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Hungama 2 Review: Offers Nothing Original!

Let’s first accept the truth that Hungama 2 is a very late sequel that no one asked for. Director Priyadarshan’s Hindi filmography, dominated by remakes, a good amount of them are photocopies of his Malayali films, and the other half were taken/inspired by somebody else’s work. With Hungama 2, he managed to remake another South Indian film from the 90s, Minnaram, a not-so-great comedy but a decent emotional drama with loopholes overlooked back in the 90s.

Hungama 2 was supposed to cover those drawbacks of Minnaram, but instead, it exposes them all. Priyadarshan is a unique brand of director in Bollywood alongside David Dhawan, who tries to remake his classic films in an attempt to spoil the novelty of the original. Dhawan spoiled his good comedies from the 90s with awful remakes starring his son, Coolie No. 1 being the latest, and Priyadarshan is doing just the same for the past 13-14 years.

I can’t recall the last time Priyadarshan directed a solid comedy film since Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), which was nothing but just a copy-paste version of Manichitrathazhu (1993). He had lost his touch almost a decade ago, and now he is displaying to us how bad he can get with his own conviction.

Hungama 2 is, for lack of a better word, copied from Minnaram with just a minor change in the story, and that’s the happy ending in the climax. Like I mentioned before, the original film had several problems, especially for a movie in the 90s. However, in 2021, you can’t duplicate the mistakes and also structure the film in the same way.

For instance, (no spoilers) the DNA report scene that was left incomplete in Minnaram or that voice recording tape scene, everyone single one of it makes no sense in today’s world, especially in the digital age, why would anyone use a tape recorder instead of a mobile phone. Did screenwriter Yunus Sajawal not care that much or put some effort into these scenes.

Comedy-wise, Hungama 2 offers nothing original, new or funny, and if you manage to find even a few decent comedic scenes within the 156-minute film, then you can call yourself lucky. The music by the veteran Anu Malik adds no spice or excitement to the already bland film, and thankfully OTT has an option to fast forward, and you can press the button any time you want.

Moving on to the performances, if you thought Meezaan Jafri is someone who can step in the shoes of Superstar Mohanlal and Pranitha Subhash in her Bollywood debut could match Shobana, then yes, this film may have something for you. Rajpal Yadav did deliver with his comedy, and others including Paresh Rawal, Shilpa Shetty, Tiku Talsania, Manoj Joshi, failed to make a mark.

Priyadarshan seriously needs to think about it now as he did not deliver a decent film since 2007. Overall, Hungama 2 is yet another soap opera in his filmography, another failure, and yet another unnecessary sequel in Bollywood. Watch ‘Hungama 2’ on Disney+ Hotstar here.