No fun, sequel slows dream run

Nonika Singh

When writer-director Raaj Shaandilyaa gave us ‘Dream Girl’, even within the parameters of commercial framework, he explored a new, androgynous territory. The film was an unexpected and understandable hit, for it melded humour with messaging rather well. In the spiritual sequel of the franchise, sadly he mostly toes the beaten track. And by that, we don’t mean the fact that the characters or settings are more or less the same. Ayushmann Khurrana is still Karam/Pooja. He can still modulate his voice and switch over to a girl’s with élan and perfection. Only, if the beauty of ‘Dream Girl’ lay in not overdoing, here he crosses the line, and not merely, for he cross-dresses to become Pooja.

The jokes are familiar, the ones we saw when other actors walked the same path and donned the female avatar. Oranges serving up as you know what… seriously, or even funnily, who can actually think of such a stale gag? Of course, full marks to Ayushmann for his brave choice. But choices alone do not maketh a meaningful film. Or even an entertaining one.

When a hero becomes a ‘Dream Girl’, we know the humour will emanate from the line-up of his suitors. Once again, among his admirers is Vijay Raaz as Sona Bhai. And one must give the actor credit for pulling it off in the most absurd situations. With a flick covering his forehead, delivering his lines — some funny, some not so amusing — he is easily the best part of the film that otherwise seems to be going all over the place. Right from why Karam becomes a bar dancer to a daughter-in-law, all plot points seem contrived and outlandish. The endearing Manjot Singh reprising his part as Smiley exists only to take the storyline forward, which is more of a chaotic mess. And, there is no method in this madness. Sure, we all love comedies and with Punjab’s star writer Naresh Kathooria co-writing with Raaj, we do expect many a pun-laden dialogue. He delivers, as wisecracks do lace the narrative. Many one-liners have a sting and some like ‘Hum middle class logon ki alag hi class hoti hai’ are even intelligently penned.

However, if you are expecting intelligent or sharp humour in this slapstick comedy being touted as a massy entertainer, you will be disappointed. Humour is disjointed and forced rather than being organic, except the scene where Raaz goes to an English medium school. His intermittent conversations with the principal and Pooja aka Karam do hit home. But most other angles, especially the one involving his estranged wife (Seema Pahwa as Jumani) crushing over Karam is ludicrous rather than rib-tickling. Of course, the fine actor that Seema is, she tries to add some dignity to her crazy antics.

Ironically, though the film is peopled with a battery of talented actors, it fails to use, let alone optimise, their talent. From Paresh Rawal to Annu Kapoor to Asrani to Rajpal Yadav to Abhishek Banerjee… it’s a galaxy of comic actors out there. Not all make an impact. But Abhishek does stand out among the crowd. And lest we forget, in this hero doubling up as a heroine film, there is a heroine too. But Ananya Panday, Karam’s love interest, a lawyer at that, hardly gets to do anything. Like a Pari (her name in the film), she flits in and out, making little difference to the proceedings, even though she apparently triggered it all.

Shaandilyaa tips the hat to The Kapil Sharma Show with which he was associated. And like the show, humour works both ways. At times, the jokes land but mostly we are left wondering, ‘joke tha, pehle batana tha, we would have laughed’. If sporadic laugher is all you are looking for, ‘Dream Girl 2’, that also valiantly albeit insincerely tries to be socially correct by invoking a few subtexts and lines like ‘Ladki hona kitna mushkil hota hai’, might work for you. Otherwise, you can go back to the ever hilarious ‘Chachi 420’ or even Raaj’s light-hearted ‘Dream Girl’.