Awarapan 2: A cleverly packaged Emraan Hashmi showcase!

Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi, Puran Gabbi, Suvinder Vicky  Directed by: Nitin Kakkar SNRatings: 3 stars out of 5. A brood...

Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi, Puran Gabbi, Suvinder Vicky 

Directed by: Nitin Kakkar

SNRatings: 3 stars out of 5.

A brooding hero lost in love.
Catchy tunes carried forward from the original. Foreign locales well shot.
And an action-packed climax.

Awarapan 2 pretty much ticks all the boxes Gen Z wants from its movie entertainment. No wonder every scene was greeted with an almost euphoric response at iconic Plaza Cinema, Dadar, where I caught the Sunday afternoon show.

A supposed direct sequel to Awarapan, where Shivam Pandit (Emraan Hashmi) sacrificed himself to unite two lovers, the film begins by conveniently resurrecting him through a voiceover. Apparently, he survived those six bullets. Ahem...Okay I believe you! This time, Shivam travels to Bangkok (which suspiciously looked more like Malaysia to me) to rescue his adopted kid from a child trafficking racket.

The plot is wafer thin and utterly predictable. Yet Awarapan 2 remains engaging through its two hour fifteen minutes runtime, thanks largely to its superfast pace, slick execution and above all, a fantastic music score.

Of the cast, Shabana Azmi impresses despite limited screen time. Her lady don character is almost the polar opposite of her role in this week's other release Batwara 1947, once again underlining the sheer range of this veteran. Disha Patani makes the most of whatever little she gets. Newcomer Puran Gabbi is suitably menacing as the lead antagonist Zorawar, although he does go overboard in a few scenes.

Ultimately, Awarapan 2 is an Emraan Hashmi show all the way. With angst in his eyes and simmering intensity in his demeanour, Hashmi is simply terrific. The actor has come a long way shedding his serial kisser image to excelling in mature roles. He hasn't delivered a theatrical hit since The Dirty Picture (2011). Finally, his moment has arrived... and I am truly happy for him. Way to go bro!


By Sumeet Nadkarni (Editor & Reviewer SNRatings, Mumbai)