Fox Star Studios and Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Judwaa 2 (UA) is inspired by the earlier Judwaa (1997). It is the story of a pair of twins separated at birth and who reunite after they become adults.
Rajeev Malhotra (Sachin Khedekar) is blessed with twin sons who are born conjoined. Since they have to be separated by medical procedure, the doctor informs the parents that one would be weak while the other would be strong. As they were born conjoined, the doctor also tells the parents that if both the children were in the same area, they would feel the same emotions. For instance, if one is beaten by somebody, the second one would also feel the pain.
But right on the day of the birth of the twins, smuggler Charles (Zakir Hussain) takes away one child as Rajeev wants to get him arrested for smuggling diamonds into the country. Charles leaves the baby on the way while escaping from the police but he gives Rajeev the impression that the baby is dead, before getting arrested by the police. The deserted little child has a miraculous escape and is picked up and raised by a poor lady in Bombay. However, Rajeev Malhotra, his wife (Prachee Shah Paandya) and their son settle down in London. The child in Bombay is named Raja while the Malhotras name their son, Prem.
In London, Prem (Varun Dhawan) grows up to be the weaker child. He is also timid. On the other hand, Raja (Varun Dhawan), who lives in India, is bold and strong. As luck would have it, Raja and his bosom pal, Nandu (Rajpal Yadav), go away to London to escape the wrath of Alex (Vivan Bhatena) whom Raja beats black and blue one day for misbehaving with Nandu.
Strange things start happening to Prem once Raja reaches London. He starts kissing/beating people on an impulse according to when Raja kisses/beats people. But, obviously, Prem is clueless about why he is behaving the way he is – and he even consults a doctor (Ali Asgar). In London, Prem falls in love with his college pal, Samara (Taapsee Pannu). Samara also loves Prem. Samara’s vain mother (Upasna Singh) is very keen that Prem and Samara get married as Prem is a rich catch. Raja meets Alishka (Jacqueline Fernandez) on the flight from Bombay to London and ultimately ends up falling in love with her in London. However, Rajeev Malhotra, unaware of Prem’s romance with Samara, wants him to meet his friend, Bakshi’s (Anupam Kher) daughter, Alishka. While Alishka mistakes Prem for Raja, Prem can’t understand why Alishka is acting so familiar with him.
By the by, Raja starts visiting Alishka. While Bakshi doesn’t smell a rat, his brother-in-law (Atul Parchure) gets the feeling that something is wrong somewhere. In London, Raja also meets Alex who, it turns out, is the son of Charles. But Alex has had a loss of memory because of the fight with Raja in India, during which the latter had hit the former on his head with a coconut. Accompanying Alex in London for treatment is his maternal uncle (Manoj Joshi). Soon, Charles is also set free from the Indian prison after completing his long jail term, and he comes to London in search of Rajeev Malhotra.
Meanwhile, Raja and Prem bump into one another one day in London but while both are astonished at their identical looks, they don’t know that they are twins. Raja’s path even crosses the paths of his parents but while Rajeev is not in a position to see Raja, his wife takes Raja to be Prem.
So now, Charles is baying for Rajeev Malhotra’s blood, and Alex and his maternal uncle are in search of Raja whom Alex would be able to recognise once he overcomes his memory loss. Also, there’s confusion about their boyfriend in the minds of both, Alishka and Samara.
What happens finally?
The crux of the story is the same as that of the old Judwaa. Although there is no logic in the story, it is made up of so many funny incidents and anecdotes that it keeps the audience in good spirits. The comedy unfolds with fun incidents coming in quick succession and keeps the audience engaged from the start till the end. Yunus Sajawal’s screenplay is in synch with the comic story and is often so hilarious that it offers complete entertainment to the viewers. Yes, a section of the elite audience would not approve of the illogicalities (one brother feeling the pain, hurt, emotions etc. of the other, when both are in the same area) and the cinematic liberties (the two brothers behave in the same fashion sometimes, but not always even when they are in the same vicinity) but then, there is a large chunk of the audience (masses, youth, families and even a sizeable section of the class audience) which will enjoy the sequences replete with fun and frolic.
