The film starts off with the affluent and corrupt Kunwar Kuldeep (Govind Namdev) who literally shoots out a raiding team with the assistance of his ADC (Jayant Rawal)
Direction: Raj Kumar Gupta
Raid specialist Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn), for undisclosed reasons, targets the popular politician, philanthropist, and obviously the corrupt Manohar Dhankar (Riteish Deshmukh). Multiple raids at various places turn abortive. His team includes the likes of Ashok Kumar (Sanjeev Jhori) and Geeta Devi (Shruti Pandey). On the other side of the spectrum, we see that Manohar’s rise from poverty has been meteoric, after being insulted by then chief minister (Susheel Dahia). His primary crony is Chote (Tarun Gehlot) and his bureaucratic support system is Vinay Bakia (Vijendra Kalia). Our villain literally worships his mother. His worship is symbolised by washing the feet of Amma (Supriya Pathak) regularly. Amay continues to be the much-transferred honest officer that the system frowns at. He has the dignified silent support of the I-T chief commissioner Kaul (Rajat Kapoor) who signs as many search warrants as required.
The film starts off with the affluent and corrupt Kunwar Kuldeep (Govind Namdev) who literally shoots out a raiding team with the assistance of his ADC (Jayant Rawal). Repeated aerial shots by the cinematographer Sudheer K. Chowdary add a certain grandeur to the story-telling and provide a sub-aerial view of what is said to be Bihar. The premise is built in the earlier outing. It is further restricted by the title which thematically summarises the story. The sketch is substantially outside of a single place, in contra-distinction to the prequel. The larger space is often the undoing of the film. The crisp flow that constituted the earlier happenings within an old bungalow is somehow missing in the larger space of the movie. Often, the film is more about the signature walking style of the protagonist than a serious anecdotal progression of the film. The cast is heavy. Actors like Tarun Gehlot, Susheel Dahia, Govind Namdeo, Vijendra Kala, Yashpal Sharma (as lawyer Devender Gehlot) are all reduced to erratic props.
The crew of the film is often overenergetic. The sound designer (Shahab Alam) robs the film of its taut thrills with a screaming background score. The background music is too loud for anyone’s comfort. Thematically, the linear blueprint of initial failures leading to the suspension of the honest officer and finally the entry of his colleague Tullam Sudheer (Amit Seyal) is predictably Bollywood. It lacks the punch that the earlier outing had. With a claustrophobic cast, it is difficult to pinpoint good performances since most characters have neither script nor screen space. As Tauji, it is unfortunate that Suarabh Shukla, an immensely talented actor, is reduced to some minimal dialogues. This is even applicable to yet another talent house, Supriya Pathak. It is only Shukla and Pathak who could have added credibility even to such wafer-thin roles.
The film showcases the clash between the villain Riteish and the hero Ajay. Though he fails to localise his character, Riteish carries his role with enough serenity. He retains a certain dignity to the role of a politician that very often the baddies of our cinema lose sight of. The script and the story fit Ajay to the T. There is nothing challenging enough to the actor to breath in any innovation or freshness. Nonetheless, he does not disappoint as the mainstay.
The mixed response to the film at the box office: no summary rejection, no acceptance, is perhaps even a justified reflection of what the film augurs and deserves. This raid may yield results but I am afraid it is not going to make headlines. The film sometimes could be as insipid as Tamannah’s ‘Hosh Udaye’.
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Amit Seyal, Rajat Kapoor, Tamannah Bhatia, Sanjeev Jhori, Shruti Pandey, Govind Namdeo, Susheel Dahia, Tarun Gehlot, Vijendra Kalia, Supriya Pathak, Suarabh Shukla, Jayant Rawal, Devender Gehlot.
