Border 2 REVIEW: Sunny Deol, Diiljit Dosanjh, Varun Dhawan, Ahan Shetty Shine Surrounded By Bullets, Blood And Brutal Action

Film:
Border 2

Director: Anurag Singh

Writer: Sumit Arora & Anurag Singh (Screenplay), Nidhi Dutta (Story)

Cast: Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, Ahan Shetty, Mona Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Medha Rana, Anya Singh

Platform: In theatres

Runtime: 199 minutes (3 hours, 19 minute)

Border 2 Review

Taking forward the legacy of JP Dutta’s 1997 film Border, Anurag Singh’s Border 2 portrays 3 fierce battles of the India–Pakistan war of 1971 fought by all three uniformed services of the Indian Armed Forces – Army, Air Force, and Navy. The film highlights the courage, sacrifices, and strategic warfare involved in armed confrontations such as the Battle of Basantar and Operation Chengiz Khan.

Not just action, the film also puts focus on the personal lives of the soldiers and how they sacrifice being with their ‘janam-deni wali maa’ (or even performing the last rites of the woman who gave them birth) to keep their ‘bharat maa’ safe. It also highlights how families are more than just blood releatioves and how they stand strong by each other in not only in times of happiness but also during sadness and loss.

But is Border 2 worth a watch in theatres this Republic Day weekend? Read our Border 2 review to know whether you should book your tickets or no.

What Works

Impeccable acting. Some scenes are emotionally charged and will make you shed a tear (or atleast get teary eyes). The nostalgic music and background score works wonders in making the 3-hour-long film not seem extremely lengthy. The hard-hitting dialogue will stick for days in your mind.

What Doesn’t Work

The film has a couple of shortcomings. The pace is inconsistence and after a point the narrative feels stagnant. The film suffers technically, especially when it comes to its writing, lighting and execution.

Technical Analysis

Direction

Anurag Singh has big shoes to fill and tries his best to deliver. While not at par with the legendary JP Dutta, Singh ability to tell stories is still commendable. Just like its spiritual prequel, Border 2 too has the soldiers reading emotional letters from their loved ones, sharing meals and attending a wedding of one of the main leads. However, it fails to ignite the same emotions we felt watching the 1997 epic.

Story & Writing

Unlike JP Dutta’s film which focused on only one battle – the events of Battle of Longewala, Border 2 recounts multiple wars that took place simultaneously. This has resulted in the film feeling little cluttered as it’s not possible to do 100% justice all. We wish we saw about the battles that took place in Arabian Sea and Kashmir.

While the first half of the film is filled with light hearted moments, the second half is 100% action-packed. The emotions are consistent throughout, however something feels missing, and the pace doesn’t help.

VFX & Editing

Border 2 heavily depends on VFX and its doesn’t disappoint. Given the response the teaser received, the makers have given their 1000% and manage to change the perceptive. However, it could have been much better. The lighting is subpar. There are sequences where a mid-day scene seems like it’s happening post 5pm due to the lighting. A little more time on the edit table would have done wonders for the film.

Music

The background music of the film works in its favor, and so does the music! While the songs do seem long, the good thing is they aren’t as lengthy as the ones we saw in the 1997 film.

Star Cast

The leading men of Border 2 – Sunny Deol, Diiljit Dosanjh, Varun Dhawan and Ahan Shetty, not only the ground (and their posts) but also shine brightly as armed officers. They all leave an impact with their attempt to deliver 200% to their roles.

Sunny Deol as Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri commands the screen throughout the film with his short but hard-hitting monologues/dialogues. PS: Don’t think he’s only written as someone who gives speeches. He portrays the emotions one would expect from a commanding officer to the T as well as makes you emotional with his performance as a father mourning the loss of his young son.

Varun Dhawan as Major Hoshiyaar Singh is raw. He handles the emotions one would expect a soldier to feel while away from his home and pregnant wife with maturity, that proves his caliber. While he does impress, a little more work by his accent coach would have made his character even more memorable.

Diljit Dosanjh is just beautiful in this war drama. He brings innocence, vulnerability, family, love and friendship to the narrative in a manner no one else can. His performance is raw and will reminds you of the personal scarifies our armed forces make to keep the country and its countrymen safe. He has brilliantly brought Fg Offr Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon to life.

Ahan Shetty shine despite getting lesser screentime than his co-stars. The actor is underutilized, but still manages to deliver a performance that is worth talking about. His character arc WILL touch your heart, especially his dialogue that will remind you of Suniel Shetty’s Assistant Commandment Bhairon Singh from Border.

Apart from the four men, Paramvir Singh Cheema also delivers a memorable performance. Mona Singh has once more impressed us with her acting capabilities (especially given the avatar we seen in last week’s release Happy Patel). Medha Rana, Sonam Bajwa and Anya Singh have limited screen time. In fact, Singh’s is almost like a blink and miss performance. We wish her role (as well as her and Ahan’s story) was longer.

Conclusion

While Border 2 may struggle to recreate the impact of its predecessor, it still succeeds in making you emotional with its stories of brave soldiers and their equally brave families. The film is an emotionally charged and crowd-pleasing war epic that has some incredible performance and scenes that is sure to keep it fresh in you mind even after the end credits roll by. But is it worth a watch in theatres? Well, if you love war dramas or emotionally-charged films, do head to theatres to watch it. But be advised, it’s over 3 hours long and is more than just war- especially in the first half.

Watch the trailer of Border 2 here:

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Also Read: Happy Patel – Khatarnak Jasoos REVIEW: Vir Das, Mona Singh Starrer Takes You On A Delhi Belly-Like Journey Is Goa

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.