In 2019, Ajay Devgn and Tabu announced their umpteenth film together, titled De De Pyaar De. Just when fans were curious about what their roles would be, Rakul Preet Singh’s addition to the cast turned around the entire narrative. Interestingly, the film went on to become a huge hit. So, when the makers decided to milk the opportunity and bring out De De Pyaar De 2, fans were overjoyed. But one question lingered - will the makers follow the same tried-and-tested formula of a sequel to a romantic-comedy?
While we have tried to decode as much, De De Pyaar De 2 released with new additions to the cast as it turns a leaf in its chapter - R Madhavan, Gautami Kapoor, and Meezaan Jafri, apart from Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh leading the show. But how was the film? Is it worth your time? Let’s find out.De De Pyaar De 2: Story
De De Pyaar De 2 picks up from where it left off. The makers cleverly gave the audience a recap of the story from the first part. In the same, Ajay had a tough time explaining to his first wife, Manju (played by Tabu), that he was dating Rakul, a girl several years younger than him. After a happy ending in the previous film, this time, Ajay bears the brunt of being liked by Rakul’s family. R Madhavan and Gautami Kapoor play her parents. How and whether Aisha (Rakul) convinces her family to marry Ashish (Ajay Devgn) forms the crux of the story.
De De Pyaar De 2: Writing and Direction
The film is directed by Anshul Sharma, written and produced by Luv Ranjan. The moment you start watching the film, it reeks of a Luv film. In fact, towards the climax, the film starts smelling like a Sooraj Barjatya movie, but then the feeling only lasts a few seconds. We'll tell you why later. However, though the writing is sharp for a comedy film, it does drag in places.
De De Pyaar De 2: Acting
Last time, De De Pyaar De had a stellar combo of an Ajay Devgn and a Tabu. This time, you have Ajay tackling an actor in the calibre of R Madhavan - the one who is known to light up a scene by just being in it. It won’t be wrong to say that he took some of Ajay’s limelight. In fact, Ajay has far fewer scenes than Madhavan in the film. Every character in De De Pyaar De 2 is linked to Madhavan in some way or another. He is in every scene, almost every frame and oh, how we wait for him to appear before our eyes!
Gautami Kapoor, who plays Madhavan’s on-screen wife, is mostly reduced to that of the main character’s mother or wife in most films and TV shows. It is good to see that the makers finally saw through her potential and gave her one of the meatiest roles that she rightly deserved. In some of the scenes, she even overshadows her co-stars in frame and takes the cake.
Ajay Devgn, surprisingly, is sparsely spread through the film. He appears in bits and pieces, probably owing to the film’s narrative this time, and does a good job at it. Ajay is known as a performer. However, his role (not the performance) lacks more volume and finesse.
Rakul Preet Singh is quite an average performer in the film. She definitely looks beautiful and lights up the screen with her mere presence every time she appears; however, something about her performance feels amiss. Especially, the climax scene when she cries to her on-screen mother (Gautami Kapoor) about a situation, you can’t help but question her acting skills. We understand she is supposed to act frivolously at times, but something doesn’t quite add up. Ishita Dutta, who worked with Ajay in Drishyam, is also quite the life of the film.
Jaaved Jaaferi is known as a multi-talented personality. He plays Ajay’s friend and makes the audience guffaw with his comic timing and real-life references.
De De Pyaar De 2: Meezaan Jaaferi, the shining star
Meezaan has to be the surprise element in the film. When the video of 3 Shaukk was released, Meezaan drew comparisons with both Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor. But let us tell you that man deserves a name of his own. Meezaan appears minutes after the interval, and you are left wondering why he wasn’t included in the first half, too. He acts, dances, and stands out in every frame that he is a part of. And not to mention, the good looks! Watch him in De De Pyaar De 2 and you’ll be left questioning as to why he doesn’t work in more films.
What works for De De Pyaar De 2?
De De Pyaar De 2 will leave you hooked in the first half. The film will also feel like a good decision. The second half, after Meezaan’s entry, is good too. The best part of the film is the real-life references that the makers brought about to make the audience laugh, clap and hoot. For instance, in one of the scenes, Madhavan makes a ‘vashikaran’ comment, referring to his and Ajay’s film Shaitaan, which revolved around the same theme.
The makers also included a DDLJ reference where Madhavan, while talking about Ajay, mentions Simran and questions if he knows Kajol in real life. There is a Singham moment too. Jaaved, Meezaan’s father in real life, also makes several dad-son references - a hit formula of blending reality in films for a reaction from the audience.
What doesn’t work for De De Pyaar De 2?
To begin with, the casting felt amiss. Ajay and Rakul’s casting in the film was done keeping in mind their age gap and the film’s narrative. However, Madhavan as Rakul’s dad? Umm, not so much. While you might get used to their relationship in the film after minutes, the 'amiss' feeling will spring back again towards the climax scenes, especially during a wedding dance sequence.
The fact that we didn’t see more of Ajay in an Ajay Devgn film might also leave you disappointed. Remember how we just spoke about De De Pyaar De 2 feeling like a Barjatya film towards the end? Well, the climax feels unnecessarily stretched at times. There are more twists in the end than layers throughout the whole film. At one point, you’ll feel like telling the makers that you already know how things are going to end - so why stretch more? But the climax is like a never-ending loop, until it finally stops, and before you know it, the end credits roll.
De De Pyaar De 2: Final Verdict
Honestly, it’s been a while since we watched a decent romantic comedy in theatres. De De Pyaar De 2 is fun and engaging, barring its loopholes. We recommend you watch the film as a popcorn entertainer and not expect much material. And if you ask us about one highlight, it’s definitely R Madhavan.
2.5 out of 5 stars for De De Pyaar De 2.
