FILM REVIEW: AWARAPAN 2

ONE LINER

Nineteen years later, Shivam returns not because his wounds have healed, but because some wounds were never meant to.

Film Review by

SUYASH PACHAURI

FOUNDER -

GLOBAL BOLLYWOOD & DIRECTOR'S DAILY CLAPBOARD

INTRODUCTION

Some films return because there is another story to tell. Others return because the emotions associated with their names have never really disappeared. Awarapan 2 belongs somewhere between the two.

Nineteen years after Awarapan turned Shivam into one of Emraan Hashmi’s most remembered characters, the makers revisit a world built around pain, loneliness, crime, love, faith and redemption.

The biggest challenge here is not merely making a sequel it is carrying forward an emotion that became much bigger with time than it was upon its original release.

Directed by Nitin Kakkar, written by Bilal Siddiqi and Vishesh Bhatt, and produced by Vishesh Bhatt, Awarapan 2 brings Emraan Hashmi back to the emotional territory audiences have associated with him for almost two decades.

The film also features the formidable Shabana Azmi, Disha Patani, Puran Gabbi, Suvinder Vicky, Vijayant Kohli, Atul Kumar, Myrah Shivan and introduces Anirudha Rawal, among others.

SCREENPLAY & SCRIPT SENSE

Bilal Siddiqi and Vishesh Bhatt understand one fundamental thing the audience is not returning merely for another crime drama. They are returning for the emotional universe of Awarapan.

That understanding becomes the screenplay’s biggest advantage.

The writing once again deals with loneliness, guilt, faith, love and redemption while surrounding these emotions with crime and violence.

Shivam remains a man whose greatest conflict is not necessarily with the people standing in front of him but with what continues to live inside him.

The film has also generated discussion around similarities, inspiration and comparisons with other cinema.

Such conversations are inevitable, particularly with a film carrying the Awarapan legacy.

But a film ultimately needs to be judged by how successfully its material is adapted, interpreted and emotionally communicated to its intended audience.

On that level, Awarapan 2 works strongly in several portions, although not with complete consistency.

The first half takes its time building the emotional environment, while the second half becomes darker, faster and more confrontational. Some developments can be anticipated, but the emotional investment in Shivam keeps the narrative alive.

DIRECTION

Nitin Kakkar has perhaps the most difficult responsibility here. He is not simply directing Emraan Hashmi in another film...he is handling a character carrying nineteen years of audience memory.

His smartest decision is to resist converting Shivam into a conventional modern action hero. The silence, loneliness, darkness and emotional burden remain intact.

There are moments where nostalgia becomes slightly too deliberate, as though the film is consciously reminding the audience how much they loved the original, but whenever Kakkar allows Shivam’s emotions to speak naturally, Awarapan 2 finds its strongest voice.

ACTING

Emraan Hashmi

Awarapan 2 belongs to Emraan Hashmi. He does not play Shivam as though the character has simply returned after nineteen years. He plays him like a man who has lived those nineteen years.

There is exhaustion on his face, anger underneath his restraint and an emotional heaviness even when he is silent.

Hashmi has always been particularly effective when pain needs to be communicated without lengthy dialogue, and this film understands that strength extremely well.

For admirers of Awarapan, simply watching him inhabit this emotional space again carries tremendous value.

Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi brings enormous dignity and dramatic authority to the film.

Her presence immediately changes the weight of a scene.

She does not need excessive dialogue or manufactured dramatic moments; expressions, pauses and voice modulation are enough.

Putting an actor of her calibre inside the emotionally complicated universe of Awarapan 2 proves to be one of the casting department’s strongest decisions.

Disha Patani

Disha Patani brings vulnerability and freshness to the narrative. Her character performs an important emotional function in Shivam’s journey, and she handles the sensitive portions effectively.

The screenplay could have explored certain dimensions of her character further, but Disha makes good use of the material available to her.

SUPPORTING CAST

The supporting cast deserves recognition, particularly Puran Gabbi, Suvinder Vicky, Vijayant Kohli, Atul Kumar, Myrah Shivan and Anirudha Rawal.

Rather than allowing the world around Shivam to feel artificially constructed, these performers give the film additional character and texture.

The casting by Prashant Singh and Rahul Tanwar also deserves credit for bringing together performers capable of fitting naturally into the film’s dark and emotionally intense world.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Vishnu Rao’s cinematography beautifully understands the emotional grammar of Awarapan.

Dark interiors, lonely compositions, night sequences and atmospheric locations are not merely visual decoration they repeatedly reflect Shivam’s internal condition.

