Mardaani 2
Year: 2019
Director: Gopi Puthran
Cast: Rani Mukherji, Vishal Jethwa

In 2014-film Mardaani, Rani Mukherji impressively played Shivani Shivaji Roy, a tough lady-cop taking on a child-trafficking cartel in Delhi. 5 years later, in Mardaani 2, she essays the same character, who is now facing another daunting case!

What’s the plot?

It is Kota, the town in Rajasthan where thousands of young students come from all over the country to enroll into various coaching institutes. The newly joined Superintendent of Police (Rani Mukherji) has a big challenge on hands. A maniac is on the loose, violently raping and killing young girls. The wicked killer keeps mocking at the investigators by committing his dastardly acts right under their noses and challenging them openly. As the victim toll and the media pressure mounts, the lady SP will have to crack this complicated case, not only for the public safety but also to answer a growing army of her detractors!

Verdict

Writer-director Gopi Puthran turns Mardaani 2 into fast-paced thriller that doesn’t waste time and dives at the deep end right from the outset. The story has enough dark nooks and corners to allow many intriguing twists and turns. The gruesome sexual crimes in the film are a grim reminder of the spate of such grisly events happening all across India. A specially ‘planted’ media debate scene talks about the country’s misogynistic attitude, which keeps objectifying and trivializing women.

The performances are excellent. Rani Mukherji’s hard-nosed, cynical yet vulnerable super-cop Shivani Roy is once again played with grit and flair. The actors playing her colleagues are also perfect in their portrayals.

It is the villain who often makes or breaks a movie, and Mardaani 2 succeeds here big time. Young, cat-eyed Vishal Jethwa plays with chilling conviction the vile, vicious and remorseless rapist killer, adapt at playing cat-and-mouse games and keeping one step ahead. It is a very disturbing, difficult character to portray and barring a few hiccups, the debutant nails it.

To sum up, Mardaani 2’s social commentary may not be convincing but as a crime thriller it is quite gripping.

Rating

3.5 stars