Ideas are in short-supply. Shortcuts are the norm. And, as a producer of repute, if you are getting a package deal to make some quick money, why not?
Producer Sajid Nadiadwala digs into his own archives and comes up with a remake of his own film ‘Judwaa.’ Since remakes are an accepted norm, David Dhawan, the director of the original Judwaa, comes as a package deal with his son, Varun, in the lead.
Judwaa, Sajid and David’s 1997 film was a comic laugh riot. Salman Khan was in his element playing a dual role and David was known to be an economical director who, trained at FTII as an editor, was known to pre-edit his films.
Judwaa 2 continues the age-old formula where twins are separated at birth for whatever reason. The character of Sachin Khedekar and his wife, Prachi Shah, have twin boys, Varun Dhawan in dual role. One of them is kidnapped. The upbringing of the two is poles apart.
Prem grows up in London in the lap of luxury in a protected life. Raja is raised by a fisherwoman in Mumbai. Raja grows up to become an extrovert and confident one, Prem is a softy who takes to music.
How the two brothers eventually come together and the pieces fall into their respective slots and the villains tackled is the obvious plot.
Romantic angles have to be drawn. Prem has been paired with the character Taapsee Pannu while Raja meets his match, played by Jacqueline Fernandez, on a flight.
The best part of the film, which makes it tick, is that these are reflexive twins in that whatever one does, other follows or, whatever one undergoes, the other sufferers it too. So, even while both are away from each other unaware of their existence, this provides for some fun.
Since this is the remake of the 1997 Judwaa starring Salman Khan, the comparisons are inevitable, especially since the film is still fresh in mind of the moviegoer. While lacking in originality, Judwaa 2 also can’t find new or contemporary gags.
Varun Dhawan tries his best and comes across convincingly as the ‘tapori’ while, as the simpleton, he finds the going tough. Fernandez and Pannu have nothing much to do except during songs and to add glamour.
As for direction, Dhawan adheres mostly to the original, also his own work. The length here, 150 minutes, looks stretched, especially in the second half and needs some trimming. Music benefits with the use of two songs from the original Judwaa, composed by Anu Malik.
Judwaa 2 is a light entertainer which is what the moviegoer prefers. The film gets a long weekend as Saturday is a Dussehra holiday followed by Sunday, and Gandhi Jayanti holiday on Monday.
Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.
Director: David Dhawan.
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Taapsee Pannu, Anupam Kher, Pavan Malhotra, Rajpal Yadav, Sachin Khedekar and Prachi Shah.
