Actor Salman Khan’s cameo in Singham Again was shot just before the release of the film and was finally attached with the print. The cameo marked the superstar’s entry into Rohit Shetty’s cop-verse, which already stars big stars like Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Tiger Shroff. The whole idea was to show the audience that this universe is grander than they could imagine. But, not every grand gesture is ultimately effective.

When you take Salman Khan with you, your stakes go up. You need to justify his stardom and his unbeatable screen presence. He becomes both the strength and the power of your film, whether it’s a cameo, a special appearance or a full-fledged role. And Singham Again fails to prove what it really wants.

Imagine you wait for the entire movie to end, just to see Salman in five seconds of still film with no context or background. He simply stands on the periphery of Singham’s cabin, and says ‘won’t you welcome usNow, we find that the makers probably just wanted to convey that Salman has officially joined this cop-verse, but not to give him the treatment he deserves on-screen as one of the legitimate superstars of the century. what about? Did police poetry become bigger than his stardom at that moment? He is not your regular popular actor or someone who is famous for being famous. He represents the masses and carries with him a legacy of 36 years of megastardom.

Is it so difficult to take inspiration from his special role in films like ‘Pathan’? In the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, he jumped inside a moving train midway and garnered all the applause and whistles for his memorable performance. You have convinced Salman to be a part of your film and half the work is done. A lot more could have been done to utilize his name and fame in Singham Again.

He just had to be given some more time to perform. Action, comedy, drama… a lot of action, but they chose to make him stand still for a few seconds. The only action happening in that scene was Ajay Devgan turning his chair to look at them.

Forget action, Salman’s cameos in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke and Saawariya seem more relevant and impactful today than his small character in Singham Again. Even when he is not playing rowdy heroes on screen – a truck driver in DAPK and a lost lover in Saawariya – he is creating more noise and leaving a long-lasting impact on the minds of the audience .

With Singham Again, it’s almost as if they got Salman and then they stopped thinking about what would happen next.

And all this happened in a cinematic world that is known for designing spectacular cameos: Ajay Devgan’s entry in Sooryavanshi or Akshay’s introduction in Singham Returns. Cameos in Rohit Shetty’s films have written history in Bollywood, but Salman’s cameo, far from being celebratory, did not seem captivating or even historical. At best, it was visible in the blink of an eye. Oh see! Salman as Chulbul Pandey… and then poof, everything disappears before you can even blink.

There is no universe in the absence of bright stars, and when you find the brightest star, it is your duty to ensure that its brightness never diminishes.