Director: Faruk Kabir
Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Shivaleeka Oberoi, Sheeba Chadha and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 1.5 stars
Director Faruk Kabir, who earlier helmed 'Allah Kay Banday', '377 AbNormal', and 'Khuda Haafiz', which got a digital release during the lockdown last year, takes his 'Khuda Haafiz' franchise ahead with 'Chapter 2 Agni Pariksha'. But what is the purpose of even attempting it? Just to experience the theatrical release, which has happened for the first time with the franchise, where both the chapters were released on different mediums. 'Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 Agni Pariksha' is old wine in a new bottle.
Sameer (Vidyut Jammwal) and his wife Nargis (Shivaleeka Oberoi) are leading a dismal life due to Nargis’ bitter past. To get some spice to their lives, they plan to adopt 5-year-old Nandini, only to lose her and find out that Thakur Ji (Sheeba Chadha), a celebrated local don of the city, is involved in her rape and death.
The second instalment from the franchise has absolutely nothing new to offer. The film doesn’t do much in the space of revenge-thriller space even. Touted as an action film, it’s nowhere in the first half of the film, which is slower than a tortoise. The first few minutes of the second half are purposeless as the intent of the film deviates from the main plot.
Faruk has unnecessarily introduced so many villains, especially in the jail sequence, just to show off his writing and directorial skills, but he falls flat. The plot is very clichéd, and it primarily deals with the subject of rape and looks unattractive, especially with all the bloodshed and brutality. In 2022, where narratives are changing every now and then, Faruk still seems to be stuck in a run-of-the-mill sob tale state. The whole idea of shifting the film’s backdrop from Lucknow to Cairo, Egypt, is pointless. Ashwath Bhatt’s character could have been easily shown in India and could have saved the producers' money.
Vidyut is clearly thriving on his action, and this film has bare minimum action. He fails to impress even a bit with his performance since this film demanded a solid actor. He should stick to performing stunts and not acting. Shivaleeka is good enough, but again her lesser screen time disappoints you. Sheeba is impressive. Ashwath, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Danish Husain are honest to their roles.
Bollywood has earlier seen several revenge dramas on similar lines, and 'Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 Agni Pariksha' is just another addition to the stack. Highly avoidable!
