Awarapan 2 Review: Nostalgia and Shivam Pandit keep you engaged till the end despite the below-par drama
Awarapan 2 Movie Rating: 2.5 Stars
Watched Awarapan 2 movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my view on this movie.
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Disha Patani, Puran Gabbi and Shabana Azmi
Director: Nitin Kakkar
Release Date: 14th August 2026 in cinemas
Story: story picks up with Shivam (Emraan Hashmi) still haunted by the death of Aaliyah (Shriya Saran), the woman whose loss changed him forever. Older, lonelier and emotionally damaged, he continues to live with the ghosts of his past.
His life takes another turn when he finds an abandoned girl, whom he names Aaliyah (Myrah Shivan), and ensures that she is placed in a safe environment. When she is adopted by a family that is secretly involved in child trafficking, Shivam realizes that he may be losing Aaliyah all over again.
An Interpol officer Samarth Singh (Atul Kumar) brings Shivam into the larger mission of dismantling the trafficking racket. His search takes him to Bangkok, where he goes after the kingpin while battling his own unresolved grief. For Shivam, this is not just another mission. It is personal, and his determination to protect the child becomes a chance at redemption.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Dialogues
4. Few Moments
5. Music
Negatives
1. Length
2. Climax
3. Story
4. Screenplay
5. Direction
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film plan to watch it on its release date as liked the trailer and also loved previous movie of this franchise. After losing the love of his life in the prequel, Shivam Pandit still battling grief, is pulled back into a brutal criminal world, where dangerous enemies, old demons and his violent past force him to confront his deepest wounds.
There is something oddly comforting about seeing Emraan Hashmi return as Shivam Pandit. Almost two decades after Awarapan (2007), the character returns carrying the same pain, anger, and emotional baggage, but with more scars and a renewed purpose. Nitin Kakkar’s Awarapan 2 clearly knows that its biggest strength is nostalgia. It doesn’t try too hard to reinvent the franchise; instead, it leans into the old-school romance, melodrama, soulful music and massy action that made the original memorable. The plot is fairly predictable and follows familiar action-drama territory, although a few twists add some momentum. What keeps the film moving is its unabashedly massy treatment. It belongs to an older Bollywood school where heroes brood, villains make grand entrances, dialogues are designed to be cheered, and every emotional beat comes with a background score. In an era of increasingly restrained storytelling, there is something almost refreshing about its lack of subtlety. Its plus point is that it is so fast-moving that it does not give any time to the viewers to think. The writing understands what made the original Awarapan special and builds the sequel around familiar emotional territory without completely losing its own identity. The film smartly brings back memories of the first instalment through flashbacks and callbacks. These moments are likely to work especially well with fans of the original without making the sequel completely dependent on its predecessor. Another good part about the film is the screenplay. The makers have kept a child as the centre of Shivam’s journey instead of a new love story, revenge plot or another gangster assignment. Visually, the Bangkok setting gives the film a glossy international texture, while the action is stylish without being overly larger-than-life. Hashmi gets plenty of opportunities to unleash his physical side, and the film clearly understands that its audience has come for the action as much as the emotion. The music, naturally, is another major attraction. The reprised Toh Phir Aao instantly taps into the nostalgia of the first film, while Tera Mera Rishta, composed by Mithoon and sung by Saaj Bhatt and Subodhh Sharma, carries a melodic quality that stays with you after the screening.
Emraan Hashmi is easily the heart and soul of the film. Hashmi understands Shivam’s silences as much as his anger, giving the character a weary intensity that makes even the familiar portions watchable. Dialogues such as “Maut, mera usse ek purana rishta hai, ek karz hai” underline how deeply Shivam remains connected to death and loss. His warning, “Ek-ek karke maroge ya sab saath mein?” brings out the ruthless side of a man who has very little left to fear. Shabana Azmi makes an impression as Nafisa Nawab, the antagonist, particularly in her early confrontation with Shivam, but the film frustratingly underuses her. Suvinder Vicky and Vijayant Kohli play fairly stereotypical gang members, while Puran Gabbi’s Zorawar brings impulsiveness and a few unexpected turns. Anirudh Rawal is promising as Sikandar, Zorawar and Zara’s brother, bringing a different shade to the otherwise conventional gangster world. The supporting cast, however, does not always get enough material. Disha Patani as Zara has her moments, but her chemistry with Hashmi feels somewhat forced, and her character lacks the emotional weight required to match Shivam. Nitin Kakkar’s direction is okay. His narration is fast paced like the drama and that’s a major plus point. Otherwise, there’s nothing novel about his style.
However, the film is far from perfect. The writing can be predictable, several supporting characters deserve more depth, and the romance does not always land. But the film has a certain old-world sincerity that is difficult to dislike. It is dramatic, unapologetically commercial and emotionally loud and it wears all of these qualities proudly. despite the best efforts, the film falls short of the greatness of original film which has become a cult classic. The romantic track between Shivam and Zara doesn’t work as intended. A few twists are predictable, and one can guess from a mile away. The screenplay has several moments that feel too convenient, such as Shivam’s sudden entry into Zorawar’s gang because the film needs to quickly shift to a trafficking investigation. The same problem appears in some of the revelations. The story wants to maintain suspense among the audience, but some developments feel as though they arrive because the screenplay needs the next twist. Additionally, the film sometimes uses exposition to explain what should typically emerge through action and character. There is a bigger criminal network, more characters, more action, Bangkok locations, an international trafficking angle and so on, but bigger does not always mean more emotionally affecting.
Overall, movie may not match the emotional impact of its predecessor, but Emraan’s commanding presence, nostalgic music and massy treatment make it a reasonably entertaining return to Shivam Pandit’s world. For those who have grown up loving Awarapan, this is a sequel that knows exactly which emotional buttons to press. It isn’t perfect, but it has enough heart, action and nostalgia to make the journey worthwhile. My view on this film Time Pass.
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