Judwaa 2: A defective copy of the original

Conjoined twins separated at birth due to unfortunate circumstances come together after they have grown up to create a series of misadventures for each other. One's grown up poor, bold and strong and the other as a polished, harmless and weak boy in a rich family. It's a formula that has been tried in several films before. In Judwaa 2, the difference is that when the twins are in close proximity to each other, one reacts in the same way as the other. For instance, if one slaps a guy on his right cheek, the other will repeat the act with whoever he is with, however harmless that person is.

That in essence is the premise of Judwaa 2 and jokes are created around this for the audience to have a hearty laugh. The problem, however, is that a majority of them are so pathetic that they fail to evoke even a yawn from you. Like, Sa Re Ga Ma Amitabh Bachchan because the legend played the title role in Paa. Besides, while the original Judwaa worked as a mass entertainer because of Salman Khan and its funny situations, this one merely attempts to copy that in a mediocre way. It's 20 years since the original Judwaa released and the humour has obviously changed. The director, unfortunately, tries to cash in on the success of his then blockbuster by using the same story and provides a platform to his son, Varun Dhawan, to showcase whatever he has learnt in his career thus far. This includes dropping his shirt at the drop of a hat to flaunt his washboard abs.

Varun is sincere in both the avatars, but sadly unconvincing. He does not come across as a natural as Salman did and at times, you feel he's trying too hard to imitate the latter. Comedy is his forte, but he's been doing such films for too long and with alarming regularity now. This act is another repetitive performance from him.

Judwaa 2 essentially is a showreel to flaunt a director's son and his range as an actor (Did someone say 'Nepotism Rocks'?). The two leading ladies are nothing, but bimbettes who prance around the hero, vying for his attention and acknowledgement, as if they have nothing else to do. Salman's cameo in the end looks forced, like many of the movie's scenes. And, in the end, the director conveniently forgets that the twins are supposed to react in the same way when they are next to each other. That, of course, is not the only loophole in the long movie. The music, too, is below average and they have even made a mess of two famous chartbusters from the original. 

Judwaa 2 fails because of its lack of coherent plot, slow pace and abysmal humour. One can't justify an average film in the garb of a mindless entertainer, even if it earns money at the box office. Judwaa 2, at best, is a sorry copy of the original. 

- Kunal Purandare