Director Kunal Deshmukh’s Jannat 2 might have been a gripping thriller but is hamstrung by a painfully dull romantic track between Emraan Hashmi and newbie Esha Gupta, not to mention the latter’s plastic expressions and pretentious ‘Angelina Jolie’ pout. A barrage of songs pile more misery upon us, but it’s Randeep Hooda who saves the day for Jannat 2 with his explosive portrayal of a tipsy cop on a mission.
Sonu Dilli aka KKC (Kutti Kameeni Cheez) is an unscrupulous gunrunner in Delhi making an easy buck pushing arms to the folks with violent motive. He is in the crosshairs of a searing cop ACP Pratap Raghuvanshi (Randeep Hooda) who has declared an all out war against the illegal arms traders. Raghuvanshi coerces Sonu to work for him as an undercover informer to help him nab the big fish in the arms trade. But the deal goes awry and Sonu lands behind bars. He later reforms and falls in love with a doctor named Jhanvi (Esha Kapoor), but Raghuvanshi again drags Sonu into the arms trade. Will our hero be able to make a clean break or fall victim to the battle between gun-traders and the vengeful cop?
Jannat 2 does hit the ground running and Emraan Hashmi as the foul-mouthed hustler in the bylanes of Delhi is fun to watch for sure. Randeep Hooda adds fire to the proceedings with his incendiary portrayal of a broody cop. It’s with the coming of Esha Gupta that the film’s graph begins to plummet. The romantic track between Emraan and Esha, how he woos her and how she simpers and finally succumbs to his advances makes for a boring watch. The writers Shagufta Rafique and Kunal Deshmukh show no imagination in chalking out this love story. On top of this, songs by Pritam hamper the flow of the narrative. The film hits the interval point with a twist.
The plot meanders in the second half through many twists and turns, some clever, some lousy, but what stands out most is a nail-biting chase sequence through the labyrinthine alleys of a dargah. The dialogues are well penned, but littered with too much abusive language.
For Emraan Hashmi playing the role of a hustler would have been just another day at job, but one does appreciate the typical north Indian twang he brings in his dialogue delivery. Randeep Hooda is the scene stealer in this crime caper. His gruff demeanor, seething persona set the screen alight every time he appears. The less said about Esha Gupta the better, and Manish Chaudhary as the big fish in the arms trade hams at times.
So essentially, it’s a see-saw of the positives and negatives in Jannat 2. The film isn’t anything to rave about, but Randeep Hooda’s incredible act all but makes up for the botches.
Watch Jannat 2 for Randeep Hooda.
Rating: **