Producer Akshay Kumar, Ajay Virmani
Director Robert Lieberman
Music Sandeep Chowta, Anjjan (Meet Bros), Harmeet (Meet Bros), Manmeet (Meet Bros)
Writer Vinay Virmani, Noel Barker, Jeffrey Schechter, Matt Simmons
Lyrics Rdb, Ludacris, Rishi Rich, Veronica, Jassi Sidhu, Kale Wala Sangha, Ajay Virma, Kumaar, Palvinder Dhami
Release Date 23-Sep-2011
Story:‘Speedy Singhs’ is the journey of an Indo-Canadian- Rajveer Singh (Vinay Virmani), who is torn between his traditional family beliefs and his dream career, in the sports of ice-hockey. His father Darvesh Singh (Anupam Kher), is his biggest hindrance as he wants him to make it big in Uncle Sammy’s (Gurpreet Guggi) truck business. Uncle Sam’s son-in-law, Sonu (Russell Peters) adds to Rajveer’s misery, courtesy the small tiff between them over Uncle’s business. In the course of time, when Rajveer finds no space in Canadian team, he builds up his own team of Sikhs called Speedy Singhs with Dan Winters (Rob Lowe) as their coach. Now, will Rajveer be able to convince his father for his hockey career or will he go ahead against his father’s will, forms the rest of the story.
Story Treatment:‘Speedy Singhs’ evokes mixed responses, when it comes gauging it. The film falls flat in terms of writing, as it bears an uncanny resemblance to films like ‘Bend it Like Beckham’, ‘Patiala House,’ which makes it quite predictable. In fact, one wonders, how could producer Akshay Kumar give his nod for such a subject, considering he came up with ‘Patiala House’ earlier, which dealt with the same issue. However, as mentioned, ‘Speedy Singhs’ is quite strong at others areas, which makes it a delightful watch. Ultra-hilarious dialogues with excellent comic-timing between the characters, crisp fresh screenplay give this flick a chance to be watched at least once.
Star Cast: Vinay Virmani is flawless as a debutant actor, but story writing doesn’t seem to be his cup of tea. Anupam Kher is as usual top-notch. Gurpreet Guggi looks uncomfortable with English language, but that’s the shade of his character. Russell Peters proves his acting prowess. He lives up to the character with shades of grey, quite convincingly. He surely is the star attraction in the film and surprises one with each passing scene. Akshay Kumar makes his presence feel in a cameo role. Rob Lowe plays his part well. So, does his character sister Camilla Belle, the love interest of Rajveer in the film.
Direction: Robert Lieberman induces life in the otherwise very non-lustrous storyline with oodles of style and energy. What sets ‘Speedy Singhs’ part from rest of the films made on the same subject, is the no melodrama factor. Rajveer doesn’t break down every other minute due to opposition, neither does his mother make a huge hue and cry about her son going against his father and to top it all, there's no high-voltage drama of Punjabi ladies. The practical approach encompassing interesting conversations between the characters with just the correct dosage of comedy, brilliantly shot ice-hockey matches make ‘Speedy Singhs’ stand out.
Music/ Cinematography/ Dialogues/Editing: Punjabi music is the soul of the film, which completely syncs with the theme. Camera moves don’t go over-board even for a second, which makes it a flawless effort from the cinematographer’s end. Dialogues, as mentioned earlier too, like the music only make the film move forward and one starts enjoying every bit of it. Editing is perfect, as the film finishes in a stipulated amount of time, also courtesy a tightly written screenplay.
3 Ups and 3 Downs: Witty dialogues, music, screenplay and decent performances are the strengths of the film. Predictable storyline, language barrier in the terms of English being the language that's primarily spoken throughout the flick, are the weak points.
On the whole, ‘Speedy Singhs’ promises to tickle your funny bone with its fine comedy, but a word of caution, it's surely not for masses and that might affect its collections at the box-office.
