Release Date: 5th February 2016
Starring: Sunny Deol, Om Puri, Soha Ali Khan, Shivam Patil, Narendra Jha, Manoj Joshi, Tisca Chopra, Sachin Khedekar, Rishabh Arora, Neha Khan, Nadira Babbar, Aanchal Munjal, Abhilash Kumar, Diana Khan
Directed by: Sunny Deol
Produced by: Dharmendra
Music by: Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Vipin Mishra
Written by: Sunny Deol
Cinematography: Ravi Yadav
Duration: 2 hrs and 6 mins (running time)
Genres: Action, Drama
Censor Rating: U/A
About the Movie Ghayal Once Again
One blockbuster – Ghayal, 26 years, and now, a sequel – ‘Ghayal Once Again’ is no less than a dream for the Rambo of Bollywood Sunny Deol. As an actor, director and producer, the star is all confident about the script he heartily worked on to make his dream come true. It was since the release of ‘Ghayal’ in 1990 that Sunny Deol wanted to make not just one, but two sequels for the movie. Well, like some aspirations take time to be fulfilled, we need to find out whether this dream of over two decades has the power and vigour to make an impact as it promises to do.
The Plot:
Produced by Dharmendra, one of the greatest stars of Indian Cinema, ‘Ghayal Once Again’ is said to be the movie of the youth. The story follows from the prequel Ghayal with Ajay Mehra (Sunny Deol) being released from the jail after serving his sentence, still dealing with the traumas of his losses, but earns a good name for himself among the youth and society with his newspaper called Satyakam. Four friends, who are teenagers and fan of Ajay’s fearlessness, accidentally, get involved in a murder case as they unknowingly record an explosive footage that could have busted the most powerful people in the country. Watch the movie to find out if and how Ajay Mehra rescues these college students from the situation.
Performances in the film Ghayal Once Again
Where ‘Ghayal’ bagged too many awards, including the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film), we wonder if ‘Ghayal Once Again’ is anywhere close. The first half takes quite some time to set the plot until the actual murder story builds up. You will have to wait for ferocious Ajay Mehra until the character is seen running just before the intermission. Also, the special effects given to highlight the backflash as he gets hit appears to be outdated.
You don’t find Sunny Deol’s inevitable avatar with him yelling and threatening the antagonists and even missing on those powerful dialogues. Too much of emotions to his character adds on to the mushiness that no one expects from him and this movie. It was not convincing enough to watch him cry helplessly while speaking to a wrongdoer. Om Puri as ACP Joe D’Souza is the second connect from the super-hit Ghayal.
Soha Ali Khan is seen as Rhea, a psychiatrist to Ajay Mehra and does a fair job, considering she had not much to deliver in the movie. Like she advised him to have his pills on time, she advises something even during the climax (Just trying to avoid any spoilers!).
Narendra Jha, as a business tycoon and an antagonist Raj Bansal was just seen instructing his men, his spoilt son, and few others in the film. His on-screen wife Tisca Chopra who actually had a gray character to play seems to be wasted in the movie considering the kind of an actress she is.
Actor Manoj Joshi as a dreaded home minster is seen trembling every time he hears the name of Arjun Mehra. I wonder how would have his character been if Ajay Mehra of ‘Ghayal Once Again’ was as furious as he was in ‘Ghayal’?
The four young cast, Shivam Patil, Aanchal Munjal. Diana Khan and Rishabh Arora were a good choice for their role.
It is difficult to not think about (and miss) these furious dialogues from the prequel –
“Jakh marti hai police, utaar kar phenk do yeh vardi aur pehan lo Balwant Rai ka patta apne gale mein.”
“Jakar dum hilaana unke samne, talwe chaatna, botiyaan phekenge botiyaan!..Balwant Rai ke kutton.”
“Main tera woh hashar karoonga … ke tujhe apne pehda hone par afsoos hoga”
“Aane waale chaubis ghanto mein tumhare chaubis tukde karke … har tukde ka alag alag antim sanskar karoonga.”
