Aniruddha Guha review: 'Dabangg 2: Wannabe-'Dabangg

Film: Dabangg 2
Director: Arbaaz Khan
Cast: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Prakash Raj
Rating: **

Spot the difference:

1. Dabangg: Opening sequence: Warehouse action scene.
Dabangg 2: Opening sequence: Warehouse action scene.

2. Dabangg: Chulbul Pandey introduces himself (Hud hud dabangg).
Dabangg 2: Chulbul Pandey introduces himself (Hud hud dabangg).
   
3. Dabangg: Intro song, one dance number, two romantic songs, one item number.
 Dabangg 2: Intro song, one dance number, two romantic songs, one item number.
   
4. Dabangg: Villain takes on Chulbul. Chulbul insults villain. Villain angry.
Dabangg 2: Villain takes on Chulbul. Chulbul insults villain. Villain angry.
   
5. Dabangg: Villain takes revenge by killing Chulbul’s family member.
Dabangg 2: Villain takes revenge by killing Chulbul’s family member.
   
6. Dabangg: Chulbul angry. Goes shirtless. Punches shirtless villain in ultra slo-mo shots.
Dabangg 2: Chulbul angry. Goes shirtless. Punches shirtless villain in ultra slo-mo shots.
   
7. Dabangg: Abhinav Kashyap, director.
Dabangg 2: Arbaaz Khan, director.
   
8. Dabangg: XX Bhai porn.
Dabangg 2: XXX Bhai porn.
   
9. Dabangg: Worked due to its unabashed admiration for the ’70s masala fillum and ability to recreate the formula in a contemporary set-up, maa ka badla and bhai ka pyaar et al.
 

Dabangg 2: Rehashes Dabangg itself, finding comfort in the formula rather than using it as a tool to entertain. Follows Singham and Khiladi 786, which tried hard to recreate Dabangg magic without being as successful. In other words, it’s wannabe-Dabangg.
 
10. Dabangg: 145cr.
Dabangg 2: ___