In particular, the scenes in which Prem involuntarily starts beating up people or kissing girls are hilarious. Similarly, the scenes in which Alex’s maternal uncle asks Alex weird questions to understand whether he’s got back his lost memory are very funny. Equally funny are the scenes of Samara’s mother salivating for Prem, and of Alishka’s father (Anupam Kher) welcoming people in his typical style. Also comical are Nandu’s babbling, Bakshi’s brother-in-law warning him repeatedly, police officer Dhillon (Pavan Raj Malhotra) bumbling in his attempts to nab Raja, and Pappu Passport (Johnny Lever) issuing passports to Raja and Nandu. The scenes of Raja fooling people with his cock-and-bull emotional stories are simply outstanding. The out-and-out comedy also has three or four scenes replete with family emotions which would moisten the eyes of the viewers. These emotional scenes will be loved by ladies and families. Even otherwise, the comedy is so clean that the family audiences would love it.
The introduction of Salman Khan in the last scene – after the climax – and that too, in double role, is so clever that it will please his countless fans no end.
Farhad-Sajid’s dialogues are splendid and add greatly to the humour.
Varun Dhawan carries the film on his shoulders. As both, Raj and Prem, he is fantastic and proves that he can carry off all types of scenes with élan. The best part is that he makes the illogical drama believable as he goes full throttle into the two characters, he portrays. Jacqueline Fernandez looks glamorous and sexy and performs well. Taapsee Pannu is sincere and earnest in all that she does. Rajpal Yadav evokes laughter at many places. Anupam Kher is entertaining as Bakshi. Sachin Khedekar lends decent support as Rajeev Malhotra. Prachee Shah Paandya is effective as Mrs. Malhotra. Zakir Hussain does a fair job as Charles. Manoj Joshi is terrific in the role of Alex’s maternal uncle. Vivan Bhatena has his moments as Alex. Upasna Singh shines as Samara’s mother. Pavan Raj Malhotra makes his presence amply felt as the police officer in London. Donna, as his female colleague, is entertaining. Johnny Lever brings the house down with laughter in a special appearance. Ali Asgar is very good as the doctor. Manoj Pahwa does a fair job. Atul Parchure is lovely. Rajat Rawail is good as the owner of the jewellery store. Farhad, as his assistant, is also nice. Vikas Verma leaves a mark as Samara’s erstwhile boyfriend. Kushaal Pawaar is okay as Simcard. Others lend the desired support. Salman Khan lends tremendous star value in a brief special appearance. His countless fans will go ga ga over his appearance in a dual role.
David Dhawan’s able direction proves that the veteran filmmaker still has his finger on the audience’s pulse. He narrates the illogical drama with such finesse that the viewers enjoy it. His integration of emotions in the comedy film is fabulous. Music (Sajid-Wajid, Sandeep Shirodkar, Anu Malik and Meet Bros.) is very appealing. While the two songs from the earlier Judwaa – ‘Oonchi hai building’ and ‘Chalti hai kya nau se barah’ – are hit numbers, the other songs are also very good. Lyrics (Dev Kohli, Danish Sabri and Sonu Saggu) are in synch with the film’s mood. Choreography (by Ganesh Acharya; ‘Onchi hai building’ song by Bosco-Caesar) is eye-filling. Sandeep Shirodkar’s background music is quite nice. Ayananka Bose’s cinematography is of a high order. Anl Arasu’s action and stunts will appeal to the masses and front-benchers. John Murphy and Rajat Poddar’s production designing and Parijat Poddar’s art direction are very good. Ritesh Soni’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, Judwaa 2 is a hit as it will appeal to all sections of the audience – youth, masses, families and even a good chunk of the classes. It will score in multiplexes and single-screen cinemas and in ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres. The first four-day weekend (with holiday for Dassera tomorrow (30th) and for Gandhi Jayanti (2nd October)) will ensure that the film easily crosses the Rs. 100-crore mark in its second week.