Fox Star Studios’ Jolly LL.B 2 (UA) is the second in the Jolly LL.B series.
Jagdishwar Mishra alias Jolly (Akshay Kumar) is a lawyer in Lucknow, whom nobody takes seriously. Even Rizvi (Ram Gopal Bajaj), the boss of the law firm he works in, views him as more of an errand-running aide to his wife! Keen to prove his mettle, Jolly, who is street-smart and sharp, lies to Hina (Sayani Gupta) that his boss would fight her case, and he accepts Rs. 2 lakh from her as advance fee. But he uses the money to buy himself a chamber so that he can start his own practice. Hina, who is expecting the child of her deceased husband, commits suicide when she realises that not only has she been fleeced but also that her case will never reach the court.
Humiliated by his own father (V.M. Badola) for his action of cheating a helpless lady, Jolly now takes it upon himself to fight late Hina’s case in court. Hina’s husband, Iqbal Kasim (Manav Kaul), had been murdered by police inspector Suryaveer Singh (Kumud Mishra) in a fake encounter soon after their (Iqbal and Hina’s) wedding. Suryaveer Singh had killed Iqbal Kasim in an encounter despite knowing that he was not the dreaded terrorist, Iqbal Qadri (Inaam-ul-haq), who was wanted. Not just that, he had also injured his assistant, police inspector Baldev Singh Badhoria (Tarun Kumar) to make the encounter look real. As bad luck would have it, Badhoria had died in the hospital due to Singh’s gunshot.
Jolly files a case in the court to seek justice for Hina even though she is no more. The case accuses Suryaveer Singh of murdering Iqbal Kasim. Suryaveer Singh appoints famous lawyer Pramod Mathur (Annu Kapoor) to argue his case. The fight in the court of judge Sunder Lal Tripathi (Saurabh Shukla) is not at all easy. Not only has Jolly to contend with the name and fame of Pramod Mathur but also take on the system. The obstacles which come in the path of Jolly are numerous but his sharp brain sees him surmount each of them. How he finally succeeds in getting justice for the deceased Hina is revealed in the climax.
Subhash Kapoor has written a story which starts in a light-hearted manner but gradually takes a serious turn. However, even after the drama becomes serious, the thread of humour runs through it. The part of the drama relating to Jolly’s family life is a bit boring and looks contrived. In fact, it would have been better if Jolly was shown to be alone – without a wife (Huma Qureshi) and child (master Jehaan Khambata). The first half, especially, has several portions where the story dips and loses its grip on the audience. But after every dip, it soon involves the viewers over again. Comparatively, the post-interval portion is far better. There is a lot of humour in the second half and there are some heart-warming moments too.
Subhash Kapoor’s screenplay is intelligent. The best part of his screenplay is that it doesn’t let go of the humour till the very end. The light scenes in the courtroom are so funny that they make the courtroom drama entertaining and enjoyable. The scenes between Jolly and Pramod Mathur and between Jolly and judge Tripathi, as also between Pramod Mathur and judge Tripathi are excellent and they thoroughly entertain the viewers. Many of them evoke a lot of laughter. An obviously weak link in the screenplay in the first half is when Hina turns down Jolly’s offer to return her Rs. 2 lakh which he had taken from her by lying to her. It is not clear why she says that she doesn’t want the money back. The least anyone in her place would want is her money back. But Hina is shown to say that all she wants is justice. This sounds wrong because it is not as if justice was traded for her money. Also, the screenplay could have been tighter as that would have eliminated the dull moments.
Subhash Kapoor’s dialogues are excellent. The humorous dialogues are truly wonderful.
Akshay Kumar plays Jolly with all the conviction at his command. He makes the character believable, endearing and one for whom the audience starts rooting quite early on. His simplicity and sincerity wins the viewers over. Huma Qureshi acts well but she does not have meaty scenes to perform. Annu Kapoor is extraordinary as defence lawyer Pramod Mathur. His expressions, dialogue delivery and body language are superb. Saurabh Shukla shines in the role of judge Sunder Lal Tripathi. His acting so beautifully suits the character he plays that it is difficult to imagine anyone else in that role. Indeed, an award-winning performance! Kumud Mishra is effective as police inspector Suryaveer Singh but the role does not have enough to justify the actor’s brilliance. Sayani Gupta leaves a wonderful mark as Hina. Manav Kaul lends able support in a brief role as Iqbal Kasim. Rajiv Gupta makes his presence felt as Birbal (assistant to Jolly). Ram Gopal Bajaj has his moments as Jolly’s boss, Rizvi. Sunil Kumar Palwal is very effective and earnest as Fahim Butt. Inaam-ul-haq does a fine job as Iqbal Qadri. Avijit Dutt lends able support as SSP Paul. Dadhi R. Pandey (as Siraj Alam), Sushil Pandey (as Ram Kumar Badhoria, son of Baldev Singh Badhoria), Tarun Kumar (as police officer Baldev Singh Badhoria), Sitaram Panchal (as farmer Sitaram), Sanjay Mishra (as Guruji), Vinod Nagpal (as Zahoor Siddiqui), V.M. Badola (as Jolly’s father), master Jehaan Khambata (as Jolly’s son), Gurpal Singh (as judge Harbhajan Singh), Brijendra Kala (as Dubey), Mir Sarwar (as police inspector Hidayat Baig), Brijesh Sharma and Sudhanva Deshpande (both as CBI officers), Faiz Khan (as Pramod Mathur’s male assistant), A.R. Rama (as Mushtaq), Ganesh Kumar (as constable Vinod Tiwari), Shubhangi Latkar (as Dr. Hema Deshpande), Yakub Sayed (as Pramod Mathur’s father), Usha Kumari Yadav (as Ram Kumar Badhoria’s mother) and the others provide able support.
Subhash Kapoor’s direction is nice. But how one wishes he could have kept the narrative tighter. That would’ve made the film even more enjoyable. Music (by Junaid Wasi, Chirantan Bhatt, Manj Musik and Raftaar) is a major letdown. Not a single song is a hit number. Lyrics (Raftaar, Manj Musik, Junaid Wasi and Shabbir Ahmed) are okay. Choreography (Bosco, Raju Khan and Ganesh Acharya) is alright. Vishal Khurana and Amar Mohile’s background music is fairly nice. Kamaljeet Negi’s camerawork is good. Action scenes (composed by Parvez Shaikh) are alright. Sets (by Gautam Sen and Rashmi Sangane ria) are okay. Chandrashekhar Praja pati’s editing is good.
On the whole, Jolly LL.B 2 is an enjoyable entertainer which will definitely do well at the box-office and will keep the audience and the investors happy.