Awarapan 2 REVIEW: Emraan Hashmi Headlines A Sequel That Plays On Nostalgia But Partially Disappoints

Film:
Awarapan 2

Director: Nitin Kakkar

Writer: Bilal Siddiqi, Nitin Kakkar

Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi, Shriya Saran, Puran Gabbi, Suvindar Vicky, Aniruddh Rawal, Vijayant Kohli, Atul Kumar, Barun Chanda, Myrah Shivan, Jukreed Kamdee

Runtime: 140 Minutes (2Hours, 20 Minutes)

Platform: In Theatres

Awarapan 2 Review

Set a couple of years after Awarapan 2 ends, Nitin Kakkar’s action thriller sequel is pretty similar to the 2007 film while also standing out for its differences. After losing his best friend, mentor and ‘work colleagues’ in order to set a trapped girl and her lover free, Shivam Pandit (Emraan Hashmi) now spends his days tending to Aaliyah’s grave. While in the cemetery on her birthday, he comes across an abandoned baby, who – unsurprisingly, he names Aaliyah. While kid Aaliyah (Myrah Shivan) lives in a nearby orphanage, Shivam is 100% involved in her upbringing, even though he never speaks to her.

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Their lives take a twist when Aaliyah is adopted. Just days after the adoption, Interpol Officer Samarth (Atul Kumar) informs Shivam that Aaliyah’s adoptive parents have been killed and she had been kidnapped into a child traffic racket.

To save this child, Shivam resorts back to his gangster ways and heads to Bangkok, the place where Aaliyah and several more kids have been transported. In Bangkok, his paths cross with drug dealer Amrit (Barun Chanda), his gangs, and his children – Zorawar (Puran Gabbi), Zara (Disha Patani) and Sikandar (Aniruddh Rawal). He also meets and locks horns with Amrit’s rival drug dealer Nafisa (Shabana Azmi). Who among this drug dealers have branched out into human trafficking is the big question.

Will he be able to save them all or will a couple of kids (maybe Aaliyah) perish in the crossfire? Will Shivam find love again in Zara or will Aaliyah always be in his heart? To know the answers, you will need to spend nearly 2.5 hours in the theater. And our honest review will help you decide if you should book your tickets and watch Awarapan 2 in theatres this weekend.

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What Works

Emraan Hashmi’s raw expressions, Puran Gabbi’s personification of an unstable individual and Shabana Azmi’s badass portrayal. One particular song works, the others are just there.

What Doesn’t Work

Disha Patani’s acting. Disha and Emraan’s chemistry – that God there is no kissing scene, it would have been weird and uncomfortable to watch. The BGM doesn’t give you goosebumps.

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Technical Analysis

Direction

Nitin Kakkar’s direction is just around average. It’s nothing to be proud about. Using footages from the earlier film to anchor the audience in more than once occasion doesn’t need a round of applause. Nitin, given the legacy attached to the film, we wish you treated it a bit better.

Story & Screenplay

Vishesh Bhatt’s story, adapted to the screen by Bilal Siddiqi and Nitin Kakkar is predictable. As key event take place, you know exactly who is responsible for it. In fact, if you know movies well, you may even guess when their truths will be out of the bag too. The dialogues fall somewhere between okay and cringe. None of the dialogues stick, even before the end credits start rolling.

Cinematography

The cinematography is good in a number of places, but the camera work suffers a a lot when it comes to close combat sequences.

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Editing

The film could have been made shorter, there are instances when you are sure to drift away from what’s happening on screen. The editing and post production edits also seem a little over the place.

Music

The music – as mention above, is good but doesn’t have the emotional pull the first film had. It’s there. Fans will only be crooning the lines they remembers that over lap with the 2007 music album.

Star Cast

Emraan Hashmi’s performance as Shivam Pandit is believable. Despite being nearly 20 years apart, Emraan’s acting makes its seems like only a couple of years have lapsed and he’s just the heart broken, brooding Shivam. The bare torso scene has the actor flaunting his physic while his smile and twinkle in the eyes will transport you back to the 2000s.

Disha Patani could have done much better. Her expressions seems 2-dimentional as she fails to make the audience experience what her character is going through. Be it betrayal, fear, relief or even love, her expressions look the same. Shavana Azmi is good as Nafiza even though her screen time in less. While she performs the part well – it still makes me remember Dimple Kapadia from Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, her character is shabbily written.

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Puran Gabbi performance as the eccentric Zorawar is good even through – once again, the character is given more depth. Aniruddh Rawal delivers a believable performance as Sikandar. Myrah Shivan as Aaliyah has very less screen time despite being pivotal to the narrative. The supporting cast have little chance to prove their worth as they either have less screen time or their characters are taken off the chess board before you even start forming a connection with them.

Conclusion

If you are an Emraan Hashmi fans and want to see the star back in full glory, go and watch the film. If not, give it a skip. Even if you are a fan of the 2007 action thriller, you can give it a skip and wait for it to stream online where you can fast forward the many scenes that will make you zone out.

Watch the trailer of Awarapan 2 here:

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