But the only intense dialogue you get to hear in ‘Ghayal Once Again’ is the one from the promo – “Agar hum sach ke sath hain toh humein jeetne tak haar nahi manni chahiye”. The others are actually lousy to the extent that they made me laugh during the movie. For instance, here are a few dialogues by the antagonist Bansal and his men – “We are going to kill you with our bare hand”, “Guys Guys kill him Guys”, “Stop your son or else I will kill him”. Impactful? Nah!
Coming on the next key component, the action, which surely comes as a rescue for the stunts were well executed that builds on the excitement (though unrealistic and impractical).
Cyber hacking and Skype calls are two elements that have been overly used to mesh a trap for the four kids and of course, Ajay Mehra, probably to showcase the modern, hi-tech trends. A tighter and smarter script rather than the cliché, not so fitted for a 2016 film kind of elements, could have added the needed spark and made the movie more engaging for the viewers.
The Music of Ghayal Once Again:
The album of Ghayal Once Again comprises only two songs and the music has been composed by the maestros – Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. “Lapak Jhapak” is set as a quirky college song, but the spark and the enthusiasm is somewhat missing. The other song “Khuda Hai Tere Andar” is a motivational yet dramatic number written by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya. Though Arijit Singh has given his soulful voice to the track, and the song is well timed with the story, it is too long that it should have been. Overall, the music of the film is average.
Details of songs in the movie:
“Lapak Jhapak”
Singers: Yashita Sharma, Siddharth Mahadevan and Armaan Mallik
Duration: 04 mins 06 secs
“Khuda Hai Tere Andar”
Singer: Arijit Singh
Duration: 5 mins 12 secs
What’s good: The city of Mumbai has been magnificently captured in the movie. The connection with the prequel was a plus along with the action sequences. The Bansal mansion was lavish and reminds of Ambani’s Antilia.
What’s bad: Weak script, no powerful dialogues, overly emotional side to Sunny’s character which is quite cold on the fervour that is missing throughout the course of the film. And of course there are not any gritty dialogues like “Balwant Rai ke Kutton” and “Main tera woh hashar karoonga”. The spark is missing and for all the fans of Ghayal, ‘Ghayal Once Again’ would be a sad and disheartening experience.
Verdict: The expected dum (power) in the dialogues and Ajay Mehra’s rage are both missing. Watch this one only if you are a die hard fan of Sunny Deol.
Ghayal Once Again Rating: **
Trivia about Ghayal Once Again!
- The movie is the sequel of 1990 super-hit film ‘Ghayal’ and was initially titled as “Ghayal Returns”.
- ‘Ghayal Once Again’ was slated for release on 13th November 2015 which was postponed to 15th January 2016 for not being able to meet its deadlines and the makers had to work on special effects in the movie.
- Even later, it was further rescheduled to the current date because Sunny Deol wanted to ensure that his film gets a wide release in India and therefore, needed time for promotions and distribution. The star joined hands with Reliance Entertainment to distribute the film in India.
- Hollywood stunt coordinator, Dan Bradley was roped in for designing the action sequences for Ghayal Once Again.
- The film is also reportedly inspired from a real-life event shared by a Mumbai police officer.
- The background score of the film has been retained from its prequel Ghayal.
- The movie had impressed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as there were not cuts at all. The censor chief Pahlaj Nihalani got emotional watching the movie.
- As per updates, Ashwini Chaudhary and later Rahul Rawail were directing the movie. Finally, Sunny Deol took the sole charge to make his 26-year-old dream into a reality.
Other Movie Reviews :
Kapoor & Sons Review
Teraa Surroor Review
Jai Gangaajal Movie Review
Aligarh Movie Review
Neerja Movie Review
Sanam Re Movie Review
Fitoor Movie Review
Airlift Movie Review
Saala Khadoos Movie Review
Chalk N Duster Movie Review
Bajirao Mastani Movie Review
Dilwale Movie Review
Hate Story 3 Movie Review
Tamasha Movie Review
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo Movie Review
Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein
Main Aur Charles Movie Review
Jazbaa Movie Review
Shaandaar Movie Review
Pyaar ka Punchnama 2 Movie Review
