Singham Again, the latest installment in Rohit Shetty’s Cop Universe, opens with breathtaking shots of Kashmir’s sprawling mountains and pristine lakes—the new posting of the titular protagonist, police deputy commissioner Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn). But the film quickly draws our attention away from Kashmir’s natural beauty to a violent encounter between Singham and the Muslim terrorist Omar Hafiz (Jackie Shroff), one of the main villains of the 2021 Sooryavanshi, the previous film in Shetty’s Cop Universe that has been criticized for its blatant Islamophobia.  After initiating a shoot-out with Singham and his forces, Omar tries to escape on a motorcycle. Still, he is quickly captured by Singham, who viciously beats him up as the Shiva Tandava Stotra—a popular hymn in praise of the Hindu god Shiva—plays in the background.  This scene, from its politics and tonality to its celebration of hypermasculinity, is typical of Shetty’s Cop Universe, which began in…

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