Judwaa 2 movie review: A regular spun-sugar film with flawed comedy

Directed By: David Dhawan
Produced By: Fox Star Studios
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Jacqueline Fernandez, Varun Dhawan
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2.5/5

‘Jo main bolta hoon, woh main karta hoon. Jo main nahi bolta hoon, woh main WhatsApp kar deta hoon.’

There. Welcome to ‘Judwaa 2’, the home of pubescent humour.

A reboot of Salman Khan’s 1997 blockbuster flick ‘Judwaa’, this film is carrying mammoth expectations on its shoulder. Does it deliver? Yes, and no.

As the story kickstarts with one naive Raj Malhotra’s (Sachin Khedekar) encounter with a disguised smuggler Charles (Zakir Hussain), a chain of sudden aftermaths follow. This includes one of Malhotra’s newborn twins being abducted and abandoned at a rail track who escape miraculously. Of the two brothers, Prem (Varun Dhawan) grows up amid a sheltered, prosperous life. Raja, on the other hand, is rescued and brought up by a kind woman who picks him up from the track. A vulnerable, polite and non-conflicting Prem and a riotous, loud-mouthed Raja (his lost brother, Varun again), unintentionally cause hell lot of confusions in each other’s lives, including freaking the hell out of the other’s girlfriend, before they are finally made to face each other.

Among the new generation actors, Varun Dhawan would be and is the perfect choice to bring life to the required humour. A quirky Varun here is failed by poor, very poor humour that pulls down not just Varun, but the entire film. I rolled my eyes as he quipped, “Raja ki izzat koi saundarya sabun ki tikiya nahi jo tu ragad ragad ke dho dale”! Duh.

However, we can’t deny that it’s he who makes this film watchable for you. He is prompt, spontaneous and has done his job despite the influences of a loosely written script.

Jacqueline Fernandaez plays Alishqa, Raja’s girlfriend. Imagine falling for a man who, after an illegitimate entry to London, is trying to hide his face from the police, and hence, plunges on you inside a shopping mall and starts smooching. *Eye roll to a different dimension!*

But then, Jacqueline is nothing more than a glossy on-screen presence. She chirps most of the times, kisses quite vehemently, and is often getting possessive about Raja. But HOW DID SHE FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM? Further, never remind yourself that she got into the shoes Karisma Kapoor. She will start looking pale.

Taapsee Pannu aka Samara looks pretty and acts pretty. She is Prem’s college friend and they eventually come closer through their mutual passion for music. Samara’s over-enthusiastic mother (Upasana Singh), with unnecessary display of drama, plays a catalyst here.

Taapsee will have a few takers, now that the audience has a rather dense, serious image of her, thanks to her recent ventures. But she should be applauded for not only coming back to comedy but also putting her best foot forward.

Considering that David Dhawan is a maverick at indulging in films with humour quotient, ‘Judwaa 2’ looks less than expected. Dhawan tries to be more contemporary, but the punches do not seem to work.

For those with fond nostalgic memories about ‘Judwaa’, ‘Chalti Hai Kya Se 9 Se 12’ and ‘Oonchi Hai Building’ will either take you down the memory lane, or will ruin your day. We don’t have any, thankfully.

The film features a bunch of talented supporting actors, including Zakir Hussain, Rajpal Yadav and Vivian Bhatena, whom we fairly liked. Further, it has been largely shot across London and came out nicely.

Although, we couldn’t ignore the subtle hints of objectification spread throughout the film. This is in common with a number of ‘family entertainers’ we’ve watched in the recent past.

Overall, ‘Judwaa 2’ is a glossy, run-of-the-mill average watch, which however, wouldn’t fit as a cult comedy.

P.S. Salman Khan’s cameo was the worst part of it!

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