Judwaa 2 movie review

Hyderabad : There's been a lot of buzz around Judwaa 2, especially for two reasons: the chemistry between Jacqueline and Varun, and Taapsee and Varun as well. Secondly, there's a whole scene with two Varuns, and two Salman Khans. Now that's another level of excitement.

Touted to be a reboot, Judwaa 2 apparently retains some iconic scenes from the original. With two songs already remixed from Judwaa — 'Chalti hai kya 9 se 12' and 'Oonchi hai building 2.0' — we're gearing up for a trip down nostalgia lane.Judwaa 2 begins with a predictable introduction: A couple is expecting their child; the mother goes into labour even as the father is on his way from the airport. When she finally gives birth to twins, the doctor tells the couple the babies were conjoined and the hospital had to separate them. A one in a million case — so the doctors say. With this, we're expecting the drama to begin.

Unfortunately, a rogue the father meets at the airport follows him back to the hospital and in a tussle, ends up stealing one of the babies. Cue plot point. The reason we can be so blase about it is because the structure is pretty much the same as the original film.There's only one question on everyone's mind. Where is Varun Dhawan?

Needless to say, this reboot is peppered with much from Salman's Judwaa, right down to the background score. But the most noteworthy difference is in Varun Dhawan's entry. We learn that one twin goes with the couple to London, while another gets left behind in Mumbai as an orphan. Obviously, one is rowdy (tight jeans and all) and the other is a sweet, piano-playing simpleton.

We are first introduced to Prem, the simpleton: he gets bullied in college for being too meek (Varun brings out this mix of sympathy for and comedy in his character really well). It is Taapsee who helps him answer back to the bullies, and they form a connection. Raja, from Mumbai, is yet to be introduced to us. And I can't wait!

As a Bollywood-ish juxtaposition of sorts, Raja is as sassy, strong and popular as Prem is weak and bullied. A brother thing, we're told. Varun as Raja is taking my attention away from the tacky justifications, especially his Govinda-esque dancing in 'Chalo Ganpati Bappa Morya'. Not only is he making me want to dance in this almost packed theatre, but you end up feeling super nostalgic for the '90s. And it's only been 15 minutes!

Rajpal Yadav plays Shakti Kapoor's Nandu character, while Vivian Bathena plays the antagonist Alex (Mukesh Rishi in the original film).An action sequence makes its way after the song, to show just how strong and amazing Raja is. At this point I must admit, Salman and Shakti Kapoor were much better suited (as a comic pair) than Rajpal Yadav and Varun, but Varun needs nobody. He has two of himself!

So far, the only glaring thing about the film is its forced comedy. While Varun is naturally funny, the actors around him try too hard, but often miss the point.Well, just as we were complaining, in comes Johnny Lever, stealing all the comedy limelight. He plays Pappu Passport, who helps Raja and Nandu leave Mumbai after a fight with Alex, the thug. Since he's called Pappu Passport, look out for a killer joke involving the Aadhar card (we warned you!).

On the flight to London, Raja meets Jacqueline Fernandez's character, and tries to hit on her. Just like Karisma Kapoor in the original, Jacqueline is far too feisty for him. Their spark is evident right from the beginning; it reminds me of the effortless chemistry Dhawan shares with Alia Bhatt.

And much like the original, the confusion related to the twins comes and goes as per convenience. For example, Raja starts to feel Jacqueline up during the flight, because Prem plays the piano in another universe! But this happens only when the makers deem fit. Meanwhile, Varun as Prem has to try a little harder to establish a chemistry with Taapsee (who's called Samara in this film).

Once Raja gets a job in an Indian restaurant in London, we're expecting the theatrics to begin any moment. Prem, Raja, Samara and Alishka (which is what we find out Jacqueline's character is called) are all in one city now, and so the action can finally begin?

Well I have my fingers crossed, because so far the comedy has been a bit irregular. Varun is clearly carrying the weight of the film on his shoulders.There's a lot to roll your eyes over: forced kissing, a 'kabool x 3' (like a nikaah sequence), and too many '90s tropes fitted into one film. And usually I would be rolling my eyes over these cheesy scenes, but Varun and Jacqueline make it work. Meanwhile, I haven't warmed up to Taapsee yet.