by Shaheen Raaj
Producer: Raju Chada & Gopal Dalvi
Director: Aejaz Gulab
Cast: Nana Patekar, Gul Panag, Tejas Jagirdar, Ashutosh Rana, Vikram Gokhale, Mohan Agashe, Govind Namdev, Dilip Prabhawalkar, Raj Zutshi et al
Music: Sandeep Chowta & Amal Mallik
Debutante director Aejaz Gulab in his debut directorial offering ‘Ab Tak Chhapan 2’ tries his utmost best to live up to the legacy of the prequel ‘Ab Tak Chhapan’ directed by Shimit Amin, but he seems to be bowed down under a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations of everyone concerned especially its lead character Sadhu Agashe (Read Nana Patekar).
The film is a sequel to ‘Ab Tak Chhappan’ and the story revolves around Inspector Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) from the Mumbai Encounter Squad. It is inspired by the life of Police sub-Inspector with the Mumbai Police force Daya Nayak. The film carries forward from the prequel where Saadhu Agashe’s wife is shot dead. The scenario opens with Saadhu Aagashe back and taking the encounter count beyond Chappan with ‘Ab Tak Chappan 2’. The sequel of the much applauded film has the Home Minister Janardhan Jagirdar (Vikram Gokhale) along with Chief Minister Anna Saheb (Dilip Prabhawalkar) pledging to eradicate the menace caused by underworld don Rawale (Raj Zutshi) who is operating from Bangkok and don Rauf Lala who is operating from Mumbai. Knowing that the ‘Gandhian’ approach won’t tackle the problem, the Encounter Squad is back to bring justice. A reluctant Saadhu Agashe, due to his son’s (Tejas Jagirdar) insistence, agrees to join the force and do what he does best, remove the pests of the society for good, no pun intended. But will an encounter squad with a clean slate manage to eradicate the menace? At what price would peace be got? Will peace ever come? These are some of the queries that only the filmmakers and above all only Nana can answer.
Debutante director Aejaz Gulab indeed had a gripping story to go ahead but sadly enough with his stuntman oriented background and not to forget his amateurish directorial skills, he fails to deliver the goods. The way he has handled the plot is absolutely confusing. No doubt there is a dirty politician in the midst of this huge mess, but what the actual conspiracy he was involved in remains a mystery even when the end credit title rolls. Either it was a case of the plot being so complex that it was impossible to unravel, or, more likely, it didn’t exist at all.
Performance wise Nana Patekar of course stands apart with his par excellence and unmatched acting skills. Yet it is high time he drops his sometimes stoic and sub-standard expressions especially in close ups. The other veteran actors like Dilip Prabhawalkar, Mohan Agashe, Vikram Gokhale, Raj Zutshi, Govind Namdeo et al lend Nana an able & adequate support to carry on the never ending mysterious plot ahead. Gul Panag appears more like a walkie talkie screeching glamour doll. Ashutosh Rana leaves an impact in his rivalry scenes with Nana. A special noteworthy mention goes to Tejas Jagirdar who leaves a lasting impression with his brief role as Nana’s son.
Tailpiece: Strongly recommended for die hard Nana Patekar fans and for the rest of the mass & class audience too, it will be a sheer waste of time & money too.