Jannat 2 review

Sonia Chopra

Welcome to the world where everything goes. Or in other words, mainstream Bollywood of the ‘80s. All the cliched characters are in place. There’s the criminal with a heart-of-gold, the “ziddi aur sanki” cop with a back-story, and the Girl (enough said). So we have Sonu Dilli KKC (Kutti Kameeni Cheez, played by Emraan) who’s an illegal-gun seller. That’s his philosophy by the way—that a gun for everybody is the solution to society’s problems. A lowlife, he tells us how he earns the money and then blows it “chamdi ke chakkar mein” (for skin, meaning prostitutes). This kind of crass language is a mainstay in the film, and has been amplified several-fold in the name of authenticity. So you have the mother-sister abuses in almost each sentence. Women are called “laundiya, cheez or maal". woh machliyon ko mera khoon pilana chahta tha”. Sonu is being tracked down by Pratap (Randeep Hooda), an archetypal Bollywood cop. He’s too cool to wear a uniform, preferring shirts that are halfway open, has a tragic back-story that has propelled him to finish the illegal guns trade, is drunk on duty and, naturally, smokes like he’s popped out of a cigarette ad. Cop wants lowlife criminal to lead him to the big guns (pun intended). The fact that now Sonu wants an honest life, since he’s in love and all, is an impetus. In yet another Bollywood cliche, he spotted his soul mate in an instant and fell in love at first sight. She’s a “doctorni” (lady doc), and he woos her with corny lines like “Haath mein zakhm tha, dil bhi zakhmi ho gaya.” And then he slashes his other hand so she can dress that up as well. In the real world, he’d get a prescription slip to see a brave psychiatrist. In the Bhatt movies however, he gets a coy smile from the gorgeous doctor, completely out of his league. Meanwhile a song has him fantasize about the doc wearing less, revealing more. Also in the real world, an educated independent woman would run the other way, if she saw a man giving life-threats to people, roaming around with loads of cash in a plastic bag, and wearing a T-shirt with a shiny skull. But our lady is enamoured. Sure. Keeping his work hidden from her does not strike our hero as odd. As the audience, we’re supposed to go with his kooky definition of love, and support this highly mismatched couple. Director Kunal Deshmukh (Jannat, Tum Mile) puts in several twists through the second half – most predictable, others lame. The main villain finally surfaces – he’s a religious sort who’s a great Devi bhakt (they always are, aren’t they). The finale fight is violent but crisply shot. Among the positives are the background score, superb cinematography by Bobby Singh, and reasonably good music by Pritam. Performances are note-worthy. Emraan Hashmi manages to humanize Sonu Dilli despite the characterization. Randeep Hooda is the best thing about the film. Esha Gupta is striking…if only she could act. So there you have it. A tired story with cliched characters propped-up by an OD on machismo, some dialogue-baazi, and a gorgeous heroine does not a film make. At least not one worth watching. Rating: One and a half stars