August 15, 2013.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha.
Director: Milan Luthria.
Several years back when Taxi 9211 came out it brought with it a promising director by the name of Milan Luthria; a few years after that came another masterpiece from the same man, the riveting Once upon a time in Mumbaai. Two of the main reasons for the success of Once upon a time in Mumbaai were it’s super strong writing and the stellar performances from the lead cast.
Once upon a time in Mumbaai
dobaara picks up from where it’s prequel ended. Shoaib (Akshay Kumar) who is
now the uncrowned king of Mumbaai has been abroad for 12 years due to the
problems he has to face if he is in Mumbai. An attempt on his life brings him
back to Mumbai for revenge. Aslam (Imran Khan) is Shoaib’s protégé who is ready
to do anything for his boss. As strange as it sounds both of them fall for the
same girl, Jasmine (Sonakshi).
Though the leading men in
the first part were largely influenced by the women they fell for, it had more
to do with the underworld and the fiction at hand was created from facts, and
all that made the film very interesting. The sequel however is more of a “love
story” and you will be so very disappointed if you come in expecting to see
Akki playing Dawood. This has more to do with the whims and fancies of a man
who is supposed to be a Don.
Shoaib is the most wanted
man in Mumbai and yet he roams the streets and attends the functions at will.
He comes on his own to take care of his enemies.Though Akki is as cool as ever the
senseless writing makes a mess of all the efforts put in. When the first part
was intense throughout making the audience feel the tension at hand the sequel
makes you stretch and yawn almost regularly and tension is the last thing you
would feel.
It was very novel to see
Rajat Arora’s dialogues in Once upon a time in Mumbai considering the how
strong and cheesy they were; the novelty lessened during The Dirty Picture and
now with this film except for a few dialogues the rest are unintentionally
funny and downright silly and most of the time you are very much aware
beforehand what to expect!!
Rajat Arora has to be
congratulated on stretching the script as much as he could making the runtime close
to 3 hours making it unbearable and adding all the songs that are completely
unnecessary for the film making it one of the worst experiences that you have
got from a Milan Luthria film.
When a writer-director duo
meets success and continue working with each other time and again there is a
chance of either one losing perspective, of what is happening and of the final
product they come out with. Well, this seems to be a clear cut example of such a
case.
I
am giving a 1.75 for Once upon a time in Mumbaai Dobaara. It
is sad to see such a pathetic film coming from the able hands of Milan Luthria.
Rating Scale (Out
of 5)
Less than 2
-
Unwatchable.
2 to 2.25
-
Below average.
2.5 to 2.75
-
Average.
3 to
3.25
-
Good.
3.5 to
3.75 -
Really Good.
4 to
4.25
-
Great.
4.5 and
above
- Extraordinary.
