A direct sequel to the 2021 film Haseen Dilruba, Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba follows the journey of Rani and Rishu who are uncover and grounded after escaping the law following a crime that they committed from the last film. But the new yet interim city of Agra brings about another obstacle in the form of an unlikely third wheel, even as cops start zeroing on them. The story written by Kanika Dhillon is definitely pulpy although the pulp may not be as definitive as that in the first part. But the writing here is layered while almost forming a searing chapter from a pulpy novel even as the principal characters cornered early on, try to escape to their safety. And along the way, there are subtle bouts of humour and erotica to accompany the natrative that essentially keeps the drama afloat. You can also sense the amount of research gone into creating this pulpy world with the only condition being to suspend your disbeliefs as a viewer. If you are able to overcome that barrier then you will enjoy the film and its screenplay standing at 130 odd minutes. If not, the drama would be met with mixed responses. But if I were to treat this strictly as a pulp fiction, the drama does work to a very large extent! This section will contain mild spoilers.

The drama begins with the character of Rani running into a police station on the pretext of having her husband arrested for attempting to kill her. This was an interesting start given how both she and her husband Rishu were on the run after committing a crime(and the same is nicely touched upon against the song ‘Ek Haseena Thi’ playing in the background). Almost immediately, you are introduced to the third dimension in their love story, Abhimanyu, a seemingly simpleton who has fallen head over heels for Rani. And even as this plot point is being worked upon, you are further introduced to another character who would stop at nothing before putting the perpretrators(Rani and Rishu) to trial. The lines are drawn but what follows is a dual game of cat and mouse coupled with twisted obsession.

The proceedings here unfold like the chapters of a pulpy novel that take time to warm up(to writer Kanika Dhillon’s credit) before launching a layered attack of disbelief on the minds of the viewers. And I say that in a positive manner give how well structured the screenplay is here. It gives out very little information to begin with, almost setting up a smoke-screen for the viewers by building on the perceptions and motivations of characters before making a flip. This was particularly true with respect to the character of Abhimanyu that has such a warm presence but with a sinister smile that is worth a thousand nightmares. His character perfectly represented the crocodile that was frequently referenced through the film, which in a weird plot point was also pulpy in nature.

One of the gripes that I did have with the screenplay was that it missed the pulpy humour of the first film while creating a convoluted web with the events this time around(slightly more so in the middle). But credit again to the writer for creating an ambience of mystery. The events transpiring in a scene was suddenly cut to a separate event, almost keeping the mystery around its individual conclusion intact. What’s more is that there are subtle clues hinted at in various scenes, either with the staging(for instance, a mutton shop) or actions of characters(a character supposedly been pushed before banging her head) that ultimately adds up with the writer tying its loose ends up. In all of this though, the sole flaw was with respect to the incompetant police department that had little investigation to do while being lead on by its characters. The byproduct of which was a twist in the climax that felt a tad too simplistic and convenient even for the pulp fiction genre. But taking nothing away, the screenplay here is layered and should you choose to suspend your disbeliefs, the film will work for you.