Review: 'Jannat 2 '

Movie: Jannat 2
Director: Kunal Deshmukh
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Randeep Hooda, Esha Gupta
Rating: **

With uncanny similarities to Nicolas Cage’s Lord of War, Jannat 2 revolves around an unexplored (in Bollywood) premise of arms trafficking. The sequel of the 2008 film Jannat, the film is a predictable, yet partly gripping tale of a small-time brat who faces the results of his own deeds.

A street-smart punk, Sonu Dilli KKC i.e. kutti kamini cheez (Emraan Hashmi), runs a small bi-ness (business) of selling and renting guns. His motto – people kill each other with any weapon they find, he might as well make it convenient by supplying guns. ACP Pratap (Randeep Hooda), a maverick cop, driven by the aim of getting to the roots of nexus of arms racket, compels Sonu to convert into his informer and forces him to delve deeper in the illegal business of arms manufacturing and selling. In the midst of all this, Sonu falls in love with Jhanvi (Esha Gupta), a doctor who works at a government hospital which faces serious cash-crunch. The plot moves on to show how Sonu, in a bid to transform his life into a decent living, signs a deal with Pratap (who develops a soft-corner for Sonu and Jhanvi) to reach to the bottom of the nexus of illicit business of guns trading.

Although the plot is calculable, the swift narrative manages to squeeze out humdrum portions. The movie had a prospect of being more engaging if the director would have invested some extra action sequences. The chase sequence in a dargah needs special mention with excellent camera work and proves why action scenes could have been a bonus for the film.

Kunal Deshmukh, who made his debut with the prequel of Jannat 2, though promising, has a lot of scope to narrate a plot with a more engaging approach. The climax, though, was somehow is unpersuasive.

Emraan Hashmi, who is the protagonist and narrator of the movie does justice to his role, and carries the film forward with a not-so-believable portrayal of a typical dilli boy. In a particular scene, Pratap tells Sonu, “Saans toh lele. Bolta hai toh bolta hi chala jaata hai.” This rightly portrays Emraan’s dialogue delivery in the movie, in his bid to play a (well-tried, yet unconvincing) crook. The actor somehow looks more convincing when he is not busy trying to be a typical Delhi lafandar.

Randeep Hooda proves yet again that he is worth all the compliments in his previous films. His convincing portrayal of a grief-driven cop is noteworthy. Randeep’s stellar performance is the most positive point in the film.

Esha Gupta adds glamour to an otherwise fiery and somewhat-impetuous tale as she switches between magnetic and the next-door-neighbour looks. The alluring model-turned-actor, (whose similarities to Lara Dutta are remarkable) may land up being another one of Vishesh film’s ‘rare discovery’ which never saw a career in Bollywood beyond their first film.

The music, like any other Vishesh Films’ movies, is remarkable. The background score deserves brownie points.

Overall, the portrayal of this foreseeable plot is appealing in parts. Jannat 2 is worth a one-time watch, since there aren't many options for the movie-goers this weekend.