Vadh 2 Review: Sanjay Mishra Holds His Fort Along With Neena Gupta In This Almost-Predictable Whodunnit Thriller

Title: Vadh 2

Director: Jaspal Singh Sandhu

Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Neena Gupta, Kumud Mishra, Amitt K. Singh, Akshay Dogra, Shilpa Shukla, Yogita Bihani

Where: In theatres near you

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Even though the film’s first part (Vadh) did not set the box office on fire, it won immense critical acclaim. Will the film’s second part (Vadh 2) follow the same trajectory or will it go for the ‘kill’ at the box-office is what we will be finding out.

The film starts off with the introduction of Manju Singh (Neena Gupta) who gets 28 years of imprisonment along with Rs. 25,000 fine for a ‘crime’ that she did not commit. She gets imprisoned in a jail where also exists policeman Shambhunath Mishra (Sanjay Mishra), jailor Rajni Sharma (Shilpa Shukla) and Inspector Prakash Singh (Kumud Mishra).

One day, the spineless notorious criminal Keshav aka Bhuri bhaiyya (Akkshay Dogra) announces his entry inside the jail premises by mercilessly bashing an old man, besides having set his evil eyes on a young lady Naina Kumari (Yogita Bihani).

Infuriated by all this, Prakash Singh teaches Keshav an unforgettable lesson that night. The next morning, to everyone’s shock, Keshav goes missing. A no-nonsense Inspector Ateet Singh (Amitt K Singh), who gets entrusted to solve the case, gets a shock of his life when

Keshav’s skeletal dead body is found in the backyard of Shambhunath Mishra’s residence after 11 months!

Will Ateet Singh be able to find the real culprit, what could have been the ultimate motive behind Keshav’s murder and more such questions spring up as the film progresses… all with the hope of leading us to the ultimate revelation!

Actors’ Performance

No prizes for guessing that the film rides on the tried and tested shoulders of the veteran actors Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta (in that order). You will be simply amazed to see Sanjay maintaining his calm demeanour even in extreme pressure situations. He exhibits so much depth in his role that it becomes impossible to imagine any other actor in his place.

Trailing a close second is Neena Gupta who, even though does not do anything extraordinary, but emerges as an ‘extrordi-naari’! Her on screen chemistry with Sanjay Mishra along with the mutual respect and understanding that their respective characters have for each other is what makes the film endearing.

Kumud Mishra’s performance, which checks all the boxes of likeability factor initially, takes an unexpected dip, which becomes a bit tough to digest eventually. But, that’s the demand of the film’s narrative. Overall, Kumud delivers, despite the intangible narrative of his character.

Besides them, there’s Shilpa Shukla (in her usual form), Akkshay Dogra (impactful as a bad guy, despite his limited screen time), Yogita Bihani (impressive) and Nadeem Khan (apt) who try their best to oar the ship called ‘Vadh 2’ to help it reach ashore.

Music and Aesthetics

The film’s writer - director Jaspal Singh Sandhu does a decent job of the script. But, as the film progresses, the narrative tends to move more towards predictability. The film could have been more impactful if the suspense had got revealed more towards the end , which would have surely made the audience feel ‘OMG… I just did not expect this’!

Without a convincing backstory, a bunch of situations look half baked. Maybe we get to see that in the film’s third part… as and when it gets made!

The film’s cinematography (Sapan Narula) is decent. It's the film’s editing (Bharat S Raawat) that needed some thought process. Many scenes (mostly second half) suffer from the lack of crisp editing.

The film’s music (Rochak Kohli) fails to leave an impact. The film’s background score (Advait Nemlekar) is taut and blends with the narrative.

FPJ Verdict

If you are a diehard fan of Sanjay Mishra or Neena Gupta, do watch this film right away. Else… you can always watch it on OTT as and when it releases!