Gadar 2 review: Sunny Deol as Tara 'Thor' Singh saves the day

Bollywood is going back to basics. With each theatrical release hitting the bull's eye at the box office, makers are sticking to formula films. It comes at a time when OTT-infested space is narrating bold, realistic content but when it comes to the big ticket screen outings, Hindi cinema seems to rely on the tried and tested formula. Two weeks back Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani brought back quintessential Bollywood family drama to the big screen and this week Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel return with period action-drama Gadar 2. A sequel to the 2001 blockbuster film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, the Anil Sharma directorial has a similar setting, with Deol presented in a superhero avatar. Back then the film had the India-Pakistan partition as the backdrop, 22 years on the sequel has the Indo-Pak 1971 war as the backdrop. High on theatrics, action, melodrama, and anti-Pakistan sentiments, Gadar 2 serves Deol in a larger-than-life avatar and very nicely connects the first part of the film with the sequel, making for a very engaging masala action thriller.

The setup remains the same. Tara Singh (Deol) owns a fleet of trucks (and drives one) and delivers goods on a regular basis to the Indian Army cantonment in Pathankot. Married to Sakeena (Patel), their son Jeete (Utkarsh Sharma) is now a college-going kid. It is 1971 and India and Pakistan are on the brink of war. Tara is asked to provide a fleet of trucks to a border area with ammunition by General Rawat. On the said day, firing between the Indian and Pakistani armies leads to Tara and some of his drivers getting involved in cross-firing. Hours later Tara along with a few soldiers and drivers are reported missing. His family is eventually informed that they have been held captive at a prison in Islamabad.

Anxious about how his father is and unable to see his mother's misery, Jeete decides to enter Pakistan illegally in order to get Tara back. Once he is there Jeete realizes Tara never got captured by the army and instead had fallen off a cliff. Meanwhile, Tara returns home only to find his son gone. Seventeenyears after he had created a mini-riot in Pakistan in order to bring his wife back, Tara returns to Pakistan this time to bring his son back.

Writer Shaktimaan Talwar, Gadar 2 story remains the same and much like the first part plays to the gallery. In 2001, the fabric of India was different and jingoism was not so much the norm. Twenty-two years on, harping one's love for the country has become a habit and it mostly works for the larger audience. Gadar 2, in that sense, manages to stick to the same framework and has plenty of anti-Pakistan moments. Many would recall Deol's powerful dialogues on how it was due to India that Pakistan existed back in the first film. In the second part, Deol pelts out similar dialogues on Pakistan. A confrontation scene between Pakistan General Hamid Iqbal (a Tara hater) and Tara Singh has the latter reminding him that if the majority of the population in Pakistan was given a choice to head back to their roots in India they would. And while Talwar creates a typical antagonist in the Pakistani General who hates India, Hindus and Tara with great passion, the writer also tries to mute the hatred. In Pakistan, while fleeing from the authorities, Jeete is often helped by random strangers who, even though are part of the enemy country, are not India haters.

Deol himself treads a careful path, never really bashing the Muslims, or Pakistan altogether but calling out what's wrong. Of course, he has ample lines that play to the gallery - from talking about India's greatness, (Hindustan zindabad tha, hai aur hamesha rahega) to how it belongs to every religion to reminding the enemy about Bangladesh and its creation- Gadar 2 rides high on nostalgia and jingoism.

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Since it features Deol as the alpha male, age is never considered. Back in the first film, he had famously uprooted a handpump and swung it around a mob, killing and injuring many. In the second part, the makers give a hat tip to the iconic scene which is bound to be hooted and cheered in theatres across. In Gadar 2, Deol also hurls a cannon at a crowd and beheads people with a single swig of a hammer similar to the one that Thor yields in Marvel films. Thor is God, Deol is superhuman but they are more or less the same people. Deol, in his 60s, is in fine form and carries the outlandish, melodramatic film on his shoulder very well. He has Utkarsh Sharma playing his onscreen son and sidekick who gets his moments to shine as well in the film with action sequences and dialoguebaazi. He is Anil Sharma's son and hence gets a substantial role after Deol.

Ameesha Patel, meanwhile, remains restricted in her abilities to emote and is given limited screen time. She heaves and sighs, runs towards Deol at regular intervals and prays to a whole lot of gods.

A word of praise for the music by Mithoon. The first part is to date remembered for its soulful music and this one shouldbe appreciated too. Not only does the composer recreate the old classics like 'Main Nikla Gaddi Leke' and 'Uddja Kaale Kawa' but also creates newer tunes that are truly beautiful.

Since the film involves a bunch of Muslim characters, the writers use Urdu occasionally just to reiterate the identity of the characters. Indians are referred to almost always as Kafirs for no rhyme or reason. The film also overall gives out a very old late 1990s and 2000s vibe. The women are very loudly dressed, and the sets are over the top much like the reactions. At 2 hours 50 minutes, the film is also very long. But Tara Singh alone makes the ride worthwhile.

Deol screams, shouts, flexes muscles, and grunts in regular intervals but somehow makes Gadar 2 engaging. Sure, I did find myself rolling my eyes on several occasions, but nevertheless enjoyed Deol saving the day with a hammer and a sidekick in tow. If you liked Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, you will like Gadar 2 as well.

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