Judwaa 2
Year: 2017
Director: David Dhawan
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Taapsee Pannu, Anupam Kher

The reprise of David Dhawan’s 1997 hit Judwaa pits his son Varun in Salman Khan’s shoes.

So we again get the famous lost-and-found formula where the pissed off villain kidnaps his adversary’s one son, leaving behind the twin brother. The kidnapped son (presumed to be dead!) grows up in Mumbai’s poor basti and becomes a golden hearted ruffian. The other son, taken by the rich parents to London for safety, is a shy musician, who keeps getting bullied in his college. In due course, the ruffian ends up coming to London, leading to multiple confusing farcical situations with leading ladies, side-characters and villains. Finally a lengthy climax ensues where everything is finally sorted out!

Dhawan Sr. has dished out dozens of such comedies in the past and he uses all the tricks from his recipe book. So we have the ‘blast from the past’ typical slew of 90s comic characters- bimbo heroines, a hero’s sidekick with a hot potato speech, a villain with memory loss, a do-gooder petty criminal, a heroine’s quirky father, another heroine’s tharki mother, a confused cop, a suspicious uncle and so on. The running gag of twin brothers’ mirror movements also makes a comeback from the original.

Familiar faces, cheap gags and over-the-top, below-the-belt crass jokes fill every frame. As is his wont, Varun Dhawan dutifully apes Govinda and Sallu, and gets a passing grade. The rest of the cast plays along, mouthing corny lines and trying to be funny.

David Dhawan’s crude, stale, hotchpotch comedy, which borrows not only from his own old hits but also from the fares of Anees Bazmi, Indra Kumar and Sajid Khan, is unashamedly aimed at the lowest common denominator. It succeeds in entertaining at times, but is irritating otherwise. However the ploy has succeeded. As I write this review, the box office has already made Judwaa 2 biggest blockbuster of 2017! Bollywood’s annual trend of at least one mindless comedy minting millions continues.

Rating

2 stars