Glamorizing evil and bad is not a new
recipe to success in Bollywood. It has done wonders in past for superstars like
Shah Rukh Khan & Sanjay Dutt but gambling totally on the same doesn’t solve
the purpose unless you have a solid story line, fool-proof fail-safe screenplay
and if not mightier than the bad, sure equally influential character of good
merits who can rise from the downhill and surprise you in the final combat of
good & bad […the best example I could remember is Aamir & Sharat
Saxena’s final face-off in Ghulam], sadly and in the most disappointing way,
Milan Lutharia’s ONCE UPON Ay TIME IN MUMBAAI DOBAARA lacks all except the
style quotient.
First and foremost, where the
prequel to same […Ajay Devgn-Emran Hashmi starrer OUATIM] was partly based on
true incidents, taking cues from life & times of Haji Mustan and the
momentous rise of Dawood on the map of Mumbai underworld, this sequel slips off
conveniently into a fictional love-triangle. Akshaye Kumar gets into the shoes
of Shoaib [played earlier by Emraan Hashmi] to create the most-stylish,
charming yet menace bad guy that manages to take away all the claps &
whistles with his presence on screen. He is the uncrowned man behind all the
illegal businesses including cricket match-fixing. He gets what he wants by all
means, be it the lady sitting on his next in the stadium. He literally can buy
you an award that you aren’t even nominated for. Sonakshi Sinha plays a starlet
[…on the similar lines of yesteryear’s sex-siren Mandakini] who dreams to
achieve big but not at the cost of everything. Imran Khan is a side-kick to
Shoaib who unlike his mentor-cum-idol-cum-boss, thinks from heart rather than
going with decisions that mind suggests. Rest you can guess, as it is a
Bollywood love-triangle!
Of the crew, Rajat Aroraa- the man
who penned the success-story of OUATIM and THE DIRTY PICTURE carries forward
his trademark writing with punches possibly in every line. So, this 2 hour 40
min long power play of the good, the bad and the beauty is filled with cheesy
one liners like ‘naam bata diya toh meri pehchaan bura maan jaayegi’ ‘itne
saalon mein Mumbai badal gayi thi, kumkum se kimi kaatkar ho gayi thi’ ‘doodh
mein jisne pehle nimbu nichoda, paneer uska’. Honestly, some really work. Most
don’t. But that is not the one flaw that makes it an unbearable watch.
Storyline that takes off with a power packed establishment of Shoaib’s
character in the first half, looses its grip soon after introducing the
love-angle and later when melodrama takes over the charge. Boredom is
guaranteed in those precious minutes. Imran is sure a misfit as a tapori-
mumbaiya. Sonakshi looks great in most but I would like to keep my lips sealed
if asked about her performance.
There’s a scene where Imran
teaches Sonakshi how to speak English and mistakenly he translates her
intermediate [10+2] education as ‘Intercourse’, now if you find it a reason to
chuckle or laugh, I suggest you go see some psychiatrist as soon as you finish
it reading…and shockingly that sad joke goes on and one for like 3-4 scenes. To
add up, I don’t why everyone including Sonali Bendre who makes an appearance in
an insignificant- half baked subplot pronounces ‘Shoaib’ as ‘shoheb’. Sounds disgusting…really!
& for the makers and the
director, I would like to suggest that, “agar aap aisi hi betuki bakwaas
filmein banaate rahenge, audience ek na ek din jaroor bura maan jaayegi”! Overall,
this sequel of high expectations sweats out to encash the success of the prequel
but just finishes as an ‘all talk-no action’ bogus entertainer! Stay away!! [1.5/5]
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