A remake of the Telugu hit Maryaada Ramanna directed by SS Rajamouli, who himself whacked the premise from a 1920s Buster Keaton hit, Son of Sardaar is only sporadically entertaining, and peddles the same tired stereotypes of Punjab and Sikhs. A cameo by Salman Khan, sadly, doesn’t make up for the film’s many flaws.

‘Son Of Sardaar’ provides a few laughs, and the genuine pleasure of being able to see Juhi Chawla back in action. Not much else.

Son of Sardaar has a lot for the masses but it lacks a good story. With all the other ingredients in place it feels like Son of Sardaar is a good opportunity wasted.

Son of Sardaar is a vengeance drama in the garb of a slapstick comedy – a tangled mess that has no way of working its way around the sloppy screenplay, co-written by director Ashwni Dhir himself.

Ajay Devgn does his best to be the endearing sardar in this masala flick. Go for the laughs and over-the-top action scenes, though it can get repetitive and tedious.

But even as the actors perform with conviction, other departments of filmmaking let SOS down. In particular to blame are the writers. For a film that advocates the line, “sardaar pe joke karna par use joker mat samajhna” (Joke on a Sardaar but don’t treat him like a Joker) the film goes on to present its protagonist (a Sardaar) and most characters in the same light. Comedy is more than just gags and slapstick. Sadly SOS gets it wrong.

The film is loud, dramatic and over-the-top. It is designed especially for the festive holiday crowd. It is also a calculated business move with an eye on the business module of film-making. At the end of the day, the moolah that is raked in will be the deciding factor, not the ratings given by the critics!

In the UK we call it marmite (a food substance), you will love it, or you will hate it! Perhaps a more apt desi description is sweet or salted lassi. You either prefer sweet lassi, or you prefer salted lassi, or maybe even both. Hell, why not have a cocktail of sweet and salty! In any case that is the verdict with SOS. If you loved Wanted and Dabaang, or even Devgn’s own Golmaal series and his recent Bol Bachchan then SOS is definitely for you.