Coming back to this sequel, not clear why it was necessary at all, Heropanti-2 has absolutely no method in the sheer madness unfolding before your unbelieving eyes. All the characters are raving maniacs except perhaps for the goons who always know what exactly to do, thanks to their exhaustive exposure to the Bollywood tamasha. The immensely talented actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, named Laila God doesn’t know why, did his best as a grotesquely comic monster that the script demanded and what he has been doing on the screen from the beginning he would’ve fitted a mental asylum much better. His sister, supposedly the heroine of the movie, is even madder than her brother, always jumping and pouncing on Bablu (Tiger) anytime and anywhere, irrespective of the situation they are in.
Rather sadder than madder is the fact that the movie doesn’t even try to utilize Tiger’s intense action skills. His character is also reduced to ridiculous mockery, all the time flying, prancing and jumping like a cat in a bid to escape from the attacking goon, again God doesn’t know why; till the last few scenes where some real fighting was required as suddenly Bablu got infected with a rare kind of ‘patriotism’, inculcated in him by a mysteriously comic-serious figure called Khan Saheb, purportedly the chief of an intelligence agency. At times, I couldn’t help thinking: is this meant to be a satirical take on something, nowadays popularly known as the ‘caged parrot’. Maybe the ‘insanity virus’ is affecting my brain too.
I really feel sorry for Tiger Shroff who has so far been used only as a stunt-hero, not giving him any chance to prove his acting talent except perhaps for the Baaghiaction franchise (three movies so far) where we can see his intensity as an actor to some extent. Well, Akshay Kumar and John Abraham are also called action heroes, but they’ve been getting ample opportunities to act in serious roles and also in good comedies. I think Tiger should start selecting his films very carefully from now onward and Jackie Dada should also give more attention to the kinds of movies his son’s being asked to ‘act’.
I wonder the sheer wastage of money, to the tune of 70 crore in this mad scrap, which could’ve been used for more humanitarian purpose like for the Pandemic-hit poor in the way Sonu Sood has been doing. This is, of course, very unfortunate that the virus has damaged Bollywood very heavily, snatching away many great artistes forever from us, reducing many others to depression due to lack of work and earnings, and perhaps driving a lot others just nuts, not knowing what to do for a recompense, thus landing up with such absurd projects. The best course of action at this juncture should be to go for low-budget serious movies or sensible comedies without keeping the focus constantly on the big stars only.
The story? Well, I don’t actually know if there was a story. Laila is supposed to be a magician who wants to loot all the money from all the banks of India on 31st March with his ingenious App, God doesn’t know why once again. Bablu was supposed to be a government undercover agent, also a rouge at some stage and again a something between a villain and an agent. Once, perhaps two years back, Bablu helped the authorities to nab all of Laila’s gang; however, later the same team appears in New York to rob India from there. Maddening, you see! Don’t get into it even if it’s free, my advice. Get away from for sure, stay safe…and sane.
