'Border 2' Trailer Review: Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh-starrer borders on jingoism while promising nationalism with loud war cry

Border has long been a favourite among the masses. When it was released in 1997, the times were rife with nationalistic sentiment. India had seen major wars with its neighbouring nation, Pakistan, and the film managed to strike the right chord. Such was its impact that it became a blockbuster, a go-to film to rouse patriotic feelings across the country and one whose sequel audiences have been waiting for ever since. Those wishes were finally fulfilled when Border 2 was announced.

Timing That Worked in Its Favour

The timing could not have been better, even almost three decades later. Sunny Deol was fresh off the success of Gadar 2, a film that proved nostalgia and recall value are exactly what audiences were looking for. It reaffirmed that viewers were still eager to see Deol in a macho, angry, nationalism-proclaiming avatar.

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Adding to that, tensions between India and Pakistan simmered in 2025 while the film was in the making. As a result, Border 2 quickly became one of the most anticipated releases on the calendar.

A Trailer Heavy on Patriotism

The wait has finally come to an end, well, almost. The trailer of Border 2 was released today and while it attempts to retain the emotional and sentimental core that defined the original, it is hard to ignore how heavily it leans into nationalism, at times bordering on jingoism.

Watch the trailer of Border 2 here:

Loud, But Contextually Justified

Before anyone is too quick to label this view as ‘woke’, it is worth acknowledging the context. To boost the morale of soldiers, strength has to come through in voice and action. These are moments of life and death, of defending the nation against an enemy.

Yes, Sunny Deol appears to be screaming at the top of his voice in almost every scene to motivate his men, but this is a space he has always owned. It is an element he excels at, and within the framework of the film, it feels justified.

Where Subtlety Takes a Back Seat

That said, it is difficult to overlook how the narrative occasionally goes into overdrive. Rousing background music, heightened emotional beats and dialogues that verge on being overly dramatic dominate the trailer. Lines such as “Tumhare mulk mein itne log nahi hai jitna hum Eid mein bakra kat te hai” are balanced by equally sharp anti-India dialogue, but subtlety is clearly not what the makers are aiming for here.

Performances: Hits and Misses

Sunny Deol is firmly back on familiar turf, and the film largely rests on his shoulders. Joining him are Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty.

Dhawan switches accents in the trailer faster than his cheek curves when he smiles. A little more consistency would have helped him come across as less jarring and more sincere.

Diljit, on the other hand, looks effortless and promising.

Ahan Shetty, who we have seen very little of so far, appears serviceable. Nothing particularly striking, but not off-putting either.

Limited Space for the Women

The female characters, played by Mona Singh, Sonam Bajwa and Anyaa Singh, appear only briefly in the trailer, offering fleeting glimpses rather than fully formed impressions.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the trailer feels tailor-made for a Republic Day release. It delivers scale, emotion and unapologetic patriotism in equal measure. Still, it raises a larger question. Is it not time for audiences to take off the nationalistic lenses that celebrate even the most overt, in-your-face patriotism, and begin hoping for nuance over shouty, overdriven storytelling?

Border 2 is presented by Gulshan Kumar & T-Series, in association with J.P. Dutta’s J.P. Films. Backed by a powerful production team including Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, J.P. Dutta, and Nidhi Dutta, and directed by Anurag Singh. The film releases on January 23, 2026.