Zee Studios and Candid Creations’ Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout is a murder mystery. There’s a mass shootout at the Night Owl Bar in Bombay. The Commissioner of Police asks ACP Avinash Verma (Manoj Bajpayee) to investigate the case. That’s when layers begin to peel off till it is clear that the case is definitely far more complex than it appeared.
Aban Bharucha Deohans has penned a story which has so many characters that it often confuses the viewers. Aban’s screenplay is interesting in parts only and tends to get boring in several other parts. The drama often looks convoluted and stretched beyond imagination. In fact, the audience often get the feeling that scenes and characters have been added just so that the intrigue value would increase. But so long-drawn and contrived is the case solving that the viewers lose interest. Aban Bharucha Deohans’ dialogues are average.
Manoj Bajpayee performs well in the role of ACP Avinash Verma. Prachi Desai is good as police inspector Sanjana Bhatia. Vaquar Shaikh is alright as Raj Gupta. Sahil Vaid performs ably as Amit Chauhan. Parul Gulati appeals as Arti Singh. Dinker Sharma makes his mark as Arjun Chauhan. Shruti Bapna is natural as police inspector Jaya Rawal. Surbhi Rohra makes her presence felt in the role of Azma Khan. Chetan Sharma is fair as Rizwan Shaikh. Ishika Mandeep Gagneja is alright as Amisha. Neena Kulkarni is okay in a tiny role as Amisha’s grandmother. Ankit Bhardwaj is passable as Sunny. Rahul Chowdhry (as Dr. Saifuddin Qureshi), Mahi Jain (as Rimzim), Padam Bhola (as Rajeev Singh), Manoj Bhaskar (as Commissioner of Police Mayank Sharma) and the others pass muster.
Aban Bharucha Deohans’ direction is dull. She has unnecessarily complicated the drama — first, with a convoluted script, and then with a round-and-about narration. Gaurav Godkhindi’s background music should’ve been better. Pooja Gupte’s cinematography is alright. Vicky Arora’s action and stunt scenes afford some thrill. Anjana Rai’s production designing is proper. Sandeep Sethy’s editing is reasonably sharp.
On the whole, Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout is a very ordinary fare.
Released on 16-4-’24 on Zee5.
