Dream Girl 2 Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana As Pooja Promises Dose Of Laughter With Laudable Lead Performance

Dream Girl 2 Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana as Karam first made his appearance in 2019, and introduced us to Pooja. The hilarious journey of a s*x chat service employee slipping into sarees and wigs with two oranges shoving inside his blouse wins with Khurrana’s performance. Directed by Raaj Shaandilya 'Dream Girl 2' also features Ananya Panday as the new female lead. The film promises to make one laugh endlessly, and is not lame or yawn-worthy.

Watch the official trailer of 'Dream Girl 2' attached below:

Plot

The storyline of ‘Dream Girl 2’ revolves around Karam aka Ayushmann Khurrana, who finds himself in an amusing yet challenging situation. Set in the town of Mathura, he falls in love with Pari aka Ananya Panday while trying to the navigate in his complexities in life. To tackle his financial struggles, Karam adopts his alter ego role of ‘Pooja’ and entertains the bachelor crowd of Mathura which takes a hilarious turn.

The film explores themes of love, emotions, and identity with a humorous take that arises from Karam and Pari’s unique situation. Binding the story with laughter and romance, Ayushmann Khurrana proves to be a chameleon.

Review

‘Dream Girl 2’s comedy skills shine throughout the film making people laugh, whereas the storyline manages to keep the audience engaged throughout the film. The film is not a direct sequel, but most of the cast's slapstick comedy comes from the local ‘nautanki’ era which is raw and desi. Karam once again takes the character of Pooja, with his father Jagjit hovering around in the pursuit of love. Meanwhile, Pooja takes over the stage at a the lascivious nightclub owned by Vijay Raaz essaying the role of Sajan.

However, one key difference is that Nushrratt Bharuccha has been replaced by the ‘it girl’ of Bollywood, Ananya Panday, essaying the role of Pari. Ananya Panday’s role is ignorable throughout the film and is just used as an ornament just like Bharuccha’s character in the first installment.

What Works For The Film

An entertaining screenplay makes for a fast-paced first half which is engaging with new revelations and characters on the go. Ayushmann Khurrana’s acting is the saving grace in the film, as the actor is known as Bollywood’s self-professed ‘poster boy’ for taboo subjects. The actor deserves a pat on the back for effortlessly pulling off his role and proving once again why he continues to scale heights despite a row of failures in recent times.

What Does Not

The second half of the film is rather long and has repetitive matters and situations in which the lead actor is only trying to get out of the facade. The process of how he manages to do that without letting his love life go is obvious until the climax unfolds. By this time, one could feel the story have ended a bit earlier, with the script holding some great comic punches which is a savior for the makers.

Performances

Each time Ayushmann Khurrana walks in as Pooja, one has to get pinched to believe it is him. The film revolves around the actor and gives him ample space to perform. He leads the whole narrative and weaves the plot, with only Khurrana having the ability to switch on and off his characters from time to time.

Ananya Panday has decently plays the role of Ayushmann’s love muse and has steps into the shoes of a modern girl from a small town. Though her character did not get a fair amount of screen time, Panday's absence in the film is overshadowed by Khurrana’s chameleon personality.

Final Verdict

The perfect comic timing of Khurrana has nothing to say on the subject of the complexities of womanhood. The makers successfully steals a woman’s voice, but the sequel lays claim to their bodies too. Raaj Shaandilya should’ve raised the topic of women being treated as objects, with a swinging hip and a high-pitched voice. One may find the film amusing giving credit to Khurrana’s performance, but the creators take the easy way using a woman’s body and voice to make things interesting.

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Ananya Panday, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Raaz, and Abhishek Bannerjee

Director: Raaj Shaandilyaa.