'Fukrey Returns' review: The film will give you a 'deja-choo', literally

The opening credits of Fukrey Returns is promising. A sequel of 2013 sleeper hit Fukrey, the film begins with a catchy number which quickly gives the audience a round-up of what happened in the first film. A clever ploy from the director, Mrigdeep Singh Lamba who manages to get your attention on the story right in the first frame. A practice that perhaps a lot of films in Bollywood should follow while making a sequel.

Soon after the opening credits end, the film- very slowly- and gradually keeps spiraling downwards making the film a sluggish affair, overall.

A year after the four fukras- Choocha, Honey, Laali and Zafar- managed to bust Bholi Punjab's(Richa Chadha) empire and send her to jail, the lady don of trans-Yamuna in East Delhi is out of jail and in need of money and lost glory. With the help of local minister, Babulal Bhatia(Rajiv Gupta), Bholi manages to come out of jail- only on the condition of getting Bhatia Rs 10 crores in 10 days.

The four slackers are called in by Bholi and given the responsibility to earn quick bucks in the stipulated time. The four, naturally use Choocha's 'superpower' of dreaming and creating a unique number for a lottery to win hefty amount. But instead of winning the desired amount, the four face heavy losses and are charged of duping several people in a forged scam. As the four fukras make a run for their lives, they not only have money to return to the public but also to Bholi.

Declared dead, the four boys are taken in by Babulal Bhatia himself, who in a ploy to garner public votes for the upcoming elections offers to help them out. But does he? Or does he dupe the four boys as well as Bholi and make them land in a bigger mess? Meanwhile, Choocha now has another super-power, of foreseeing the future. And his premonitions lead all of them on a wild-goose chase in search of a lost treasure.

A convoluted story, which an overstretched climax, Fukrey Returns is a lazy attempt at making a sequel of an amazingly refreshing first film. The plot eventually sticks to the original formula, and you end up having a deja vu or deja choo- whichever you prefer.

Amid a predictable plot, it is Varun Sharma as Choocha and Pankaj Tripathi as Panditji who shine the most. Sharma plays the annoying yet endearing good-for-nothing fella to the hilt. You laugh along with him, at him and even get irritated at his stupidities- much like his friends. The ever talented Tripathi is always a delight to watch- give the man any role- and he makes it his own. Known for playing the HaryanviDelhi NCR cop in many films, actor Rajiv Gupta gets a meaty role as the main antagonist in Fukrey Returns and manages to impress.

The rest of the cast- Pulkit Samrat, Ali Fazal, Manjot Singh and Richa Chadha do not get ample opportunity to showcase their talent primarily because of poor writing. Chadha's Bholi Punjaban is far less feisty than what she was in the first film.

The other two women- Priya Anand and Vishakha Singh- are barely there. They are almost forcefully placed in the climax.

The supposed laugh-riot thrills in you in parts and those scenes mostly involve Sharma and Tripathi in them.

But like Fukrey, Fukrey Returns also manages to keep its Delhi-flavour intact. There are a lot of lines that will be relatable to people living in the capital city and may make them chuckle.

Does Fukrey Returns make a good sequel? Not quite. All it gives you is a 'deja-choo'.

Rating:2/5

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