Hindustan Times (Bathinda)

Twice not so nice as mediocrity returns

- ROHIT VATS

Salman Khan’s Judwaa (1997) wasn’t a great film, but it has nostalgia attached to it. This is why most of us were keen on seeing how close Varun Dhawan gets to Salman in Judwaa 2. He doesn’t disappoint. The film entertains without demanding your mental faculties. However, your decision to watch it twice will depend on your appetite for slapstick.

A smuggler called Charles (Zakir Hussain) kidnaps one of the identical twins of the Malhotra family right after their birth. They grow up as Raja in Mumbai and Prem in London (both played by Varun Dhawan) and behave in a similar fashion when they’re in proximity. So if one is being amorous, the other will involuntar­ily kiss someone too. A doctor describes it as one in eight million cases, and actually pinches a kid to demonstrat­e his theory. As if we were looking for logic in David Dhawan’s plot.

Soon, the two heroines, Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu, join junior Dhawan and raise the temperatur­e. By now, it’s all gloss and punchlines.

How? Consider this: Somebody asks Upasana Singh, Samara’s mother, whether she knows music. She replies, “Sa re ga ma Amitabh Bachchan.” Because Pa! Get it?

From 1997 to 2017, what has not changed is the story’s inherent misogyny and racist jokes. But you laughed in Judwaa, and you may well laugh again.

There are layered gags too. Like when a psychiatri­st played by Ali Asgar tells Varun Dhawan, “Aapko split personalit­y disorder bilkul nahi hai”. This is Judwaa 2’s strength. Dhawan has, at least, picked his cast well: Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Vivan Bhatena and Pawan Malhotra.

The onus is on Varun Dhawan to fill into Salman’s shoes and he does that, while enjoying the PJs. You object to the content, but this is nothing other than what was promised in the trailers.

However, both Jacqueline and Taapsee have been reduced to glamour elements. But they try their best to support Varun Dhawan in making a joke work. Judwaa 2, like the original, is mediocre, but it may lift your mood. At 149-minutes, it has some laugh-worthy moments.

 ??  ?? Both Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu have been reduced to glamour elements in the movie.
Both Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu have been reduced to glamour elements in the movie.
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