The concept of ‘masala' in Indian cinema is one that many have written about, but the most spot-on description I have found lies on this blog, which states: The perspective on ‘masala' today is essentially one of condescension where one somehow enjoys the movies while laughing at their ‘logical lapses' or their ‘overblown' sense of drama or even their ‘larger than life' characters. In other words the cinema might be ‘consumed' like junk food but must not be taken seriously. The description finds one of its apogees in the Singam film series, of which the third part is the one I will deal with in this article.
This time, the Lion Singam arrives in Andhra Pradesh, in order to investigate the unsolved case of the murder of Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner Ramakrishna. Soon, Singam realizes that Ramakrishna intended to expose illegal dumping of mediwaste and electronic waste, which included recycled tablets being sold to the public and a smoke attack on a school that ended up killing 32 students.The garbage is being imported by Vizag Scraps owner Rajeev Krishna, who is also the local crime lord, in exchange for free metal scrap delivery to steel companies in Australia. Even more so, eventually, the involvement of a large corporation and its owner Vittal is also revealed, with Singam finding his ultimate foe in his face. All the while, Singam is followed by Vidya, a journalist in the guise of a student hoping to write a story on him, who does not shy away from openly flirting with him in order to get what she wants. Constable Veera Babu “Veeram” and Inspector Subba Rao emerge as his most trusted allies.
Analyzing the chaos that is “Si3” is a truly futile effort, since Hari's focus is so intently on entertainment, that nothing else makes much sense, including the lack of any kind of physical law Singam exhibits any time he has to fight. Apart from the lack of logic, however, there is much fun to be had here. The over the top, quite lengthy and quite many action scenes are all particularly entertaining through their lack of logic and coherence, while the whole larger-than-life demeanor of Singam truly fills the screen every time he appears on it, with Suriya having fully embodied the role in his third reprisal of the part. The comedic relief, particularly coming from Soori as Veeram, can also be hilarious at times, while Priyan's cinematography is impressive on occasion, highlighting the budget Hari had in his hands. V.T. Vijayan's editing implements a manic pace, with the frequent ‘swooshes' implemented to get on to the next scene, with the speed essentially masquerading the lack of coherence and the many plot holes that are found throughout the story. Lastly, Harris Jayaraj's music fits and accompanies the overall style to perfection, while the many dance scenes, although probably not to everyone's taste, are also impressive to look at on occasion.
As you have probably realized by now, there is a ‘but' here, and in the case of “Si3”, it is quite big. Depending on the viewer's taste, one could enjoy or abhor the elements mentioned, but the fact remains that, at 154 minutes, the movie overextends its welcome in a number of ways, as, inevitably, all of its aspects and particularly its intense in-your-face style become quite tiring after a fashion. Especially the romantic notions and the rather lengthy music video scenes become annoying early on, with the same applying to the frantic pace, to the point that it is quite hard to follow the movie after a fashion. Some scenes, like the final fight, somewhat compensate, but the fact that Singam is invincible (and rather intelligent) harms the movie in that regard, and also on a number of other levels. Lastly, a kind of effort at sociopolitical commentary, regarding corruption and the fact that India is one and united, emerge as completely out of context, not to mention propagandistic on occasion.
“Si3” could have been a fun-only film of the highest level, much like HK action comedies used to be, but in the end, the excessiveness that characterizes all of its aspects ends up harming even the entertainment factor here. Definitely deserves a partial watch, however, as a number of individual scenes are bound to make any viewer laugh, even if not for the same reasons.
