Is Sadak 2 an undercooked pot of biryani?
Reportedly in the year 2020, we are not used to seeing someone point a gun at another in a scene and say, "Bata warna main goli maar dunga." In fact, we fell out of this habit right after the 90s, an era, which undeniably had its flaws - that often can be looked at as comical. In 2020, there's no room for that. Therefore there's no room for Sadak 2. alia bhatt, sanjay dutt, Aditya Roy Kapur-starrer Sadak 2 today seems like an unedited chapter from the 90s. It is over the top, loud and the high-pitched dialogue delivery ruins whatever experience it tries to offer or what you hope to scoop out, now that you've sat down with it at the end of a long day and an even longer week. We emerge more tired than we were before and find ourselves looking for a Saridon once the 113-minute film finally ends. It is just terrible.
The plot itself is incoherent. But even if you were to overlook that - willing suspension of disbelief, we tell ourselves when we watch most bollywood films, anyway - the deliberate attempt to tug at nostalgia, reminding you of Sadak (the original, released in 1991), boils your blood. ravi (Sanjay Dutt) was a taxi driver in Sadak, who fell in love with pooja (Pooja Bhatt), rescued her from the clutches of Maharani (Sadashiv Amrapulker), and possibly lived happily for nearly 30 years.
Sadak 2, however, had one thing going for it from the very start. A strong star cast. But bad writing comes in the way of that too. alia is a strong actor, but seems directionless in parts and in control in others, leaving the audience confused. Sanjay and Aditya are nothing like alia, and even as the script favors them by handing them rounded characters to perform, they could barely milk it. The film in its totality, however, leaves you disappointed. It is neither pulp nor noir, neither 90s nor of this present era. A mish-mash, a pot of under-cooked biryani at best. Sadak 2 was supposed to release in theatres before the novel coronavirus happened. It was then released on Disney+Hotstar. It is certainly not meant for OTT viewing, and we have our doubts if it would have worked on the big screen either.
The plot itself is incoherent. But even if you were to overlook that - willing suspension of disbelief, we tell ourselves when we watch most bollywood films, anyway - the deliberate attempt to tug at nostalgia, reminding you of Sadak (the original, released in 1991), boils your blood. ravi (Sanjay Dutt) was a taxi driver in Sadak, who fell in love with pooja (Pooja Bhatt), rescued her from the clutches of Maharani (Sadashiv Amrapulker), and possibly lived happily for nearly 30 years.
Sadak 2, however, had one thing going for it from the very start. A strong star cast. But bad writing comes in the way of that too. alia is a strong actor, but seems directionless in parts and in control in others, leaving the audience confused. Sanjay and Aditya are nothing like alia, and even as the script favors them by handing them rounded characters to perform, they could barely milk it. The film in its totality, however, leaves you disappointed. It is neither pulp nor noir, neither 90s nor of this present era. A mish-mash, a pot of under-cooked biryani at best. Sadak 2 was supposed to release in theatres before the novel coronavirus happened. It was then released on Disney+Hotstar. It is certainly not meant for OTT viewing, and we have our doubts if it would have worked on the big screen either.