There are frames where isolation itself becomes part of the storytelling.

The visual treatment maintains scale while refusing to make the movie unnecessarily glossy. That is important because Awarapan works best when its world feels beautiful yet wounded.

MUSIC

Music carries an extraordinary responsibility in an Awarapan film, as the original soundtrack became inseparable from the identity of the movie, making comparisons unavoidable.

Awarapan 2 brings together composers Mithoon, Jeet Gannguli, Amaal Mallik, Akhil Sachdeva and Wasif Ahmad, with lyrics credited to Sayeed Quadri, Rashmi Virag, Sachin Urmtosh and Akhil Sachdeva, giving the film considerable emotional range.

Rather than existing simply as commercial additions, the songs are most effective when they become extensions of Shivam’s loneliness and emotional conflict.

Trying to recreate the musical legacy of the original is almost an impossible assignment, but the sequel understands how essential melody remains to the Awarapan identity.

BGM & SCORE

Raju Singh and Joshua Singh’s background music adds significant emotional weight.

The score becomes particularly effective during moments where Shivam says very little. Instead of constantly overpowering scenes, the better portions of the background score allow emotion and silence to coexist.

SOUND DESIGN

The sound design by Parikshit Lalwani and Kunal Mehhta, combined with Bibin Dev’s re-recording mix, strengthens the film’s atmosphere.

In a movie built around silence, violence, memory and emotional isolation, sound becomes especially important, and the technical team uses that contrast effectively.

ACTION

The action has been designed by Aejaz Gulab, Kawee Sirikhanarrut and Real Sathish.

Thankfully, the action does not completely overpower the emotional identity of the film.

The sequences are forceful and cinematic, but Shivam never suddenly feels transformed into an invincible superhero.

The violence largely emerges from character and circumstance, which suits this world much better.

EDITING

Devendra Murdeshwar’s editing maintains the film’s deliberately melancholic rhythm.

The first half could have been slightly tighter, particularly where certain contemplative scenes extend beyond their dramatic requirement.

The second half is considerably sharper and benefits from greater narrative urgency.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Sunayana Sabherwal’s production design helps construct a believable and visually consistent world, while Shiraz Siddique’s costume design complements the personalities rather than distracting from them.

These are subtle contributions, but they matter enormously in maintaining the film’s visual identity.

TECHNICAL CRAFT

The post-production team also deserves acknowledgement. Azaz Memon and Akash Rane serve as post producers, while Tushar Desai handles DI colour at FWX.

The visual effects work, associated with LNL VFX, is generally integrated without unnecessarily calling attention to itself exactly how visual effects should function in an emotionally grounded drama.

ON THE PLUS SIDE

The biggest strength is unquestionably Emraan Hashmi.

Shabana Azmi adds tremendous dramatic credibility, Disha Patani brings emotional vulnerability, and the supporting ensemble strengthens the world around them.

Nitin Kakkar’s direction, Vishnu Rao’s cinematography, the musical team, Raju Singh and Joshua Singh’s background score, Devendra Murdeshwar’s editing and the film’s sound and action departments collectively preserve the dark emotional identity expected from an Awarapan film.

Most importantly, the makers understand that Shivam cannot simply be brought back he has to feel like Shivam.

ON THE MINUS SIDE

The enormous burden of the original occasionally works against the sequel, with some moments seemingly designed specifically to trigger nostalgia, while certain screenplay developments feel familiar.

The first half also loses momentum in a few places, and some supporting characters could have been explored more deeply.

Most importantly, viewers expecting to experience exactly what they felt nineteen years ago may be placing an impossible responsibility on the sequel.

Cinema can revisit a character and revisit a world, but it cannot recreate who we ourselves were nineteen years ago when we first experienced it.

FINAL DRAFT

Awarapan 2 is less about discovering a new hero and more about reopening an old wound. It does not always equal the emotional purity or unforgettable impact associated with its predecessor, but it understands why Shivam still matters, and Emraan Hashmi makes that understanding count.

For longtime Awarapan admirers, watching Shivam walk back into darkness carries an emotional value beyond ordinary franchise nostalgia. Awarapan 2 may not completely recreate the magic of Awarapan, but Emraan Hashmi ensures that Shivam’s pain still has a heartbeat.

ONE LINER

Nineteen years later, Shivam returns not because his wounds have healed, but because some wounds were never meant to.

Film Review by

SUYASH PACHAURI

FOUNDER -

GLOBAL BOLLYWOOD & DIRECTOR'S DAILY CLAPBOARD