Dabangg 3’s 100-Crore Collection Proves That ‘Bhai Fans’ Can Defy Darwin’s Evolution Theory

Looking at Dabangg 3's sheer incompetence, maybe we should talk about how 'entertainment' has never been more dull than a Salman Khan film in 2019.

By: Entertainment Desk |
December 26, 2019 11:22 am

Salman Khan’s Dabangg 3 is reported to topple the 100-crore barrier on the fifth day. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film has already collected Rs 91.5 crore by Day 4 and the estimates for Day 5 are conservatively marked at Rs 9-9.5 crore. This is Salman Khan’s second consecutive blockbuster, after Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bharat.

Here are some of the headlines from the Dabangg 3 reviews:

It’s well known that Salman Khan’s enviable fan-base will watch literally anything, something Khan knows all too well as he calls his films ‘critic-proof’. But, even Bhai fans need to ask themselves at some point, when does it start to get repetitive?

Salman Khan, for all his spunk, is an ‘actor’ who has evolved so little in his career spanning nearly three decades that he makes Darwin evolution theory seem like a Whatsapp forward. He does the similar kind of roles, in films that have the same kind of music, where he also (seemingly) does the same kind of dance steps. He has the usual punchline, the slo-mo action sequences after which he saves the girl.

It’s not just that Salman Khan is limited as an actor. He’s also upholding archaic templates for the Indian man, something that has already been redefined by Khan’s younger colleagues – Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Ayushmann Khurrana.

With Dabangg 3, Khan hasn’t even bothered to hire a writer, something he’s even gone on record to say how there was ‘no thought-process in this one’. Like most successful ‘stars’ in the country, it can seem like a real travesty that Salman Khan gets to call himself an ‘actor’ in spite of trying so little. He’s good for business, so everyone makes peace with him as an enfant terrible.

Couple this with director Prabhu Deva’s specialised brand of misogyny, and you get a sequel that’s as ghastly as it can get. However, as the Dabangg 3 collections suggest that the audience is opting to watch this. Is it because they’re enjoying watching the same story over and over again? Or is it because they don’t know any better?

As Salman Khan laughs his way to the bank for a second time in 2019, maybe we should make peace with the fact that we’ll just have to endure the rest of Salman Khan’s career – where he plays the same role (read: saviour), dances to the same music, issues the same threats to the villain and saves the girl in the end. The word ‘entertainment’ has never had a more dull meaning than a Salman Khan film in 2019.