Critics rating: 3.5 Stars

Cast: Salman Khan, Harshaali Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui.ikram, Amy Jackson

Direction: Kabir Khan

Produced: Salman Khan, Rockline Venkatesh

Written: Kabir Khan, Kausar Munir

Genre: Drama

Duration: 159 Mins

After drawing out a remarkably understated performance from Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger, Kabir Khan weaves his magic once again to better effect and greater results. Neither patriotic nor preachy for unity, Bajrangi Bhaijaan manages to get it just right and entertainingly so.

6-year-old Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra) is a mute Pakistani girl residing in Pakistani’s Sultanpur zila. After a narrow escape in the steep-sloped mountains, her mother (Meher Vij) decides to take her to Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah to pray for a miracle that will enable her to speak. They are both homeward bound aboard the Samjhauta Express when it stops in the middle of the night and Shahida disembarks (for a perfectly legitimate reason in a child’s mind).

The train leaves without her and she hops onto a goods train that takes her to Kurukshetra, right into the oncoming festivities pertaining to Lord Hanuman. There she encounters and endearingly follows Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman Khan), affectionately known as Bajrangi for his devotion. After a few gentle attempts to shoo her away, he takes her to Delhi, where he stays with his father’s friend Dayanand (Sharat Saxena), his wife (Alka Badola Kaushal) and their daughter Rasika (Kareena Kapoor Khan).

It is a family of staunch, vegetarian Hindus, none of whom are likely to be too pleased if the girl’s religious identity and nationality are revealed (she is assumed to be Brahmin because of her complexion). But the revelation is inevitable, as is Pawan’s quest to get her back to her family. Much to the audience’s amusement and the girl’s face-palming exasperation, he can be a little fat-headed when it comes to infiltrating a hostile nation. The simple-mindedness comes from his staunch adherence to his faith, which has him being truthful (much to the detriment of his cause) and folding his hands to primates as part of his beliefs.

Thank goodness for some rationality in the Pakistani side with reporter Chand Nawab (Nawazuddin Siddiqui, introduced much like the viral video featuring his real-life namesake) and a maulana (Om Puri, lovable guest appearance). Bajrangbali certainly picked the best guardian angels to ferry our hero and his angelic moppet from arid deserts to snow-capped peaks.

The film’s first half falters on the pacing but the momentum is not unbearable. Bajrangi’s introductory song has been inserted for mandatory taali-bajaao responses. The whole Chicken Song sequence could have been done without (just give the girl her chicken!). Yet, the negatives are not as jarring under Kabir Khan’s able direction. Bajrangi Bhaijaan wears its heart on its sleeve and hammers home the tear-jerking waterworks without being too overbearing with it. For a change, Salman Khan ditched his Sallugiri for another day. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the livewire who kickstarts the film in the second half. And Harshaali Malhotra is a delightful discovery.

The movie’s smart, sweet and the kind of controlled filmy melodrama we could do with in larger doses. Bajrangi Bhaijaan is an apt release for Eid and on its way to be a blockbuster richly deserving of the fanfare.