Review of Satyameva Jayate 2: John Abraham's three roles in one film are three headaches bundled into one.
Review of Satyameva Jayate 2: John Abraham's film is a loud, screeching, bloated mess that no one should have to put up with.
There isn't a single person who speaks in this film. Everyone is screaming, yelling, and shouting at the top of their lungs, leaving your eardrums aching for some peace and quiet. Satyameva Jayate 2 is a poor and clumsy portrayal of jingoism and vigilantism at its most heinous. Milap Zaveri gives us a stale narrative that doesn't even bother to bring anything new or distinctive in the name of a vigilante action thriller and cashing in on the nostalgia for masala films from the 1980s.
Satyameva Jayate 2 features a montage of done-to-death scenarios that provide the film's lead protagonists — John Abraham and John Abraham — a chance to keep their promise to root out corruption. Zaveri has plagiarised hackneyed clichés from the 1980s, including physicians on strike at a government hospital, children dying from food poisoning and a lack of oxygen, a flyover collapsing, and a girl setting herself on fire after being raped by a politician's son. That's not how a tribute is done. And to believe that today's audiences will love it as much as they did in the past, or that this type of film would find an audience, is a bold assumption.
The plot follows Dadasaheb Balram Azad (John Abraham) and his two sons, both of whom are also played by Abraham: one becomes a Home Minister (Satya) who wants his anti-corruption bill enacted, while the other plays a snarky cop (ACP Jay). Satya's wife Vidya, an opposition politician, is played by Divya Khosla Kumar, while Gautami Kapoor plays the twins' mother. Divya is arguably the only character that does not speak loudly, yet she almost appears to be reading off a teleprompter without any expressions. I was pleased to see a woman in a fairly acceptable role in an entirely male-dominated picture for a brief while, but Divya's terrible dialogue delivery and ordinary acting don't make her stand out.
The sole redeeming feature of this picture could have been John Abraham, but the actor doesn't have much to work with other than the clumsy writing and repeated, overdramatic speeches. And I couldn't understand why each character had to coin rhymes to make a point. It is frequently so poetic that the core of the scene is lost. These are some examples: 'Tu bharatiya naari hai... thaan le toh sab pe bhaari hai' or 'Signal pe khada hawaldar sau rupaye mein meherban hai... naam tumhara Khan toh aatankvadi poora khandan hai... wahan apne hi ghar mein pankhe pe lat There are so many of these shouted into your ears that you get a headache from them.
In the midst of it all, I've never understood why Bollywood filmmakers go too far with patriotism and end up with jingoism... though Satyameva Jayate 2 goes even further, for the worse. Every time there's blood on the screen, a patriotic song plays in the background, not to mention the relentless hammering on the concept that the nation comes first. 'Tan, Mann, Dhan se badh kar Jan, Gan, Man,' says the narrator.
Zaveri focuses on farmers' suicides, the Lokpal Bill, the good muslim-bad muslim division, women being raped (Nirbhaya case and Telangana case), and social media taking precedence over actual problems through beautiful dialogues and heavyweight lines. I believed he was attempting to improvise and make the movie topical at one point, but the thought didn't stay long, and the men were back to their jingoistic antics.
Satyameva Jayate 2, like a tough commercial potboiler with raw action, includes a mix of songs, some of which are abruptly put and others which aren't so bad. Tenu Lehanga, a wedding song, and Meri Zindagi Hai Tu, a Karwa-Chauth song, might be party hits, while Nora Fatehi received a large thank you for Kusu Kusu in the opening credits. Was that music truly necessary? No, I don't believe so.
Satyameva Jayate 2 is a courageous attempt to entice fans back into theatres by convincing them that it is a full-fledged masala picture, and if you appreciate these types of noisy action thrillers, it is a must-see.
Satyameva Jayate 2 is a sequel to Satyameva Jayate.
Milap Zaveri is the director.
John Abraham and Divya Khosla Kumar star in this film.
Ratings ** out of *****
