Genre: Action Thriller Film
Duration: 103 minutes
Rape is a sensitive subject. And Mardaani 2 is released against the backdrop of the “rape culture” that concerns women in India today.
Rani Mukherjee is back on the screen as Inspector Shivani Shivaji Roy attempting to take down yet another villain, Sunny, who is raping and murdering women. Like the previous film, this has a dark premise as well. But Shivani is a fearless independent woman, striving and hunting down the accused until justice is served. In contrast to Mardaani, where she was all about family life, this time Shivani is focused on her work and tries to delve into the mindset of a young man who is raping and murdering girls.
Vishal Jethwa plays the character of Sunny, the rapist. Smart and strategic, Sunny's face is revealed in the media, and yet, is able to get around without being seen and captured. He manages to confuse the police and create a hostile environment as he outsmarts some of the best cops around.
Although Mukherjee’s acting is somewhat powerful the plot has many flaws. There are times where she is seen slowly strutting which makes it look like the director is pushing for her to seem more powerful and in some scenes, she manages to solve situations quicker then it appears realistically possible therefore casting doubt over the film. Especially in the climax sequence when she concludes where Sunny is actually hiding quicker than it is plausible.
We do get to see some star-spangled action sequences carried out by Mukherjee including an underwater fight, which Mukherjee has been heard saying was the hardest of her life as she did not know how to swim and had to learn just to pull this off.
The villain is played impeccably by Jethwa who has so much power that the music sets the tone of what is to come before we even see the villain himself. He also talks directly to the audience which is very different and this could be to scare the audiences a lot more. Portrayed immoral to the core of his bone, Sunny is seen biting chunks out of his victim’s flesh and beating them to a pulp.
I feel the Mardaani 2 team have dealt with this issue in a very gentle, cautious and yet hard-hitting way by making sure that the consequences of the actions of this young man are paid for.
