Bads Of Bollywood: Judwaa 2, A Sequel For The Brainless

With Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, Varun Dhawan seems officially back in his “comedy” era. During promotions, his co-star Janhvi Kapoor fondly mentioned his 2017 film Judwaa 2, and we couldn’t resist revisiting it. Big mistake, we must add. If there’s one takeaway from that rewatch, it’s that we desperately want our 2 hours and 29 minutes back.Judwaa 2, also starring Jacqueline Fernandez, Taapsee Pannu, Anupam Kher, Sachin Khedekar, and Rajpal Yadav, is not for the faint-hearted. You either need to keep your brain aside to watch this or take multiple breaks just to digest what’s happening on screen. Despite grossing over 200 crores at the box office, even eight years later the film fails to entertain, let alone make you laugh.David Dhawan's

Judwaa 2 is a rehash of the 1997 Salman Khan-starrer, following the same template. Born as conjoined twins, Prem Malhotra and Raja from Versova are separated at birth. One is raised in Mumbai, while the other resides abroad with their biological parents. Raja, wanted for beating up a big-shot’s son, collides with his brother in London but not before a painfully long first half full of confusion and chaos. Even feet away from each other, the Judwaas don’t bump into one another. What’s more surprising is that their respective lady loves are too clueless to see the signs. What could have been a fun update to a nostalgic ’90s hit soon turns into a lazy cut-paste job with new locations but not-so-new songs.VD, a self-proclaimed Salman ka fan, tries hard to channel Bhaijaan's charm, but his exaggerated antics quickly descend into overacting. He goes around spanking girls in public, kissing them without consent, age-shaming older women, and cracking the lamest jokes. “Kaisi tu? Single?” he blatantly asks a lady while introducing himself. Forget that he has entered the UK illegally, his actions alone are reason enough for deportation. When he’s not harassing women or getting into pointless street fights in London, he fabricates sob stories about his deceased mother and absent father to elicit sympathy for his misdeeds. Instead of wit, the film serves up tired punchlines and poorly timed slapstick that fall flatter than the story itself. The humour leans heavily on problematic and sexist comments that may have been “acceptable” in the ’90s but feel crass and tone-deaf today. It makes one question all of Sr Dhawan’s iconic comedies and their tropes.When he’s not mimicking SRK, Salman, and other Bollywood stars, Varun breaks into fits of repeating his twin’s actions. When Raja kisses Alishka, Prem randomly smooches the first woman he sees. When one drinks, the other instantly gets high. Even during their suhaag raat, which inexplicably takes place in the same hotel in adjoining rooms, Prem has to politely ask Raja to take it slow. The logic? That, dear readers, we’ll leave to David Dhawan to explain.Taapsee, in one of her first commercial movies, plays Prem’s girlfriend. The otherwise capable leading lady is reduced to eye candy with little agency. It’s almost embarrassing to watch a performer like her dance in glossy songs or react to Varun’s antics. The worst and most awkward scenes, however, are the ones featuring Upasana Singh. Whoever convinced her for the role deserves Raja's punches. Meanwhile, Jacqueline feels comfortable as an overly touchy and “pick-me” girlfriend who can’t tell what’s appropriate. For instance, when Raja kisses her in the supermarket to avoid being caught by the cops, she jumps onto him to kiss him again instead of slapping him.Supporting actors like Rajpal Yadav and Atul Parchure, known for great comic timing, are wasted in caricature roles. Veterans like Anupam Kher and Sachin Khedekar try to play “daddy cool” but fail terribly. While Sachin’s character arc is a joke in itself, Kher’s over-enthusiasm in his daughter’s s*x life is questionable, to say the least. He seems more excited about Alishka’s union with Raja/Prem than she is. As Parchure’s character puts it, “Yeh toh wrong number hai.” Zakir Hussain as Charles, the don who kidnaps one of the twins, fails to be remotely intimidating. Manoj Pahwa is completely wasted as Sharaft Ali, while Johny Lever’s Pappu Passport is another talented actor underutilised. Ali Asgar and Pavan Malhotra’s characters are poorly written, with jokes that fail to land entirely.Judwaa may have been a classic, but its sequel is sad and regressive. It exposes Bollywood’s obsession with remakes and sequels. Instead of reimagining the original for a modern audience, Sr Dhawan clings to outdated formulas, resulting in a comedy that isn’t funny and a story that feels stuck in time. Eight years later, Judwaa 2 remains a reminder of everything wrong with Bollywood’s recycling machine. It makes one wonder if Varun, Taapsee, and Jacqueline ever read the script—if there was one in the first place.The only highlight of the film is Salman Khan’s cameo, where he aptly reminds Varun that he’s the OG Judwaa. If you’re a Bhai fan like VD, our advice: skip the first 2 hours and 27 minutes and go straight to the ending sequence.