Direction: Kunal Deshmukh
Actors: Emraan Hashmi, Randeep Hooda, Esha Gupta
Rating:** 1/2
Jannat 2 begins with a bang. In the narrow gullies of Old Delhi
(point to ponder: when did ‘Dilli’ become Bollywood’s main muse?), a man
is holding a gun to the head of Sonu Dilli KKC, short for kutti kameeni
cheez. Sonu, played by Emraan Hashmi, is a small-time hood who deals in
guns. But before the man can shoot him, Sonu gives him a crash course
on why the gun in his hand is unworthy and why he needs to buy a new
one, from Sonu naturally. It’s a clever scene that clearly establishes
Sonu Dilli as a lethal mix of street-smarts, criminality and charm.
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| Jannat 2 |
Sonu’s carefree life takes a hit when he falls in love with a doctor,
Jhanvi, played by the pretty but banal Esha Gupta. Now he wants to
become a ‘shareef, seedha, gharelu aadmi’. To accomplish this, he
becomes a police informer for a scowling, alcoholic cop, ACP Pratap
Raghuvanshi, played by Randeep Hooda. Pratap’s wife was killed in an
armed robbery so now he’s on a murderous rampage to destroy the gun
mafia. Apparently, Pratap still has a bullet lodged in his brain from
the said robbery, which doesn’t let him sleep. So he spends a lot of
time drinking and phoning home so he can hear his dead wife’s voice on
the answering machine — I know this is meant to be moving but I found it
unintentionally hilarious.
The most interesting thing about Jannat 2 is Sonu’s thorny
relationship with Pratap. The two dislike each other but they need each
other and eventually develop mutual respect and affection. Director
Kunal Deshmukh and his writers Sanjay Masoom and Shagufta Rafique make
this the centrepiece of this largely predictable film. But in doing so,
they totally ignore what is supposed to be the plot driver — the love
story. Sonu’s grand passion for Jhanvi is reduced to a few songs and the
requisite kissing scenes. Of course you also have to ask how it is that
a doctor who runs a charity hospital never figures out what her man
actually does.
Logic isn’t a priority here. Deshmukh is creating an old-school
Bollywood film with high drama, punchy dialogue, thunderous background
music and villains who glare and maim with aplomb. Some sequences are
nicely done, including a chase sequence in a dargah. Emraan Hashmi and
Randeep Hooda are also extremely watchable. But there are no surprises
here and by the second half, Jannat 2 starts to feel like an endurance
test with your head being bludgeoned by the violence and incessant Hindi
swear words.
After a while, I had to ask: Why am I spending so much time with
these unpleasant people? In case you’re wondering, no, this film’s story
has no connection with the first Jannat. It’s called Jannat 2 because, I
think, the first was a success. To underline the connection, characters
repeat the word jannat often. As they do the other signature phrase:
kutti kamini cheez.