No one expected another sequel from Bollywood that too from director Anil Sharma who has been dormant (he made films but no one watched them) ever since his blockbuster film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha which released in 2001. The film was a nationwide phenomenon with many moments from it being engraved as iconic in Hindi cinema. No one can deny that there is a loyal fan base of Sunny Deol and the mass commercial pitch he offers is unparalleled. There is a pleasure, it depends guilty or not, in watching him yell at others. The trailer for the sequel was not received well but the real magic happened when the early bookings began. Gadar 2’s storm was so strong that despite the competition, the film was able to emerge as the second biggest opener of the year having an opening weekend of ₹130 crores+. After 6 days of business, Gadar 2 has minted ₹263 crores+ at the Indian box office. Meaning it is already the second highest grosser of the year after Pathaan’s ₹543 crores. So, has Anil Sharma just made a masterpiece? His filmography would suggest otherwise. No, here is my honest review of Gadar 2 barring all the nostalgia.
Gadar 2 Review: Why Does It Exist?
HOC Rating – ★
I propose this question because the film has no identity of its own. After having a long recap which sets up the villain of Manish Wadhwa, the film shamelessly cuts back to moments from the original film so that the audience doesn’t miss any nods. Such heavy reliance on nostalgia was not expected. The similar love track between Jeete and Muskan was pale and soul-less. There was no time given so that we feel anything about their relationship.
Gadar 2 is much like Adipurush, the film expects us to already revere the characters because of their significance in Indian cinema and history. The sequel makes no attempt to tell us why we should care about them. It assumes we do. I loved the use of music in the film because I enjoy Gadar’s songs and the way they were remixed here was soothing. I went into this film not expecting an Oppenheimer but some superb dialogues that bashed Pakistan, but the film is much devoid of those as well. It doesn’t match the original’s epic feeling. Utkarsh Sharma is flatter than Sonam Kapoor, acting wise. He couldn’t make a mark in his father’s desperate attempt to rejuvenate his career.
Ameesha Patel’s role has been reduced to praying, crying and laughing. The film wouldn’t be any different even if her character was dead. Manish Wadhwa’s villain was not terrible but he doesn’t live up to that high standards of Amrish Puri. Sunny Deol is the only standout. The theatre I was in generated immense response from the crowd whenever he showed up but unfortunately he is in an extended supporting role. I loved the way the hand pump cameo was used. Story, screenplay and direction was all mediocre and this film only exists to make money off the original.
Technically Flawed!
For a film made on a hefty budget and produced in this day and age, Gadar 2 suffers from some serious technical problems. Most of the dialogues if not all are ADR ed. Which means they’ve been recorded at a studio for clarity. This is because the audio recorded on set was not satisfactory or they didn’t record at all. I’m not privy to this information. Basically, most of the lines are dubbed and you can make out which one. It is clear as day.
Many times there is lag. Also, at times the video of some other dialogue is used and a completely different line is dubbed over it. Just to make the scene flow. The film has got many slow motion shots, I think it will give Adipurush a tough competition. However, Adipurush’s slow motion was done well but this is terrible. The frame rate was completely wrong. I think they shot it at only 24 frames resulting in this mess. Because all the slow motion shots lagged severely where you could see each frame changing in a choppy manner. I don’t know how anyone else didn’t see this. But this is truly atrocious. Despite better VFX and technology being available, Gadar 2 has the most illogical, unbelievable and poorly executed fight scenes. It is just Sunny Deol throwing bigger and bigger things at the crowd. No innovation or thought is put in.
Verdict
If I tell you not to watch this mess then that wouldn’t stop you from going to the cinemas this weekend. My theatre was hooting and celebrating the film but as per my opinion it is a 1 out of 5 stars. However, based on the box office collections of the sequel my review is moot. India is celebrating Gadar 2 and no one can change that. At the end, I always say it is the audience who make or break a film. You guys have made it.
Gadar 2 is currently playing in theatres near you.
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