- Date of Release: 25 August 2023
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Language: Hindi
Dream Girl 2
Introduction
Onto the next and perhaps the only big release in the Hindi space and I finished watching the new Hindi film Dream Girl 2 starring Ayushmann Khurrana. It was almost 4 years ago in 2019 when Ayushmann Khurrana was at the top of his game in terms of the Box Office numbers. It the middle of his purplest patch then, he had delivered as many as 7 back to back hits. While his filmography has a social messaging tagged to it, it was Dream Girl which was essentially termed as an out and out entertainer with its then innovative plot of a man mimicking a woman in order to earn money.
Cut to 2023, the concept of men cross-dressing has already reached a bit of a saturation point majorly as seen in The Kapil Sharma Show which itself has completed 10 years. Ayushmann Khurrana in his 2.0 avatar has surely reinvented himself in terms of stepping away from his comfort zone of films with social messages but in exchange, on the back of consecutive flops(really unfortunate that An Action Hero and Anek did not worked, some excellent films there) is finally back in a genre which is in the commercial space and majorly tried and tested. This for me was a slight worrying sign, let alone the box office tsunami in the form of Gadar 2 that Dream Girl 2 had to deal with. But with Raaj Shaandilyaa at the helm of it again, I was expecting a laugh riot all over again. So then does Dream Girl 2 manage to hit it out of the park again with its brilliance in comedy, leys find out.
Story & Screenplay
A spiritual sequel to the first part(nothing to do with spiritualism, standalone is the word), Dream Girl 2 follows the story of a man who again looks towards cross-dressing and earning quick bucks in order to get married to the love of his life. But his life takes a turn following a chaotic turn of events. There are 2 ways to look at the content here – either analyze and dissect its non-existential story or simply put everything aside and be entertained. While my approach is generally the first one, I decided to opt for the second option simply because of the intended nature of the drama. Had this been a different genre, like in Gadar 2, I would not had this luxury. But because this is a comedy(a genre which is a rarity these days), logic would definitely take a back seat consciously.
So if you are going into the film looking for a story, you will be disappointed straight up! For everything else, the rest of the review is for you! The screenplay standing at a shade above 2 hours is entertaining but also slightly dragged in parts. The writing is not as smooth as the one in its first part that had its flair of comedy seamlessly integrated in a pleasantly funny plot. The humour here is also generated from situations, at times forced, almost trying hard to make you laugh. But, the good part is that it does achieve what it had set out to do.
The drama opens with a quick introduction of the characters before getting virtually straight to the point. The start is a little bit of a hit and a misd wherein the comedy doesn’t always land. I did feel that the gags landed a little shorter of the sweet spot to begin with, that kind of made me worried given its slightly long-ish period of lull. But post the first 30 odd minutes, the actors begin to middle the ball with the writers creating some interesting siruations that invariably put a smile on your face.
The proceedings can best be termed as frivolous and time-pass in a way that the events are quite hilarious and entertaining. Again, if you are looking for logic then the intended purpose of the film is instantly lost. If you look into the technicalities like scene transitions, you will be disappointed too. The entire screenplay seemed like a random collection of gags or more specifically an extended version of The Kapil Sharma show that did not try to take itself seriously. I did have an impression that the makers are well aware of the drama that they are catering to without trying to be consciously intelligent, and that is what started clicking in the screenplay.
The writing isn’t as smooth here with portions of lag almost distributed along its runtime. So at no point does the film gain the kind of momentum that it ideally required primarily due to its patchy screenplay. However, the confusion and chaos created through the situations is what had my attention and it did make for some hilarious moments in the second hour! Yes, parts of the humour are marginally problematic but I would again reiterate the intended purpose of the writing which is to serve a no-brainer comedy. The events leading up to the final act were hilarious(but quite random) but the final act was quite abrupt in its ending. Nevertheless, the screenplay boasting of a collection of gags does put a smile on your face despite its innumerous flaws.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are the strongest aspect of the film, like is the case in all Raaj Shaandilyaa directed films and shows. The writing is witty and filled with some outstanding one-liners which when landed well, are guaranteed to make you laugh. The music is good but it falls well short of the music in the first part. The BGM is decent, the cinematography is adequate. The editing is patchy, almost serving up a collection of scenes put together which at times restricts the screenplay by dragging in parts. Director Raaj Shaandilyaa has kept things simple. The goal was to make the viewers laugh by hook or by crook and his direction ensures that the purpose is served. Technically, this may not be the best piece of direction by any stretch of imagination but if your intended goal is achieved then it is a green tick in the report card.
Performances
The performances are outstanding by a stellar ensemble cast. Ranjan Raj as Tiger Pandey is hilarious and does a swell job. Anusha Mishra as Sakina and Sudesh Lehri as Baby Baba have their moments to shine. Manjot Singh as Smiley(aka Ismaili in a clever word play) manages to tickle your funny bone as well. Manoj Joshi as Jaipal is an extension of the character essayed by Kiku Sharda on The Kapil Sharma Show and he manages to impress too. Abhishek Banerjee as Shahrukh is well restrained and delivers a nice little performance which is quite measured.
The ship is majorly steadied by the veterans here! Asrani as Yusuf has his moments to shine. Vijay Raaz as Saajan has an uncanny knack of finding humour at the most unexpected places and he does a wonderful job. Rajpal Yadav as Shoukiya is a joy to watch even with his over the top antics. Paresh Rawal as Abu Saleem was more subtle and nuanced with his comedy wherein he just nails some of the one-liners so well. Annu Kapoor as Jagjit is hilarious to the core in a job done so well. For me the standout was Seema Pahwa who is often reduced to ‘motherly’ characters. Here, she turns the tables and plays a wonderfully written character of Jumani that had me in splits every single time.
The makers have utilized Ananya Panday just so well here and that can be seen very early on in the film. In a scene, her character of Pari does mouth a ‘funny’ line to which the response is ‘Hasna ho tab bata dena'(let us know when to laugh). It was a layered form of comedy wherein the intended purpose was to beautifully cover for an actor who may not be completely ripe in the genre yet. But I did see that Ananya has worked on her craft and she was able to hold her own in a few scenes even with her dialect. She was good here and will only get better with time! More power to you girl!
It is Ayushmann Khurrana as Karam aka Pooja who yet again tonks the ball out of the park. He is just excellent in his dual roles, particularly as Pooja wherein he seemed to be super comfortable. His body language and mannerisms are excellent and yes ‘Pooja’ looked so cute too!
Conclusion
Despite instances of multiple screenplay lags, Dream Girl 2 is a no brainer comedy which is entertaining and comprising of several LOL moments that can be watched once. Available in a theatre near you.
