Film: Baaghi 2 (Action Drama)
Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5
Cast: Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani, Manoj Bajpayee, Randeep Hooda, Deepak Dobriyal, Prateik Babbar and Darshan Kumar
Director: Ahmed Khan
Duration: 2 hours 24 minutes
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Story:
Ranveer Pratap Singh aka Ronnnie (Tiger), a Special Forces Captain, posted in Srinagar, lives by the belief that nothing comes close to the nation and terrorists have no human rights. A message by his ex beau Neha (Disha) moves him enough to make the trip to Goa to help her in her hour of distress.
Review:
Like its predecessor, Baaghi (2016), which was borrowed from the Telugu hit Varsham (2004), this one too looks down South for inspiration. Of course, changes, characters and twists have been incorporated into the storyline of Kshanam (Telugu again, 2016) for the Hindi masala fare audience. But the movie alternately slackens and picks up throughout its duration. Baaghi 2 starts off interestingly, but two songs – a flashback and a montage – cause it to lag. Our interest piques with the introduction of pivotal characters like Usman (Dobriyal), DIG Police Ajay Shergill (Bajpayee), ACP Lodha Singh Dhul aka LSD (Randeep), Neha’s husband Shekhar (Darshan) and his brother, drug dealer Sunny (Prateik).
However, the screenplay by Jojo Khan, Abbas Hierpurwala and Niraj Mishra, despite the twists, doesn’t keep you hooked enough, particularly in the flashback portions. But Hussain Dalal’s massy dialogues do evoke a few smiles. And some of the best lines are written for Shergill and LSD, making their interaction more interesting than the film at times. Despite the lows, Ahmed Khan’s direction is competent and he has executed it keeping his actors’ capabilities in mind, almost.
Though better than his previous four films in the emotions department, Tiger does better in the no-nonsense parts and best in the dance and action sequences. Disha looks gorgeous no doubt, but can’t pull off her damsel in distress act. Yes, her chemistry with Tiger in the flashback is good, but she has limited screen time and a considerable way to go vis-à-vis her performance.
Manoj Bajpayee does a fine job in his portrayal of the top cop, but is let down by the limitations of his character towards the end. Deepak Dobriyal does full justice to his part as the Hyderabadi owner of a car rental service. Randeep is likeable as the policeman on a mission, as he says, ‘Udte Punjab ko zameen par laane ke baad doobte Goa ko kinaare laana hai’. Prateik is decent in his small role. Darshan Kumar is okay.
From the songs, both Mundiyan and Ek Do Teen are top of the mind because they are recreated versions of yesteryear hits.
Cinematography by Santhana Krishnan Ravinchandran is easy on the eye and does justice to the production values and aerial shots. Action by Ram Chella, Lakshman Chella, Kecha Khamphakdee and Shamshir Khan plays it to the gallery in keeping with the mainstream formula; and Tiger is an ace in every one of them, be it on land, in water or in the air. But like the first Baaghi, in which the climax reminds one of that in the Hollywood hit The Raid: Redemption, the climax in Baaghi 2 reminds you of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo.
Verdict:
If you’re game for action and a fan of Tiger Shroff’s stuntbaazi, then you should give this film a shot.
