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| Edited By: Shaheen Irani |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Aug 29, 2020, 08:59 PM IST
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Jisshu Sengupta, Priyanka Bose, Makrand Deshpande, Gulshan Grover, Pooja Bhatt
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Duration: Two hours 14 minutes
Stars: 2/5
Where to Watch: Disney+ Hotstar
The sequel to 'Sadak', 'Sadak 2' is Aaraya (Alia Bhatt)'s story about living among a distorted, rich family. She meets Ravi Verma (played by Sanjay Dutt) and they leave on a journey where many faces unfold one after another.
Mahesh Bhatt made his directorial comeback with 'Sadak 2', which is touted to be the sequel of 'Sadak'. It would rather be right to say that the film heavily relies on 'Sadak' nostalgia, which, quite honestly, is the only good part in the movie, but that too feels strange with the modern storyline.
Sanjay Dutt tries hard while acting as taxi driver Ravi Verma and succeeds in many places, but his weak character is a letdown. Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur almost have the same graph throughout the film. Jisshu Sengupta is one of the most colourful characters in the movie, but he too is only able to pull it off to an extent due to the weak storyline, which is the case with Priyanka Bose as well as Makarand Deshpande. Gulshan Grover, who comes in a special apearance, is again playing the 'bad man' with a twist.
The storyline of 'Sadak 2' is the biggest disappointment. It mocks suicide, glorifies mental illness, and even has the touch of drugs 'for the greater good'. All the three possibilities are currently being investigated in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case (mortal remains found on June 14, 2020 in his Bandra apartment) in real life, for which the director Mahesh Bhatt is a suspect.
Coming back to the movie, it begins with an attempt to suicide, soon to be followed by the meeting between Sanjay Dutt and Alia Bhatt, who 'see' and 'feel' unexplainable things, making the world term them 'mentally unstable'. The main character Araaya (Alia Bhatt) is shown as a powerful female character, who ends up getting deceived by every person that matters to her.
Araaya's crazy spirit to hold on to Ravi Verma (both are termed mentally unstable by the world, mainly their close relatives), and her fight against the evil, should have shined through the movie and it would, if it came naturally. More so, drugs are casually used in the film (obviously, without consent) 'for the greater good', and by the end of the film, every person is happy no matter what they went through. Pooja Bhatt, who was also going to make her acting comeback with the film, can only be heard and seen in flashes. 'Is this for real?' is a question you will be asking yourself many times throughout the film.
To be honest, Mahesh Bhatt, who had directed movies like 'Arth', 'Zakhm', 'Daddy', or even the original 'Sadak', has lost his charm, which is clearly visible through the film. 'Sadak' was a believable story about a taxi driver falling in love with a young woman who has been forced into prostitution, through a transgender, which was played by Sadashiv Amrapurkar. The actor played such an iconic character that even memories of 'Sadak' bring back goosebumps.
'Sadak 2' on the other hand, doesn't even touch the brink of either Sanjay Dutt-Pooja Bhatt's romance or Sadashiv Amrapurkar's acting. With the storyline given, Mahesh Bhatt should have rather not made his comeback at all, than come up with a mediocre film which is only passibly entertaining (that too not in a good way). If it wasn't for his last scene, Makaranad Deshpande as the 'shady baba' would also have passed off as average in the film.
'There is no greater business than the business of God,' is one of the lines in the film, but Mahesh Bhatt touched that only at the brink. Alia keeps screaming on the helpers of the 'godman' throughout the film, and simply states that they want to take away her money. How dangerous are these godmen, is shown only in one scene later in the film, and by that time, you are too exhausted to go on and on.
While Sanjay Dutt and Alia Bhatt's relationship in the film appears to be little forced, her romance with Aditya Roy Kapur is only remotely believable. The two characters are the only people she takes a road trip with, thus the depth of her relationship with other actors remain a mystery.
While 'Sadak 2' tries hard to make you feel good, it falis nearly 95 percent of the time, despite meagre attempts by Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Jisshu Sengupta and Makarand Deshpande. It would be better to avoid the film if you were once a Mahesh Bhatt fan.
