‘PHIR AAYI HASSEEN DILLRUBA’ REVIEW | 9 August, 2024

Netflix, T-Series Films and Colour Yellow Productions Pvt. Ltd.’s Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is the sequel to Haseen Dillruba (2021). Married couple Rani (Taapsee Pannu) and Rishu (Vikrant Massey) are trying hard to flee India as the police are after them for the murder of Rishu’s cousin, Neel (Harshvardhan Rane). However, since Rani and Rishu would have the world believe that it was Rishu who was murdered and not Neel, Rishu is living in cognito in the same city as Rani, waiting for the passports and visas to arrive for their safe passage to another country where they can hopefully live happily ever after. Rishu is aware that Rani had had intimate relations with Neel but has chosen to forgive her. Rani continues to swear by novelist Dinesh Pandit’s two-liners which reveal a deep insight into philosophies of life.

Rani meets Abhimanyu Bhardwaj (Sunny Kaushal) who is madly in love with her. She even marries him but he soon realises that she will not consummate the marriage as her ultimate aim is to live with Rishu. Feeling cheated and humiliated, Abhimanyu plans revenge. Meanwhile, police officer Montu (Jimmy Shergill) is now investigating the murder of Neel who was his nephew. Both, Rishu and Rani, are aware of how stubborn and focussed Montu is but they are trying hard to escape the clutches of law which can’t move forward in the case due to lack of evidence. What happens finally? Do Rani and Rishu unite? Or are Rishu and Rani arrested by Montu? Or is one of them arrested? Does Abhimanyu succeed in seeking his revenge? Does he eliminate Rani or Rishu or both?

Kanika Dhillon has penned a fairly interesting story which keeps the audience involved in the guessing game. Although her screenplay does get confusing at times, it, nevertheless, has its fair share of entertaining and interesting moments which never let the viewers’ interest in the proceedings dip to an alarming level. The revelations in the climax are both, interesting and shocking, making up for some dull moments in the drama. What the drama lacks in are light moments. Kanika Dhillon’s dialogues are quite entertaining.

Taapsee Pannu does a fine job in the role of Rani. She makes her character interesting with her free and natural acting. Vikrant Massey shines with a truly wonderful performance. His sincerity and integrity are heartwarming. It’s delightful to see him slip into the character of Rishu. Sunny Kaushal acts with effortless ease as Abhimanyu Bhardwaj. He stands his own in a difficult role. Jimmy Shergill leaves an indelible mark as police officer Montu. Bhumika Dube is alright as Rishu’s land-lady, Poonam. Aditya Srivastava gets limited scope and delivers well as the police inspector. Trupti Jagdish Khamkar is effective as the lady police inspector. Sapna Paritosh Sand is okay in a role (as the owner of the house in which Rani stays as a paying guest) which gives her very limited scope. Manoj Kumar Singh, Alok Kumar Pandey, Manwendra Kumar Tripathy and the rest of the actors provide the desired support.

Jayprad Desai’s direction is quite nice. He is able to keep the audience interest alive for a good part of the narration. Music (Sachet-Parampara for Kya haal hai and Hanste hanste songs; Anurag Saikia for the Azaad song) is fairly nice. Lyrics (Raj Shekhar for Azaad and Hanste hanste songs; Kumaar for the Kya haal hai song) are up to the mark. Anurag Saikia’s background music is appealing. Vishal Sinha’s cinematography is nice. Abbas Ali Moghul’s action and stunt scenes are quite thrilling. Nikhil Kovale’s production designing is appropriate. Hemal Kothari and Abhishek Shetty’s editing, with additional editing by Jitendra Dongare, is crisp.

On the whole, Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is a fair entertainer.

Released on 9-8-’24 on Netflix.