Akshay Kumar's 'Jolly LLB 2' hits the theatres
The Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi starrer film 'Jolly LLB 2', which released on Friday, "feels stretched at times," wrote India Today. Hindustan Times said the "theme, not Akshay Kumar, is the star of this satire". NDTV wrote that "Akshay Kumar's film is both funny and thought-provoking". The film has been rated 3/5 (Hindustan Times, NDTV) and 3.5/5 (India Today).
Jolly LLB 2, starring Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi in the lead roles, is the big Bollywood release this week. Will the sequel to Jolly LLB match up to the first film? Here is our Jolly LLB 2 movie review.Jolly LLB 2 Cast: Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Annu Kapoor, Saurabh ShuklaJolly LLB 2 Director: Subhash KapoorJolly LLB 2 Rating:  (3.5/5)Jolly LLB was a jolly good movie. A little film by Subhash Kapoor, Jolly LLB was shouldered by actors like Arshad Warsi and Saurabh Shukla. Actors, not stars. So when a second film in the franchise is announced, and an Akshay Kumar is attached along with it, it sort of brings about mixed feelings in people. On the one hand, while a star comes with expectations along, there's somewhere a shred of regret at seeing yet another tiny film being hijacked by a star. But Kumar doesn't let his stardom overshadow his performance.In the courtroom drama called Jolly LLB 2, Jagdishwar Mishra aka Jolly (Akshay Kumar) is the lead actor. Jolly LLB 2 is generously peppered with one-liners that deserve to be repeated. Most of these high-voltage lines are mouthed by the film's pivot, Justice Sunderlal Tripathi (an inimitable Saurabh Shukla). Shukla brings his humour and straight-faced dialogue-delivery from the first Jolly LLB, including slight references to it. However, this is a different courtroom. This is Lucknow and you're told "Muskuraiye, Aap Lucknow mein hain," even as goons blow bullets through your brains.Jolly moves out of the shadow of his employer Rizvi Sa'ab and opens his own chamber. He takes money from a heavily pregnant client (Hina, played by Sayani Gupta), looking for justice for the death of her husband. Jolly lands right in the middle of a tragedy in the process. Nightmares rob him of sleep and he decides to file a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) and begins fighting the case.His adversary in this Lucknow court is big-shot advocate Mathur (Annu Kapoor). Mathur symbolises all your lawyers who are driven to nondescript courts in flashy red Range Rovers. The intimidating, rich lawyer vs the underdog. You get the drift.ALSO READ: Bombay High Court orders deletion of four scenes from Akshay Kumar's Jolly LLB 2At its core, Jolly LLB 2 is the story of the condition of courts in the country, much like its predecessor. Akshay Kumar is the driving force of this drama. Director Subhash Kapoor doesn't do enough to extract the best of Akshay's comic timing. But there are enough to get by. Saurabh Shukla's dialogues make you break into a laugh every now and then. The man steals the show.Jolly LLB 2 feels stretched at times. It is a crowd-pleaser alright, but director Subhash Kapoor goes overboard with melodrama at certain points in the film. The film could have been a lot tighter and streamlined had the filmmaker concentrated on just the case. But no. It is an Akshay Kumar film. So you HAVE to have Akshay Kumar delivering lectures on patriotism in the courtroom. You have to have Akshay Kumar taking bullets on duty. You have to have Akshay Kumar breaking into song and dance at the drop of a hat, right when he's out of the hospital, ad nauseum. Well, you do need the whistles for Kumar too.WATCH | Jolly LLB 2 Movie Review: Akshay Kumar is fabulous in this dramaJolly LLB 2 leaves you with a strong sense of deja vu. Annu Kapoor is among the weaker points of the film. Kapoor's character is tolerable to a certain point before saturation hits you like a bus. Huma Qureshi doesn't have much to do in Jolly LLB 2. The supporting cast is chosen well.The charm of this film lies in the details. Scenes like Saurabh Shukla discussing his daughter's wedding lehenga on the mobile in front of a board asking people to not use mobiles inside the courtroom are brilliant. There are little things here and there that are extraordinarily done. The music is not impactful. Jolly LLB 2 would have been the same even without the numerous songs.The paan and people of Lucknow are captured well on camera. Kudos to Subhash Kapoor for making his Jolly LLB 2 on a believable plot. These are all real cases we have seen, heard of, grown up with. From references to Sunny Deol to what actually goes on inside a courtroom, Jolly LLB 2 has it all.