JANNAT 2: WO OH HO WOAH!

“Woh  oh ho wo” ,the hummable signature song and tune of Jannat 2 is not the only woah factor about the movie. Bhatt movies usually sell on shock value which come from Emraan’s kisses and skimpily dressed new faces. In Jannat 2,they try to shock you with expletives. But here’s the unintentional shocker. The story has an alternate hero, not in Emraan Hashmi as the promos would have us believe but in the deadly Randeep Hooda.

Opening promisingly to the soundtrack of ‘Woh..oh..wo..o..” and Sonu Dilli KCC -Kutti kamini cheez(Emraan Hashmi ), a smart ass, mouthing lines like “abhi to goli di hai,baad mein goli doonga”, the movie comes to the point quickly. With its first well choreographed (Raju Khan)song, within ten minutes, “ Tera deedar hua..” we see Hashmi  is not quite the dog as he is made out to be. He is a small time gun supplier who falls in ‘Bhattesque’(romantic songs) blind love with Jhanvi(Esha Gupta) and dreams of making a ‘Jannat’ like life with her. His dreams are foiled by a half dead cop, ACP Pratap Raghuvanshi  (Randeep Hooda, hotter than the heroine)  who claims “jeene aur jaagne ki koshish karta hoon” as a reason for living with the bottle. The cop, seeking personal revenge for his wife’s death, wants to turn  Sonu, the dog into a police rat who will squeal on an arms dealer(Manish Choudhary).

By now, we know that Jannat 2 is not a sequel of Jannat. Secondly it makes you miss the prequel. It is an individual story which could have worked as well in any backdrop and with any title. Though clichéd, this one stands out not just with its popular songs and Emraan Hashmi’s familiar and growing charm but with a carefully developed but predictable plot . A cop plants a rat in the midst of an arms racket  and an engrossing and expletive loaded  cat and mouse embroiler game follows.

The director, Kunal Deshmukh shows more skill here in focusing on the central drama that involves a victim getting trapped into a deadly racket. However the story and screenplay (Shagufta Rafique) while engaging enough till a fascinating intermission point , doesn’t get a decent grip on the romance much integral to the plot and the eventual end. Also, the story ends up being Hooda’s story more than Hashmi’s. Dialogues (Sanjay Masooma)  as suggested by Hashmi’s name, are full of four letter words but at the same time do a decent job of weaving in emotion. The best part of the screenplay lies in the characterization of both Hashmi and Hooda. Again the characters are clichéd but succeed in involving you with their personal dilemmas. It would have been more interesting to see Hashmi’s character being as ‘KCC’ as he is supposed to be. The bonding  and fireworks  between him and Hooda surpasses the chemistry between Hashmi and Esha Gupta and provides more reason for drawing you in.

Although Jannat 2 is well shot (Bobby Singh)  and well directed, the movie fails to make the desired impact for two reasons. The premise is the same one repeated in every Bhatt movie - that of a gangster seeking escape from crime to a normal life. Secondly, the love story needs to be as intense as the crime drama. Here the romance is only expressed through songs and Esha’s presence does nothing to make us believe as passionately in Emraan’s love except his own sincerity.

The soundtrack and the music(Pritam) which has always been a Bhatt card, continues to rule here. The magical combination of Hashmi, Bhatt and Pritam brings out all the entertainment of a Bollywood movie. The title song “who ho oh..” written by Sayeed Qadri charms as much as his  “tu hi mera deen hai..imaan hai..Rab ka shukraana..” brings out the required intensity. “Sang hoon tere” is lovely on the ears and “Tu hi mera..”   as a looped line refuses to leave you.

Emraan Hashmi, gets better and better with every movie and comes across as an adorable, sincere pup instead of the dog his name makes him out to be. However, both his character and performance is out shadowed by Randeep Hooda who plays the intense, hardened cop tormented by his wife’s memories, brilliantly. Esha Gupta passes off with stiff smiles and Manish Chaudhary makes you miss a fearful villain on screen.

Those expecting Hashmi’s sizzling scenes, will be disappointed and those expecting simple entertainment, will be happy to watch the movie.

Jannat 2  one may not be a ticket to paradise but is far from the road to hell.