Son of Sardaar 2 review: A bland sequel that trades genuine Punjabi charm for a convoluted plot and outdated jokes!

The film attempts to go bigger but loses the simplicity and heart that made the original a beloved family entertainer.

Truth be spoken, no matter how scrupulous of a cinephile I might pretend to be on social media or in my peer groups, I always run back to my favourite frothy entertainers to unwind after a hard day at work or life in general. Brainrot as they call it now, despite its ‘intellectual flaws’ is an important genre which, if executed cleverly, has the potential to churn out evergreen comedies and I have no qualms in admitting that Ashwni Dhir’s 2012 blockbuster Son of Sardaar is one of those. The vibrant Punjabi settings, eccentric characters, their punchlines and punches along with some amazing music made this one an entertaining laugh riot that I keep revisiting whenever possible. However, its spiritual sequel Son of Sardaar 2 lacked the soul of its predecessor and was largely a disappointment. 

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Here’s my biggest problem with sequels these days - The loss of simplicity in an attempt to make it bigger and ‘better’. Vijay Kumar Arora’s Son of Sardaar 2 hops onto this bandwagon but falls miserable in all departments - action, comedy and romance. Set in Scotland, Ajay Devgn reprises his role as Jassi, who is now aimlessly roaming in a foreign land after his wife (Neeru Bajwa) decides to call him and serve him a divorce notice. He meets a Pakistani dancer Rabiya (Mrunal Thakur), and finds himself entangled in a chaotic mission to marry her niece (Roshni Waliya) by posing as her father who is also a soldier in the Indian Army. What follows next is what Mr. Shashi Tharoor might call an exasperating farrago of poor writing, convoluted plots and some outdated slapstick comedy. 

While Son of Sardaar thrived on some desi humor, action and quirky characters, the second film is packaged with India-Pakistan banter, poor chemistry among the leads and jokes that seemed to be sourced from WhatsApp groups. Humor was the biggest USP of the first film but unfortunately turned out to be the weakest point of the much awaited sequel. The cross ‘border’ jibes manage to bring a smile to your face but rest just fall flat. The out-dated miyan-biwi, aurat-mard jokes added to the miseries of watching this film. The movie boasts of a stellar starcast but their acting prowess falls prey to some poor writing. There are too many characters, only half of which were truly required IMO and none of them stands out in particular.

Devgn looks out of form as the bhola sardaar caught in the shenanigans of people around him. He lacks chemistry with Thakur and their romantic scenes look super awkward. Ravi Kishan as Raja Sahab, the father of the groom, whom Jassi’s pretend daughter is to marry, is inconsistent in the portrayal of a orthodox patriarch of his family. The late Mukul Roy as Tony and Vindoo Dara Singh as Titu inject some fun moments but there was very little for them to do. The film was confusing at many levels but here is where it gets messier - Deepak Dobriyal plays a Pakistani transwoman for reasons best known to the makers and while Dobriyal does a sincere job and refrains from caricaturish portrayals as much as he can, the purpose behind his character and casting are difficult to comprehend. The uneven characters here weren’t half as impressive and provided the support, character artists from the previous film did.

The film that was touted as action comedy didn’t have a single stunt piece unless the makers counted Devgn lifting his injured wife (Bajwa) and trying to ride a tank as one. While the original film had a music album to remember with peppy dance numbers and a soulful romantic track, its sequel fails to impress in this regard as well with average songs at best. Overall, Vijay Kumar Arora’s Son of Sardaar 2 is a lackluster slapstick comedy that pales in comparison to its colourful and spirited predecessor! 

Son of Sardaar 2 is now playing in cinema halls near you!

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