Heropanti 2 (2022) :
Movie Review
One of the main reasons behind massy South films' huge success in the Hindi market is Bollywood's masala films being too bad. It's been 5 years now since we haven't had a huge hit in the action-masala genre - the last being "Tiger Zinda Hai". The reason is quite clear and simple: we aren't making good films. Rajamouli's larger-than-life vision has left such a big impact on the audience that they are not ready to watch any mediocre masala film with cheap materialism. Tiger Shroff debuted in heroic style with Heropanti (2014), which was a remake, but anyway, the film established him as a young action star in Bollywood. With Baaghi (2016), Baaghi 2 (2018), and War (2019), he cemented the position, but then came Baaghi 3 to spoil the party. And now comes Heropanti 2 to add more fuel to those burning expectations. A late sequel is always in doubt, especially when it has nothing to do with the storyline of the predecessor, unless you are making a "Golmaal" franchise like Rohit Shetty. Heropanti 2 was too late, but more than that, it was unwanted. Instead of doubling the fun in the second part, it halves everything.
Heropanti 2 has a complex storyline, so there's nothing simple about it like its first part. The film introduces you to Babloo (Tiger Shroff), a smart hacker and a fighter (that's obvious with Tiger), who is living a remote life somewhere away from enemies. As expected, the villains unite to beat him and find his location, and from the rest, you can predict how he smashes everyone. Babloo's love interest, Inaaya (Tara Sutaria), is the sister of his biggest enemy, a magician-cum-gangster, Laila (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Laila wants to do mass hacking to earn money, and Babloo tries to stop him in his style. The writing has nothing new to offer, but that's still okay with a mass film. We don't expect a strong script from a typical action entertainer, but what's not okay is the cheapest form of screenwriting. Heropanti 2 is full of cringe moments, and believe me, they are unbearable.
This is not a film for acting; most of the mass films aren't, including Hollywood. Tiger Shroff is on a heroic high, the same way he was in Baaghi 3. Yes, he can beat a bunch of villains, but this time he's a hacker too. That adds some tech stuff to his filmography. Tara Sutaria looks gorgeous in every scene, whether it is a casual, fashionable look or an extremely glamourous one with high sex appeal. But let's not talk about acting. Let's skip that part. The bigger shock is that a talented actor like Nawazuddin Siddiqui is playing this bad role. The calibre of Nawaz is so high that it's just unacceptable to see him doing a role like this. It's not that I expected an artistic performance from him, but even in mass films, there's always some kind of scope for the villain. Nawaz just doesn't fit, or shall I say, the character doesn't fit. Amrita Singh goes flat too.
Heropanti 2 is a high-action film alright, and some of its effects even work on a few occasions, but the rest of the time, it's unbearable. The dialogues are too cheap sometimes, and are a little funny on a few occasions. What hampers it the most is the screenwriting, which literally tests your patience. Those Facebook and WhatsApp jokes from the 2014-2015 era are not supposed to work in the film made in 2022. Heropanti does not have anything new, but what's more worrying is that it makes the old formulas look worse. There are a few scenes that are entitled to please the single-screen masses, especially those different forms of action sequences. Also, AR Rahman's music has some sort of goodness. Even though not all songs work, some do.
Director Ahmed Khan seemed clueless here. There was no chance that Heropanti 2 could have gone anywhere with such weak writing, but Khan's direction does nothing but present it in outdated manners. Many scenes remind you of the 80s masala films that we have left way behind. Heropanti 2 is not even watchable for hard-core Tiger Shroff fans because they have seen him in better films like War, Baaghi 2 and Baaghi. There's a lot missing; it's just a matter of how much you notice. The list can go on and on as the modern cinema and its audience have become more cautious nowadays. Overall, a terrible sequel that people never demanded, and the Heropanti level is definitely down this time.
RATING - 3/10*
One of the main reasons behind massy South films' huge success in the Hindi market is Bollywood's masala films being too bad. It's been 5 years now since we haven't had a huge hit in the action-masala genre - the last being "Tiger Zinda Hai". The reason is quite clear and simple: we aren't making good films. Rajamouli's larger-than-life vision has left such a big impact on the audience that they are not ready to watch any mediocre masala film with cheap materialism. Tiger Shroff debuted in heroic style with Heropanti (2014), which was a remake, but anyway, the film established him as a young action star in Bollywood. With Baaghi (2016), Baaghi 2 (2018), and War (2019), he cemented the position, but then came Baaghi 3 to spoil the party. And now comes Heropanti 2 to add more fuel to those burning expectations. A late sequel is always in doubt, especially when it has nothing to do with the storyline of the predecessor, unless you are making a "Golmaal" franchise like Rohit Shetty. Heropanti 2 was too late, but more than that, it was unwanted. Instead of doubling the fun in the second part, it halves everything.
Heropanti 2 has a complex storyline, so there's nothing simple about it like its first part. The film introduces you to Babloo (Tiger Shroff), a smart hacker and a fighter (that's obvious with Tiger), who is living a remote life somewhere away from enemies. As expected, the villains unite to beat him and find his location, and from the rest, you can predict how he smashes everyone. Babloo's love interest, Inaaya (Tara Sutaria), is the sister of his biggest enemy, a magician-cum-gangster, Laila (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Laila wants to do mass hacking to earn money, and Babloo tries to stop him in his style. The writing has nothing new to offer, but that's still okay with a mass film. We don't expect a strong script from a typical action entertainer, but what's not okay is the cheapest form of screenwriting. Heropanti 2 is full of cringe moments, and believe me, they are unbearable.
This is not a film for acting; most of the mass films aren't, including Hollywood. Tiger Shroff is on a heroic high, the same way he was in Baaghi 3. Yes, he can beat a bunch of villains, but this time he's a hacker too. That adds some tech stuff to his filmography. Tara Sutaria looks gorgeous in every scene, whether it is a casual, fashionable look or an extremely glamourous one with high sex appeal. But let's not talk about acting. Let's skip that part. The bigger shock is that a talented actor like Nawazuddin Siddiqui is playing this bad role. The calibre of Nawaz is so high that it's just unacceptable to see him doing a role like this. It's not that I expected an artistic performance from him, but even in mass films, there's always some kind of scope for the villain. Nawaz just doesn't fit, or shall I say, the character doesn't fit. Amrita Singh goes flat too.
Heropanti 2 is a high-action film alright, and some of its effects even work on a few occasions, but the rest of the time, it's unbearable. The dialogues are too cheap sometimes, and are a little funny on a few occasions. What hampers it the most is the screenwriting, which literally tests your patience. Those Facebook and WhatsApp jokes from the 2014-2015 era are not supposed to work in the film made in 2022. Heropanti does not have anything new, but what's more worrying is that it makes the old formulas look worse. There are a few scenes that are entitled to please the single-screen masses, especially those different forms of action sequences. Also, AR Rahman's music has some sort of goodness. Even though not all songs work, some do.
Director Ahmed Khan seemed clueless here. There was no chance that Heropanti 2 could have gone anywhere with such weak writing, but Khan's direction does nothing but present it in outdated manners. Many scenes remind you of the 80s masala films that we have left way behind. Heropanti 2 is not even watchable for hard-core Tiger Shroff fans because they have seen him in better films like War, Baaghi 2 and Baaghi. There's a lot missing; it's just a matter of how much you notice. The list can go on and on as the modern cinema and its audience have become more cautious nowadays. Overall, a terrible sequel that people never demanded, and the Heropanti level is definitely down this time.
RATING - 3/10*