Satyameva Jayate 2 movie review: John Abraham’s three roles in one film are three headaches bundled into one

The soundtrack for Satyameva Jayate 2 is substandard and ear-splitting. The dialogues are obviously written by a third-rate rhymester. The characters don’t say anything; instead, they howl. There are plenty of pearls of wild hilarity.

Cast: John Abraham, Divya Khosla Kumar, Gautami Kapoor, Harsh Chhaya

Director: Milap Milan Zaveri

Rating: 1 star (out of 5)

There isn’t a single person who speaks in this film. Everyone is screaming, yelling, and shouting at the top of their lungs, leaving your eardrums aching for some peace and quiet. Satyameva Jayate 2 is a poor and clumsy portrayal of jingoism and vigilantism at its most heinous. Milap Zaveri gives us a stale narrative that doesn’t even bother to bring anything new or distinctive in the name of a vigilante action thriller and cashing in on the nostalgia for masala films from the 1980s.

The first thing you need know, and I’m not going to give anything away here, is that Abraham plays three roles. Triple roles with identical-looking males are the epitome of the 1980s. Satya and Jay, as well as their valiant father, Dadasaheb Balram Azad, all share screen time in order to flaunt their chiselled armoured-plated chests (56 inches keeps coming up) and pound the enemies into pulp.

The plot follows Dadasaheb Balram Azad (John Abraham) and his two sons, both of whom are also played by Abraham: one becomes a Home Minister (Satya) who wants his anti-corruption bill enacted, while the other plays a snarky cop (ACP Jay). Satya’s wife Vidya, an opposition politician, is played by Divya Khosla Kumar, while Gautami Kapoor plays the twins’ mother. Divya is arguably the only character that does not speak loudly, yet she almost appears to be reading off a teleprompter without any expressions. I was pleased to see a woman in a fairly acceptable role in an entirely male-dominated picture for a brief while, but Divya’s terrible dialogue delivery and ordinary acting don’t make her stand out. There are also Harsh Chhaya, Anup Sonu and Sahil Vaid in supporting roles and they play their parts well in whatever little they had to do.

Satyameva Jayate 2, like a tough commercial potboiler with raw action, includes a mix of songs, some of which are abruptly put and others which aren’t so bad. Tenu Lehanga, a wedding song, and Meri Zindagi Hai Tu, a Karwa-Chauth song, might be party hits, while Nora Fatehi received a large thank you for Kusu Kusu in the opening credits. Was that music truly necessary? No, I don’t believe so.

Satyameva Jayate 2 is a courageous attempt to entice fans back into theatres by convincing them that it is a full-fledged masala picture, and if you appreciate these types of noisy action thrillers, it is a must-see.

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