Ajay Mehra is back because Sunny Deol wants to be relevant in the current scheme of things. Long long time ago in the Bombay of 1990, he made mincemeat of Balwant Rai and his dogs, now part of Bollywood’s haloed folklore. Now all strings are being pulled to make Ghayal Once Again part of the milieu of Mumbai of 2016.
Sunny Deol, as director, writer and actor, has a lot on his plate as he tries to negotiate through the changing times and varied tastes while keeping his loyal fan-base happy. Ajay Mehra, true to his style, is an angry man. Never one to pull his punches, he gives his full-blooded commitment to fighting for truth and justice.
Post Interval, Too Much Drama
Luckily, for him, corrupt politicians and shrewd businessmen never go out of fashion. So, Raj Bansal (Narendra Jha) becomes the new age Balwant Rai while computer hackers, stolen hard disks and social media activism stand testimony to a story more suited for today’s times. The buildup to the dhai kilo ka haath is great, but what we get, sadly, is a meek purr here and a meow there.
Not that Sunny Deol hasn’t tried enough, but somehow the vision of a visibly older Sunny – coming out unscathed after close encounters with a train, a helicopter and ricocheting bullets – is just a bit too much to take in.
Things begin to perk up right before the interval with the chase sequence in a mall involving four young kids, who have incrementing evidence against the ruthless businessman. But post interval, there is just too much drama in this tale of revenge and the steam fizzles out.
Dhai Kilo Punch Needed Much Ahead
The dhai kilo punch comes right at the end – too little too late, some would argue. With support from able actors like Om Puri, Nadira Babbar, Manoj Joshi, Tisca Chopra and Narendra Jha, Ghayal Once Again still falls miserably short of the “Sunny Deol” benchmark.
The dearth of
some resounding dialogues and a well-knit plot tellingly ruins the overall
impact. I’ll go with a very generous 2 QUINTS OUT OF 5. Go only if you want to
be part of Deol’s cheering brigade!
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