'Heropanti 2' review: Should impose penalty for making such films!
What's the story
Mainstream Bollywood movies or masala films enjoy a bad reputation for trying to fool the audience with over-the-top action and seemingly cool dialog-baazi. And, films like the recently-released Heropanti 2 are really not helping with this reputation. In what world do these kinds of scripts get approved by a studio and attract big actors and technicians is beyond us. Here's our detailed review.
Story
It's cybercrime don vs hacker
As impossible as it seems, there's a story (although flimsy) at the heart of the film. There's a magician-cybercrime lord Laila (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) trying to hack the bank account of every Indian to steal all of their money (yeah, his plans are huge!). The only person capable of stopping him is Babloo (Tiger Shroff), a genius hacker whose loyalties are hard to figure out.
Representation
Who are these one-dimensional women?
Playing oversimplified, animated characters are Amrita Singh (Babloo's mother) and Tara Sutaria (Laila's sister and Babloo's girlfriend, Inaaya). While Singh is a stereotypical mother who is oblivious to any evil, Sutaria's projection is simply baffling. Despite being a "self-made billionaire," a fact that only gets a one-line mention, she is completely built for the male gaze. How hard is it to write three-dimensional women?
Wasted
Why can't Shroff sign better films?
In fact, writer Rajat Arora gives no depth, logic, or touch with reality to any character. This includes Babloo. Delivering (un)funny lines, kicking, and flying, Shroff gets no scope to hone/prove his acting talent. The action scenes—barring one or two sequences—are also uninspiring in Heropanti 2. At least the unrelated prequel—Heropanti (Shroff's debut)—had given some promise and hope for the actor.
Verdict
We watched it, so you don't have to!
Sadly, the song sequences were the highlight of the Ahmed Khan directorial. And this is ironic, given the legendary AR Rahman is perhaps at his weakest here. Aided by unimaginative dialogs, poor direction, and extremely loud sound, the Sajid Nadiadwala production is a tacky, cringe-y mess. If you are still unconvinced, give it a try. Heropanti 2 is running in theaters. Verdict: 0.5/5 stars.