The sheer awfulness of Andaaz 2 really doesn't deserve anyone's time or attention, warns Mayur Sanap.
True to the spirit of cinema, Andaaz 2 is a film that lingers. But not in a way you would expect it to.
As I left the movie theatre with a handful of other viewers, we shared a muffled smile while walking along to the exit.
The shared trauma of watching a truly terrible film was communicated in that brief moment.
It's hard to determine exactly where I gave up on Andaaz 2, but I am sure it was during the opening credits where the lead actor (Aayush Kumar), who plays a musician, does a poor lip sync and appears on the scene looking as if he has never touched a musical instrument in his life.
The silly lyrics don't help either; it is something ('Love is its own medicine') that even high-schoolers would find laughable.
Andaaz 2 has no connection to the 2003 Andaaz, which starred Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta, except for its basic story template of two girls and a boy, navigating a love triangle.
Suneel Darshan, who produced the original, has written and directed this one with a (misjudged) Gen Z-themed treatment and vibe to attract the current generation.
Does it paint a melodious heartache like Saiyaara? No.
Is it a contemporary take on love and relationships like Metro...In Dino? Nope.
This is just a tacky sequel to the mostly awful original, but without the vigor, freshness, and of course, the casting coup of Miss Universe and Miss World in their first outing together.
Debutant Aayush plays a struggling musician named Aarav whose room has posters of Kishore Kumar, Michael Jackson and The Beatles.
He has a band with a group of friends that performs in parties and gatherings.
Aarav dreams of becoming a world renowned music personality, but his musical aspirations are looked down upon by his stern father (Sanjay Mehndiratta).
A hotshot music label owner Priyanka (Natasha Fernandez) is attracted to Aarav and offers to sign him under her brand.
Aarav meets Alisha (Aakaisha) and their googly eyes at one another soon turns into mohabbat wala pyaar.
Alisha and Priyanka turn out to be sisters who start vying for Aarav.
The film then takes a turn into hare-brained melodrama from which it never recovers.
As contemporary update on Andaaz, Darshan offers no novelty to make the story any interesting, forget relatable.
The script is logic-free, characters are inane and acting is uniformly monotonous from everyone involved. Even the dialogues feel like they were written by an adolescent for a high-school drama ('Give me a chance, your life will be musical').
Dolly Bindra is the only known face in the film who saunters in and out of the screen as a lustful neighbour who has the hots for Aarav. The character is cringe-worthy and creepy, but is presented as comedy where we're supposed to chuckle.
The film fails even on music department, which was the strongest suit of the original.
Nadeem Saifi (who is credited as 'Of Nadeem-Sharvan fame') and his army of singers Neeraj Shridhar, Javed Ali, Palak Muchhal, Amit Mishra fail to render even a half decent song.
The sheer awfulness of Andaaz 2 really doesn't deserve anyone's time or attention.
Andaaz 2 Review Rediff Rating:
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