Ek Villain Returns Review: Psychic and Erotic Mess!

In his 2022 action-thriller, Ek Villain Returns, Director Mohit Suri managed to bring together an “exciting” and self-centered cast of John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani, and Tara Sutaria as the primary leads. So, let me ask you this — Did any single main cast member excite you for an acting-driven movie? Well, we all know the answer. So, let’s discuss it later in the review. Ek Villain Returns (2022) is a story of love, betrayal, and revenge, all mixed into a boring musical potboiler.

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Bhairav, a taxi driver (John Abraham), who falls in love with Rasika (Disha Patani), is a serial killer-cum-messiah for incels. And on the other hand, Gautam (Arjun Kapoor), a spoilt brat and the heir of a wealthy business tycoon, falls in love with a very talented singer, Aarvi (Tara Sutaria). So, hereafter, with opposing views on love, the two primary male characters come across each other to decide the villain and the hero in their petty narrative, and who ultimately becomes the winner forms the remainder of the plot.

In a press scrum very recently, Producer Ekta Kapoor expressed to the media that Rohit Shetty called Ek Villain Returns a blockbuster script but went on to pass the movie to Mohit Suri. Two things, I totally understand why Shetty let go of this script, but I cannot comprehend how he called it a blockbuster one. Mohit Suri returned as a co-writer after Raaz 2 (2009) and Crook (2010) alongside Aseem Arora, who had his fair shares of ups and down in the recent past. Therefore, the end result, this movie as a whole, is a mixed bag.

Primarily, the suspense between Abraham and Patani’s characters is very much visible at the interval point because you see them behaving weirdly without proper concrete reasons. On the other hand, Kapoor and Sutaria’s characters were already sidelined by that point. And there is nothing more to add from a screenwriting point. It is bland and very predictable.

On to the “performances.” First off, John Abraham’s choice of films are to no one’s surprise getting worse with each passing day. The same star who starred in decent films like Parmanu and Madras Cafe had now managed to deliver a five-movie-flop-streak beginning from Pagalpanti. He always believed and conveyed that “good movies work, and the bad ones don’t.” Well, let us hope that he is at least honest with himself after this disaster.

Arjun Kapoor, somehow, to everyone’s surprise, managed to do well in a few scenes. Disha Patani spills glamour with grey shades, and that’s the best she could do with her character. When it comes to Tara Sutaria, her film selection is even worse when compared to Abraham. From SOTY 2 to Marjaavaan, Tadap, and Heropanti 2, she did not taste worthy success since her debut, and I hope she finds some peace with her next content-driven film, Apurva.

The 2014 Ek Villain movie was widely known for its chartbuster music, just like Mohit Suri’s other ventures. So, understandably, Ek Villain Returns had the pressure to deliver as far as music is concerned, and composers Ankit Tiwari, Tanishk Bagchi, and Kaushik-Guddu managed to churn out decent musical numbers. However, the video presentation spoiled the entire vibe.

In his last outing, Malang, Mohit Suri introduced us to clichés in his own dark and erotic way and failed to make a decent cine-going experience. Now, comparatively, his 2020 pre-pandemic Aditya Roy Kapur and Disha Patani starrer looks like a far better product than Ek Villain Returns. The pandemic made viewers more mature, and more choosy when it comes to picking films to watch. And this will surely affect the box-office results of this movie.

Suri’s final draft was weak, and his direction looked helpless. At least, in terms of a narrative, Ek Villain deserved a better successor. I do not like remakes, but if Suri fails from time to time directing original films, then he is better off adapting and remaking South Korean content. As a whole, Ek Villain Returns is a disappointment from acting to writing and direction.

‘Ek Villain Returns’ Rating – 2/5

Review by @samthebestest_
Edited by Surya Komal