 "‘Border 2’ Movie Review: Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh & Ahaan Shetty’s film thrives on pure nostalgia")
Director: Anurag Singh
Language: Hindi
Cast: Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, Ahan Shetty, Mona Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Anya Singh and Medha Rana
This year’s highly anticipated sequel to the 1997 blockbuster Border, Border 2, has not evolved much and doesn’t really strike a chord with our truly evolved and refined audiences. Border may have been a blockbuster then, but now with the kind of exposure the viewers have to war films, it doesn’t really give us goosebumps. If one has watched The Bridge on the River Kwai or Black Hawk Dawn, then they can understand how powerful and thought-provoking war films can be. They are not just action-packed tales of heroism, but these films show how complex situations can get.
Border 2 is just an extension of the J.P. Dutta-directed blockbuster, and it was indeed one of the biggest hits of the 1990s, but filmmakers and craftsmen need to understand that our audiences were different in 1997; now they have much more exposure with the OTT boom in the country. Patriotism is one thing, and chest-thumping patriotism is another thing. The film has nothing new to say. It has just underestimated the audience’s intellect. There are major complexities of historical war-films, but Border 2 just fails to show that.
Though Sunny Deol still continues to impress with his fitness even at this age, I just wish that the film was a little less noisy and a little more subtle when it came to dialogue baazi. The film could have been a heartwrenching homage to the Indian Armed Forces and a tribute to their sacrifice, especially those who didn’t make it home. But somehow, I feel there was a gap in the intent of the film and its execution. Courage can be silent, but some filmmakers fail to understand that. Despite having J.P. Dutta on board as a producer, Border 2 was unable to strike a chord or evoke a memory.
Not running down the efforts of the filmmaker and the actors, when the backstories were shown of each of the central characters, somehow I felt emotional and could relate to a lot of it. You do feel sad for the families, especially the children who miss their fathers while they are at war. The heart does bleed to see the sacrifices made by the families. In fact, rather than the defective war scenes, that should have been the focus of the film.
Games
View AllCinematic liberty is one thing, but one should understand that too much cinematic liberty can also be called poor research. And that’s exactly what happened to an extremely long, overstretched film like Border 2 . Have you ever seen the naval officers on war patrol fighting in their blue uniforms or rather going for sailing in their blue fitted shirts and navy-blue trousers? Well, this film will show you how the naval officers are fighting and even swimming in this particular uniform.
This isn’t the case; actually, they fight in their dungarees or overalls. That poor was the research of the film. But the one thing that I liked about Border 2 is that unlike other war films, it doesn’t just show the Army and the Air Force, but the Indian Navy too, which is indeed a very silent, yet powerful force in a war. Another thing, with limited screen time, Mona Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Anya Singh and Medha Rana played their roles well.
Just when you think the film is picking up, there comes a song and massacres the whole thing all over again. Border 2 could have emphasised the inner battles that each of the soldiers fights, but I guess it relied entirely on its previous glory. Out of due respect to each of the soldiers who fought for our country, I sat through the entire film. If you want to watch good war films, I suggest you watch Ikkis , but definitely not Border 2.
Unnecessary jingoism cannot make a film succeed. And most importantly, if the film doesn’t handle it’s own serious theme of the 1971 war with solid research, how can we take it seriously? I guess it is a mass-targeted film and doesn’t challenge viewers to think critically. Towards the end, it does get exhausting. You don’t act like a soldier, rather your performance needs to be so authentic and honest that you become believable enough to honour the armed forces!
Rating: 2 out of 5
WATCH the trailer of ‘Border 2’ here:
Lachmi Deb Roy is the Entertainment Editor of Firstpost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. She is a 'Rotten Tomatoes' certified critic. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes a huge interest in world cinema. She has been the winner of the prestigious Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until it's a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.