Review : Dream Girl 2 : Cross-gender comedy entertains without offending anybody!
In 2019, #RajShandilya came up with #DreamGirl starring #AyushmannKhurrana, which was hailed by the audiences for its different concept. Ayushmann has been part of meaningful cinema and is considered #PosterBoy of the content driven films. In #DreamGirl2 he is being presented as a Poster Girl. Gender bending subjects were part of a lot of films and drags in Hindi cinema is not new but all these years they were used as a comic relief in the movie. But in Dream Girl 2, which is a sequel of Dream Girl, drag is a central character in the movie around which the movie revolves. India is overly populated country and with the kind of society we live in sex is considered taboo. There are innumerable sex deprived males or males who are not content with what they have and want ‘variety’ in life. This section of the people fall prey to the sextortion of honey trap. But this film touches these areas in a lighter mode and tries to throw a message in the end.
The main characters from the Dream Girl continue in the sequel. Mathura guy, Karam (Ayushmann Khurrana) who impersonates an imaginary girl, Pooja, and talks to ‘clients’ is a girl’s voice and fleece them to help his debt ridden father (Annu Kapoor). This time he goes a step further by actually impersonating Pooja in flesh and blood to gather money because his lady love Pari’s (Ananya Pandey) father (Manoj Joshi) has given him a task to amass huge amount in about six months if he wants to marry his daughter. He starts working in a dance bar as Pooja to ‘earn’ quick money and later comes in contact with a depressed but rich Shahrukh (Abhishek Banerjee) through his friend Smiley (Manjot Singh). Shahrukh’s father (Paresh Rawal) likes this psychiatrist Pooja and compels them to marry. The bar owner (Vijay Raaz) keeps searching Pooja as he wants her as his children’s new Mummy. In actuality his estranged wife (Seema Pahwa) falls for Karam which adds to the confusion because Pari breaks up with him. What happens next and in between forms the crux of the story.
Though the story is predictable the screenplay keeps you engrossed in the first half. Too many things keep happening in the second half but the director has failed to use it to have an impactful crescendo. The one liners are hilarious at places but they are too many and many may go unnoticed if you are not attentive. Production values are high and music is good. Ayushmann Khurrana once again gives an outstanding performance. He looks the part and shows feminine dance moves with grace which is difficult and laudable. He is convincing in both the parts and proves his versatility once again. Ananya Pandey uses Mathura lingo effectively and looks much better as a small town girl. Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Manjot Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Seems Pahwa add an extra entertainment value to the narrative. But overall the film is one time watch for sure.
Dream Girl 2 is a cross-gender comedy which entertains without offending anybody.
Rating : ***1/2