Gadar 2 REVIEW: Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel starrer offers an outdated story, doesn’t live up to the hype

Film:
Gadar 2: The Katha Continues

Platform: Theatre

Director: Anil Sharma

Star cast: Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, Utkarsh Sharma, Manish Wadhwa, Gaurav Chopra, Simrat Kaur

Sunny Deol starrer Gadar 2 movie review

The first time I watched Gadar Ek Prem Katha was when I was in the 10th grade. Well, today, I have watched the second part after more than 2 decades and it took me down memory lane. The movie flashes some scenes from the 2001 film which was nostalgic. However, now speaking about Gadar 2- The Katha Continues in this review, the Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel starrer fails to create the same magic in the second part. I feel if the film was made in 2001, making Gadar’s sequel after 20 years will not work well with the masses. People have changed and people’s perspectives changed, so keeping the theme of 2000 in 2023 gets really dated. It doesn’t resonate with today’s generation and hence, I feel such movies don’t sustain for long.

Gadar was about reuniting with his love and bringing her home, the second part is about rescuing his son and bringing him back home. The movie starts by showing glimpses of Gadar which seems like a recap of the previous film. Set in the Indo-Pak war in 1971, the movie shifts to the second gear, showing the happy life of Tara Singh, Sakeena and Jeete. However, their happiness is shortlived as a war arises between India and Pakistan and yet, again, Tara becomes the centre of attraction in this war. As I was watching the movie, some scenes just baffled me and some scenes looked so nostalgic. Apart from Sunny’s powerful roar and his action scenes, Gadar 2 doesn’t look intriguing. It seems like the movie is made in a flimsy way which is not engaging at all. Not pulling down anyone but the movie has zero impact.

In fact, in hindsight, I feel that Gadar 2 should have made it 2-3 years after the first part was released. It would have done justice to the story and the era. People would have loved it more and felt connected towards the movie instead of showing the same worn-out drama after 2 decades. When people are looking for fresh new content, Gadar 2 offers nothing new. However, it is high on emotions and actions with no logic.

Story:

Tara, Sakeena and Jeete lead a happy life in Punjab 22 years after its predecessor. However, a sudden change of events leaves their lives upside down. Set against the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, Tara Singh once again faces every enemy to protect the honour of his country and his family.

Highlights of Gadar 2

Sunny Deol’s performance: Sunny Deol is the only saving grace in this movie I feel. He delivers a seeti-maar performance in Gadar 2. At the age of 66, Sunny Deol flawlessly does his action sequences and that’s worth watching on the big screens. Even his ‘aeeee’ echoes in the theatre and trust me, it will give you goosebumps. Though he is seen as an extended cameo in the movie, Sunny still steals the limelight.

Maintaining the nostalgia: Given the fact is the continuation of the first part, I liked how Anil Sharma incorporated the scenes from the previous film, keeping the essence intact. It just brings such happy memories for 90s kids. That’s not it, his roar and his handpump scene maintain the aura of the 90s. There’s a scene where Tara Singh is about to pick up the handpump and man, the theatre went bonkers. It surely has a separate fan-base for sure.

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Keeping the old classic music intact: Apart from the scenes, Anil Sharma didn’t mess the old songs like Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava and Main Nikla Gaddi Leke. They were the best parts of Gadar and it warmed my heart to listen to these songs.

Drawbacks of Gadar 2

Screenplay: As I have mentioned before, I will say again the storyline and the setting of the movie are outdated. Not just the storyline, but the scenes written are in such an amateur way. There was a scene in the movie where Tara Singh helps the Indian army to deliver the ammunition. He has to go to the battlefield and have to hand over the weapons to the soldiers. He then even starts fighting with the soldiers shoulder to shoulder. A) How come a truck driver is going into the war? How come he is fighting with the soldiers?

Execution: One of the major drawbacks of the movie is the execution of the movie. There’s no flow in the movie as if the scenes are randomly being played back to back. The placement of songs was quite odd, some scenes are half-baked while some scenes have no arc to the story. It surely breaks the flow of the movie.

Sleazy climax: As the first half of the movie was about their family, love and problems, the second half focuses on Jeete’s rescue mission. As Tara Singh comes to Pakistan to rescue his son, the climax falls flat after a mega build-up. Moreover, the climax seems dragged. The scene that could have been summed up in 20 mins was dragged for an hour.

Star performances

Sunny Deol as Tara Singh impresses us with his powerful act. He is the heart of the movie and carries it singlehandedly, just as he was seen with the cartwheel in his hand. Even though he’s screentime was less, Sunny shone throughout his part.

Ameesha Patel reprises her role as Sakeena in Gadar 2. She is seen for a limited time and makes no significant difference. 

Utkarsh Sharma plays the role of their son Jeete aka Charanjeet Singh who tries to give a banging performance but unfortunately, he didn’t leave an impact. From its dialogue delivery to its expression, everything falls short. Nevertheless, I observed that his style in action sequences is quite similar to Tiger Shroff’s action style. Their resemblance was uncanny.

Manish Wadhwa plays Hamid Iqbal – the General officer of Pakistan who delivers a decent performance. However, in some instances, even he couldn’t take out his TV aura as he seemed too loud and too dramatic.

Gaurav Chopra is also playing the general in the movie who does a fair job whereas Simrat Kaur makes a decent debut. She comes in the second part of the movie but has a basic role to offer in Gadar 2.

Conclusion

Concluding my review, Gadar 2 starring Sunny Deol is outmoded and offers nothing new. The movie lacks logic and seems too overdramatic. The constant Hindu-Muslim war or debate or the Indo-Pak reference gets a little too much, it like Anil Sharma seems to have overstretched the topic. But to sum it up, it is not a Sunny Deol movie, his onscreen son Jeete aka Utkarsh Sharma takes the movie forward.

Watch the Gadar 2 trailer after the review

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