Son of Sardaar 2

Jagdeep Singh Sidhu and Mohit Jain's story is very promising. But Jagdeep Singh Sidhu and Mohit Jain's screenplay is the biggest culprit, as the humour quotient is extremely limited. Jagdeep Singh Sidhu's dialogues are fine but not consistently funny. Vijay Kumar Arora's direction is okay. He handles a few scenes with panache like Jassi narrating scenes from the film BORDER [1997] and passing them off as his own experiences. Post-interval, the scene of the pole dancing is sure to raise laughs in cinemas. The madness that ensues in the finale keeps the interest going. On the flipside, the first 30-40 minutes are very dull and one wonders where the film is headed. The story, moreover, is a bhel puri of comic capers like WELCOME, HOUSEFULL and even EK AUR EK GYARAH. The opium angle is bizarre and backfires.

Don’t ask. Enjoy the mess. Yes, the film flirts with anti-Pakistan themes, but it thankfully plays them for laughs instead of waving the nationalist flag too hard. Ajay Devgn, who's no stranger to this brand of madness (Golmaal, anyone? ), is in familiar territory. He walks through the mayhem with a smirk and a wink, and frankly, his comic timing and screen presence are what keep this ship afloat. Mrunal Thakur looks too young opposite him, and mercifully, the romance is kept at a bare minimum. Son of Sardaar 2 is a hot mess but it’s a mess that might just tickle your funny bone if you’re in the mood for some unfiltered, unapologetic lunacy. Just don’t go looking for nuance. Or realism. Or even common sense. Verdict: Leave your brain at home, bring along your funny bone.

None of it would have been possible if not for the cast. Ajay still manages that goofy grin 13 years since SOS and ably leads the film. But it's Ravi Kishen who is a hoot as the gangster-like figure. There are plenty of one-liners in SOS 2, delivered with such timing by seasoned performers like Deepak Dobriyal (playing a man who has decided to become a woman) which actually put the fun in this film.