Singh is Kinng

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Neha Dhupia, Sonu Sood
Director: Anees Bazmee
Producer: Vipul A. Shah
Music: Pritam

After striking a chord with audiences as a rustic Punjabi boy in last year's hit "Namastey London", Akshay Kumar returns as Happy Singh, a gullible, foolhardy and accident-prone guy in romantic comedy "Singh Is Kinng" that releases on August 8 in India and August 7 at select locations worldwide.

Directed by Anees Bazmee, the film got unexpected publicity when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pulled off a decisive win in the trust vote in parliament on July 22.

"Congratulations India... Singh is King!" was the SMS circulated in Punjab and elsewhere soon after the results were announced.

"I could never ever imagine that the title of my film would become so popular. It has become such a rage after the trust vote. 'Singh is Kinng' has become synonymous with the power of the Singhs. I'm very glad," said producer Vipul Shah.

When Harbhajan Singh took six wickets on Saturday to help India gain a lead on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, again the headlines said "Singh Is King".

The film's USP is Akshay and Katrina Kaif, who teamed up in two of last year's biggest hits - "Namastey London" and "Welcome".

The story of the singing, dancing sardarji goes like this:

Lakhan Singh aka Lucky (Sonu Sood) is the 'king' of the Australian underworld. He functions with the help of his associates - Javed Jaffrey, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma, Kamal Chopra and Sudhanshu Pande.

Far away, in Lucky's village in Punjab lives someone more notorious than him - Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar).

The villagers are fed up of Happy, the good samaritan, because most of his good deeds turn into hilarious, and often disastrous situations. Out of desperation, they decide to send him to Australia to bring Lucky back to Punjab.

The happy-go-lucky bumpkin, taking his mission a bit too seriously, embarks on his journey accompanied by his friend, Tony Singh (Om Puri).

The high point of his journey is his chance meeting with Sonia (Katrina Kaif) with whom he falls in love. But when he reaches his destination, things take a turn and Happy lands up in a series of comic misadventures, leaving him penniless.

An affectionate elderly lady (Kirron Kher) rescues him and also helps him meet Lucky.

Happy saves Lucky's life by risking his own. Following the hilarious altercation, Lucky lands up in hospital paralysed, and Happy, unexpectedly, finds the tables turned on him when he is expected to assume the role of the new leader of the gang.

The series of chaotic and comic misunderstandings eventually results in an accidental wedding!

Shot in Punjab, Australia and Egypt, the film's music is already doing well. American rapper Snoop Dogg features in the movie wearing a turban. Apart from Pritam Chakraborty, Britain's popular bhangra band RDB has also composed a song for the film.

Although Akshay's first release of the year "Tashan" turned out to be a box office dud, trade pundits are hoping this film will do well.

Indo-Asian News Service