Film: Baaghi 2

Director: Ahmed Khan

Cast: Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani, Manoj Bajpayee, Randeep Hooda and Prateik Babbar.

Rating: **1/2

Just like its previous installment, Baaghi 2 is brimming with high-octane action and shots of Tiger’s ripped body. The trailer ruins most of the excitement in the film and we can make out easily what is going to happen and who is the culprit. The film lacks the elements of an intriguing whodunit thriller but is packed with spices of an entertaining action film.

The story kicks off with the abduction of the daughter of Neha (Disha Patani). She obviously calls the hero to find her daughter after she has lost all hope in the police and the people around (such a cliché). The hero, Ranveer Pratap Singh (Tiger Shroff), reminds us of Vidyut Jammwal’s character from ‘Commando’ because he is shown as the one-man army and decides to take on everyone himself.

The story runs with a good and intriguing pace until useless flashback songs ruin it; every song in the film appears unnecessary in the course of the film, barring the last one. Ek Do Teen was irritating to watch, though it might be interesting for some to see Jacqueline in a film with minimum female characters – I can remember Disha as the only female character in the film, besides her friend who was there for 15 seconds in all and, obviously, Neha’s daughter.

The actors did a fair job barring a few. Shaurya Bharadwaj tries too hard to act as a senior Army officer but he looks so over-the-top that it makes his three scenes look like that they were enough for him. Disha Patani is another pretty-face-learning-acting kind of heroine. She must learn that fear isn’t something that is expressed just by opening your eyes wide. She fails to make the audience feel her pain. Randeep Hooda is stellar as ACP LSD – an honest cop who looks like a drug-peddler all the time. Manoj Bajpayee should have been in more scenes, he is a wasted talent in the film. Pratiek Babbar is spot-on as the drug-addict and instills fear in every frame he is in. Deepak Dobriyal’s is another good act in his outstanding filmography.

Tiger Shroff has improved on his expressions, something which he barely delivered in his previous outings. It is good to see him show some different moves in action and dancing other than swirling his legs in the air. He acts best in the rage-unleashed scenes but he still needs to work on the romantic parts. He lacks lustre in emotional scenes.

The film has big loopholes like how Randeep reaches the climax scene spot or how he comes to know who the culprit is. Shaurya magically knows where Tiger is and he is right even though he scolded him after his first fight with Goa Police. Ahmed Khan was to make a complete masala entertainer but he should have left the songs aside and worked more on logical continuations (although an action film lacks logic big time no matter Hollywood or Bollywood). Kudos to the action directors for their work as the action is entertaining but a little over-the-top at times.

Baaghi 2 is a good time-pass film with patriotic touch which will surely invite cheers when the audience watches the film. It could’ve been a good thriller if the trailers didn’t spoil it much. Even though the reason for which the girl is kidnapped is revealed in the last, the shock value is gone. It is watchable if you’re a fan of action sequences but fails to be a thriller.

(The reviewer is an independent writer)