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Balaji Motion Pictures’ Dream Girl 2 (UA) is the sequel to Dream Girl. Karam (Ayushmann Khurrana) loves lawyer Pari (Ananya Panday) but her father won’t hear anything of their marriage till Karam has a respectable job and a fat bank balance. To win Pari’s hand in marriage, Karam has to pretend to be a girl, Pooja, and marry Shahrukh (Abhishek Banerjee) for a fee of Rs. 50 lakh. Karam’s best friend, Smiley (Manjot Singh), is also keen that Karam alias Pooja marries Shahrukh so that the way for his (Smiley) marriage with Shahrukh’s sister, Sakina (Anusha Mishra) is paved. Shahrukh and Sakina’s father, Abu Saleem (Paresh Rawal), has decided to get Sakina married only after Shahrukh’s marriage is solemnised. Of course, the objective is that Pooja will run away with the Rs. 50 lakh he receives from Shahrukh’s family, never to be found again. But this entire drama to make a fast buck is beset with unforeseen problems.
Naresh Kathooria and Raaj Shaandilyaa have written a fun-filled story and screenplay. Although the drama has entertainment, it is not a seamless drama but rather looks like an assemblage of funny scenes. Also, there are no outstanding scenes which can bring the house down with laughter, like there were in Dream Girl. No doubt, a number of scenes evoke laughter, some of them even guffaws, but the scenes in which one is in fear of falling off his chair are conspicuous by their absence. In that sense, the screenplay appears to have been written in a template format rather than in a natural flow. Raaj Shaandilyaa’s dialogues are extraordinary and, in fact, are far better than the story and the screenplay.
Ayushmann Khurrana does a splendid job as Karam/Pooja. He gives his cent per cent to the character and evokes a lot of laughter with his brilliant acting. Ananya Panday hardly gets any scope or worthwhile role. She is okay as Pari. Paresh Rawal does a fine job as Abu Saleem. Annu Kapoor is outstanding in the role of Karam’s father, Jagjit. His nuances and sense of timing are to die for. Vijay Raaz shines as Sonabhai. Seema Pahwa is first-rate as Jumani. Her sense of comic timing is praiseworthy. Rajpal Yadav makes a mark as Shaukiya. Abhishek Banerjee gets limited scope to evoke laughter and will, therefore, not be able to live up to the expectations of his fans. Manoj Joshi has his moments as Pari’s father. Manjot Singh is absolutely marvellous as Karam’s bosom pal, Smiley. Asrani is natural as Dadaji. Ranjan Raj makes a fine impression as Tiger Pandey. Sudesh Lehri is quite funny as Baby Baba. Sapna Sand stands out in a single scene as the school principal. Anusha Mishra is alright as Sakina. Raj Qushal (as Ali) and Raj Bhansali (as Quli) are entertaining. Vishal Handa (as Cyrus), Bhavki and Abhiraj Mishra (both as Jumani’s kids), Fawad and Riwan (both as Sonabhai’s kids), and the others provide nice support.
Raaj Shaandilyaa’s direction is very good. Music (Meet Bros. and Tanishk Bagchi), including the songs from the first part, is quite appealing. Lyrics (Shaan Yadav, Kumaar and Rashmi Virag) are appropriate. Bosco Martis and Raju Khan’s choreography is eye-pleasing. Hitesh Sonik’s background music is very impactful. Cinematography (Ramani Ranjan Das, Aseem Mishra, C.K. Muraleedharan and Jitan Harmeet Singh) is extremely nice. Aejaz-Gulab’s action and stunt scenes are alright. Rajat Poddar’s production designing is of a fine standard. Hemal Kothari’s editing is super-sharp.
On the whole, Dream Girl 2 is an entertaining fare and will keep the audience and all parties concerned with the film happy.
Released on 25-8-’23 at Inox (daily 9 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: excellent. Opening: superb. …….Also released all over. Opening was very good at most of the places.