POPCORN ENTERTAINMENT RATING – 3.5/5

The Salgaonkars are back, and so as the cat and mouse chase between the cops and Vijay Salgaonkar. Dhrishyam 2 starts where its prequel left – Its been 7 years,when Vijay ( Ajay Devgn) and family committed the perfect crime. . Now Vijay Salgaonkar has graduated from a cable operator to a theatre owner. Both his daughters have grown up, with the elder one Anju ( Ishita Dutta) still getting nightmares of that fateful night when she accidently killed Sam, while his younger daughter Anu (Mrunal Jadhav) is in her teens. Every member of the family, including his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran) are moving on with their lives, but are internally traumatized and still reeling with shock with the events that happened. Its when an uncomfortable truth unravels about the case that brings the police attention back to the case. Newly deputed IG Tarun Ahlawat ( Akshaye Khanna) swings into action along with Sameer’s mother Meera Deshmukh ( Tabu) start following some solid leads, without underestimating the 4th grade pass Vijay.

Much like the prequel, Dhrishyam 2 takes it slow in the first half, with tense atmospherics and story cultivating slowly. Vijay’s life revolves around his family , and as a protective father, he can go any length to protect them. The family bonding is solidly shown but the tension is palpable in the narrative, and it progresses steeply to an intense and engaging second half where the majority of the action happens. The tight investigation based on coherent leads is packed with several twists and turns which makes it a mind boggling watch. The makers have been faithful to the original Malayalam Mohanlal starrer Dhrishyam 2, but they have smartly regionalized it to suit the hindi audience. The drama gradually heightens, and every character is embroiled into a trap of its own.

The initial portions of the film are complex and intriguing, with some of the scenes standing out – Anju’s epilepsy scene is handled well, and how the residents of the town gingerly begin to suspect that Vijay is the murderer is dexterously handled. Its like slow burn till intermission and then the nail biting drama begins, with the best of the best reserved for the last hour which will completely take you by surprise. You just cant leave your seats till the end credits roll up. On the flipside though, some of the portions are implausible, and you are bound to question the cinematic liberties taken.

Performances are crackling from the principled cast. Ajay Devgn is compelling as Vijay, and once again speaks through his eyes in a restrained performance. With his head against the wall all throughout, the actor plays it with sincerity and he literally carries off where he left in Dhrishyam. Akshaye Khanna is terrific , and proves to be a worthy addition. Watch him interrogating Nandini and her daughters when he pays them a visit, you just cant take off your eyes from him. He is fantastic and one wishes if he had some more scenes in the film. Shriya Saran plays the nervous wife well, and so as the daughters . Tabu in a cameo role is good, and well supported by Rajat Kapoor as her husband. Saurabh Shukla in a cameo appearance hits it out of the park in the climax portions.

The makers deftly weave out multiple threads on the original script written by Jeetu Joseph, and makes it a cracker edge of the seat thriller. With an engaging background score scaling up the tension effectively, Dhrishyam 2 is a worthy remake and sequel to a film which has acquired a cult classic now. I am going with 3.5/5 for Dhrishyam 2, currently running in theatres. The thrill, mystique and suspense is so strong in this film that its bound to resonate with the audience. Highly recommended!