at the altar and unintentionally marry Sonia. Puneet later seeks forgiveness as his father takes him away. Meanwhile, Mika's guard tries to kill Lucky, but the trauma causes Lucky's paralysis to be cured. Realizing Mika's betrayal, Lucky is heartbroken.
As the confrontation escalates, Mika, equipped with special glasses and a hearing aid, prepares to shoot Happy, but Lucky intervenes. A tense standoff unfolds, with Happy advising Mika on the qualities of a true Sikh. Lucky confesses that being Kinng was a source of misery for him, as a true Kinng fights for others, not himself. Remorseful, Mika drops his weapon. The film concludes with Happy and Sonia's wedding and the gang members returning to their village, where they find peace and redemption. A final image shows Lucky reflecting, "And that’s how they became real Singh and real Kinng."
The music of the film was composed byPritam Chakraborty and the lyrics were written byMayur Puri. The title song was composed by the British band RDB. The soundtrack was launched officially at theIIFA Awards inBangkok on 8 June 2008.
Snoop Dogg has a cameo in the video of the title song.[6]
Shreya Ghoshal, who sang the song "Teri Ore," won theFilmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and theIIFA Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Mayur Puri was nominated for theStar Screen Awards, in the "Best Lyrics" category, for the same song. According to the Indian trade websiteBox Office India, with around 1,800,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's third highest-selling.[7]
The song "Bhootni Ke" used in the film is sung byMika Singh.
| Singh Is Kinng | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 8 June 2008 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 0:51.94 | |||
| Label | Junglee Music | |||
| Producer | Vipul Shah | |||
| Pritam Chakraborty chronology | ||||
| ||||
| RDB chronology | ||||
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| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Singh Is Kinng" | Snoop Dogg,RDB,Akshay Kumar | 04:55 |
| 2. | "Jee Karda" | Suzanne D'Mello,Labh Janjua | 04:51 |
| 3. | "Bas Ek Kinng" | Mika Singh,Neeraj Shridhar,Hard Kaur, Ashish Pandit | 04:41 |
| 4. | "Teri Ore" | Shreya Ghoshal,Rahat Fateh Ali Khan | 05:40 |
| 5. | "Bhootni Ke" | Daler Mehndi | 05:08 |
| 6. | "Talli Hua" | Labh Janjua, Neeraj Shridhar | 04:50 |
| 7. | "Bas Ek Kinng" (Tiger Style Mix) | Mika Singh, Neeraj Shridhar, Hard Kaur, Ashish Pandit | 04:04 |
| 8. | "Bhootni Ke" (Tiger Style Mix) | Mika Singh | 04:46 |
| 9. | "Talli Hua" (Jay Dabhi Mix) | Labh Janjua, Neeraj Shridhar, Stylebhai | 04:33 |
| 10. | "Jee Karda" (Remix) | Suzanne D'Mello, Labh Janjua | 04:52 |
| 11. | "Teri Ore" (Lounge Remix) | Shreya Ghoshal, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan | 06:09 |
| 12. | "Bhootni Ke" (Remix) | Daler Mehndi | 03:54 |
| Total length: | 58:23 | ||
Taran Adarsh ofBollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, and stated "Singh Is Kinng lives up to the hype and hoopla. At the box-office, the film will fetch a hurricane-like start and will be record-shattering. Notwithstanding the new oppositions in the weeks to come, it will rule the hearts of theaam junta. Blockbuster Hit!"[8]Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "The film has an entertaining first half. The second half does get cluttered, clumsy and loose with loads of wasted talent in the likes of Ranvir Shorey, Javed Jaffrey and a side-lined Om Puri."[9] Gaurav Malani ofEconomic Times stated, "This king doesn't quite rule your heart unconditionally."[10]Rajeev Masand gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, and stated "Singh is Kinng celebrates the spirit of being a Sikh, and yet it completely disregards the most basic detail of Sikh identity – how can your Sikh characters sport turbans but not full beards?"[11] Aseem Chhabra ofRediff.com gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, and stated "Akshay is theKinng".[12] Lisa Tsering ofHollywood Reporter stated, "Singh Is Kinng is a rollicking late-night party you don't want to end - with a friendly, funny and generous host; gorgeous women; pumped-up bhangra music and an extravagant, booze-soaked scuffle or two."[13] Shubhra Gupta ofThe Indian Express stated, "Whatever else it notches up, 'Singh Is Kinng' will always and forever be known as the first Hindi film in Punjabi : everyone talks as ifsarson da saag is coming out of their mouths."[14]
Amodini of Friday Nirvana gave the film 0 out of 5 stars, and stated that it was a "dumbed-down masala".[15] Janak of Cinema Online Malaysia gave the film 5 out of 5 stars, and stated "Singh Is Kinng is a fantastic five-star movie with wonderful casts and beautiful songs. You may find all the elements of Hindi cinema in this film, from action to comedy, and drama to romance. This is a movie not to be missed, especially if you are a Punjabi and a Bollywood fan. I'm still buzzing from the soundtrack!"[16] Wietske Uneken of Cinemagazine gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and stated, "Thanks to its humorous approach, 'Singh is Kinng' is an entertaining film."[17] Sri of Frames N Pages stated, "The film lacks logic, but still a great entertainer."[18] R. Paul Dhillon ofGeorgia Straight stated, "The filmmakers seem interested only in manipulating the audience, with absolutely no regard for plot, characters, or believability."[19] Molodezhnaja gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5.[20] Rachel Saltz ofNew York Times stated, "“Singh Is Kinng” isn’t a great movie. But the immensely likable Akshay Kumar shines as aCapraesque hero who spreads bedrock Indian values."[21] Sonia Chopra ofSify gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "And there it is: yet another critic-proof film that the audience has pre-decided to like, such that you imagine them displaying the relevant finger to those who disagree."[22]
Some members of the Sikh community had expressed their dissatisfaction over the portrayal of Sikhs in the movie. On 1 August 2008, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) wrote a letter toSheila Dikshit, the then Chief Minister of Delhi, asking her to ban the movie, as the trailer showed Akshay Kumar's character sporting a trimmed beard. According to their religious guidelines, male Sikhs should not trim their beards, and the DSGMC found this offensive. After negotiations with the DSGMC authorities, the film was given clearance on 7 August 2008.[23]
| Award | Category | Recipients and Nominees | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Akshay Kumar | Nominated |
| Producers Guild Film Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
| Filmfare Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal for "Teri Ore" | Won | |
| International Indian Film Academy Awards | Best Actress | Katrina Kaif | Nominated |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal for "Teri Ore" | Won | |
| Screen Awards | Best Actor (Popular Choice) | Akshay Kumar | Won |
