The world is still learning to be a better place for the LGBTQ+ community. While governments and countries shift and change their laws around this subject, Dream Girl 2 touches on this topic like morning dew on the leaf of an early dawn. It brings us to Karam’s whole world within this small dew drop in Mathura. This world consists of Karam Singh (played by Ayushmann Khurrana), his ever-charismatic father Jagjeet Singh (played by Annu Kapoor), and his Lawyer girlfriend Pari (played by Ananya Panday) who is deeply involved with him and surprises him with a visit from her father to discuss marriage. Somehow, when Pari’s father (played by Manoj Joshi) turns up, karma takes a very different turn for Karam and his father.
When all hell breaks loose and Karam and his father are pulled out of their house by the Bank authorities to pay off a big mortgage they took on the house, Pari’s father can’t bear to hear anymore and thunders his terms and conditions that when a certain amount is cleared only then they can consider any concept of marriage. The film takes vicious twists and turns to reveal each character’s colours making the film move forward very quickly. While each frame has an aspect of loud humour and catchy lines to tickle your funny bone, the film does quite well to keep the audience engaged.
Some would call the screenplay very taut, but there is a point at which, as a viewer, you want to stop and watch the film. Even mentally. The rule of continuity loses control at some point, almost seeming confusing at some point when the basic rule of the structure of the screenplay is disrupted. The concept of conflict, which one would expect later in the film around Act 2, hits early right at the start of the film plunging characters into their own stories and creating too many tangents for the characters thereby tiring the audience’s mental capacity. This puts a strain on the audience to follow many stories without their grounding in place in the story and does not allow us to enjoy each character’s journey or screen presence.
Producers Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor bring together a film that touches on the topic of crossdressing along with many other concepts that society is still trying to understand and accept inherently as part of human nature and identity. Using the viewer’s previous knowledge and acquaintance of the characters from the film made prior proves counterintuitive and the film runs out of fuel towards the end.
Director Raaj Shaandilyaa’s vision had Ayushmann Khurana’s Butch and drag presence bring about some kind of brightness on the screen but it could have been done without the garish fluttering of eyes when we know that drag queens have the most powerful presence on most stages. Stuffing the chest with oranges would playfully remind you of the reference to mangoes in Bend It Like Beckham. Ananya Panday’s performance as Pari was just right compared to the heavy presence of Khurana’s Karam, the Butch man doing the balancing act trying to help his best friend Smiley (played by Manjot Singh) get married to a girl named Sakeena and get his own girl, Pari, despite Pari’s father greedy concerns surrounding money.
This occurs while our protagonist Karam is crossdressing to keep away a many-times Divorced Aunt of Sakeena’s (played by Seema Pahwa) and a Pub-owner named Sona Bhai (played by Vijay Raaz) newfound youthful lust turning into long-term companionship while being married to Shahrukh (played by Abhishek Banerjee), Sakeena’s older brother, who withholds a secret. Rajpal Yadav proved himself another interesting lightbulb while his character discovers his own lustful and alcoholic ways that bring one-liners worth tickling your funny bones. Paresh Rawal’s luminescent screen presence as Sakeena’s liberal and gentle Muslim father is considered pleasant to view, performing his part as well as Yadav.
With the gap in production between the last film and this one, the concept surrounds queerbaiting just a little bit and lacks a certain luster while keeping you giggling throughout. For the most part, most of the cast has been maintained. Our recommendation is you go enjoy the chuckles as a fun weekend watch. It is not classified as a hard disappointment. It is politely recommended to leave biased ideas behind and view the film with a clean slate for you to feel tickled. Besides, don’t you leave all your troubles behind for Ayushmann Khurana? *winks*
Dream Girl 2 is currently running in any theatre near you.
