Awarapan 2 Review and Ratings
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi, Suvinder Vicky, Vijayant Kohli, AtulKumar, Aniruddh Rawal, Puran Gabbi
Director: Nitin Kakkar
Where to Watch: In Theaters
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars)
The Awarapan of 2007 is still remembered because of its pain, love, and music. Awarapan 2 carries on the same emotional legacy. This time Shivam’s fight is not only with his past but also with a big gang of child traffickers. The film has action and romance, but its real strength lies in pain, relationships, and music. Emraan Hashmi, who keeps Akkha Bollywood aside today, was fed up with his ‘serial kisser’ image after films like ‘Murder’, ‘Zehar’, ‘Aashiq Banaya Aapne’ and ‘Gangster’; then, in 2007, the story of a spiritual lover’s Awarapan broke his image. His ‘Awarapan‘ did not perform at the box office then, but due to songs like ‘Tera Mera Rishta’ and ‘Toh Phir Aao’, it later got the status of a ‘Cult classic’. Now, after 19 years, Bhatt Camp is going to capitalize on the same nostalgia with its sequel ‘Awarapan 2‘, but despite Emraan Hashmi‘s strong comeback as Shivam Pandit, the film proves to be ineffective.
The first film had everything from atheism to spirituality, love and separation. But all these things worked because it was neatly threaded into the story. Shivam Pandit’s girlfriend Aaliya gives her life to save him. Whose wound Shivam carries for life. And then a lover is killed himself trying to save the couple. The film ends as if Shivam washed away all his old sins by saving the couple. And died and went to his girlfriend. So that movie’s Impact Original remained for years after release. But becoming ‘Awarapan 2‘ means Shivam is alive. But the answer to how he survived is very simple – because the producers wanted. But with the help of a flashback, its cinematic reason is given. Shivam survived the first way he came to your mind. Now he lives in a small town in India, away from the world of crime. Then he meets an Interpol officer, who sends him on a mission.
Awarapan 2 Movie Review: The Story Plot
The story goes beyond the previous film, when Shivam Pandit (Emraan Hashmi) is living an anonymous life after defeating death. But an Indian Interpol officer, Samarth (Atul Kumar), finds him. Asks for help in rescuing innocent children trapped in an ongoing child trafficking racket in Bangkok. Among these children is the orphan Alia (Myra), with whom Shivam has a heart-to-heart relationship, so he agrees to play with this danger. To trace the children, Shivam Pandit takes enmity with gangster Nafisa (Shabana Azmi), and his rival becomes special to Amrit Singh’s son Zorawar (Pooran Gabbi), because he is the one who is buying and selling the children. However, while winning Zorawar’s trust, he also becomes very close to his sister Zara Disha Patani and autistic elder brother. Now Shivam will have to watch the film to know how he frees the children from that hell amidst this gang war.
Awarapan 2 Movie Review and Analysis
Sivam, at the start of ‘Awarapan 2‘, goes to offer flowers to Aaliya’s grave. And asks what the purpose of his survival is. Is his intention just yearning and yearning? Exactly that moment, he gets his new purpose. Another Aaliyah. Whom he can’t let die again. If this Aliya is to be saved, she’ll have to break into a child trafficking network and kill her. And that’s what converts this movie into a template crime thriller rather than an emotional story. Joe struggles to justify her being, let alone being a good thriller.
‘Awarapan 2‘ is technically and scale-wise a much bigger and better film than its original. But that’s when you understand the public never remembered ‘Awarapan‘ for its technique or grandness. The public remembers the feeling they felt watching that movie. That feeling never comes to you from ‘Awarapan 2‘. Shivam’s wound is so deep that he cannot heal if he is alive. Now that’s his celebrity stuff. But for makers, it’s just a plot device that they want to cash in on. So let me tell you, there’s been a prank on you as ‘Awarapan 2‘.
This movie is a statement of the tragedy and helplessness of its era. Legacy sequels, rehashed versions of old songs, and moments with mass elevation. Everything’s happening for looks; no one felt it. Sometimes you feel like the makers are trying to seduce you. If you’ve seen ‘Awarapan‘, you’ll want to see ‘Awarapan 2,’ obviously. The makers in this movie just want you.
There’s a version of Emraan Hashmi that mainstream audiences have sometimes forgotten exists. Before he became known for a particular kind of romantic drama, he was genuinely compelling as an action lead—rough, intense, capable of violence that felt earned rather than performative. Awarapan was one of his best performances in that register, and Awarapan 2 gives him the chance to return to it. He’s older now, and the film doesn’t pretend otherwise. Shivam is tired. The years have worn him down. But the fire is still there, and Hashmi knows how to show it without overselling it. The emotional scenes, particularly those involving Aaliya, are handled with restraint. He’s not weeping in every other scene. He’s carrying the weight of his losses quietly, and that quietness makes the violence more effective when it comes. The action sequences lean into Hashmi’s strengths. He’s not doing superhero stunts. He’s fighting like a man who’s been fighting his whole life—gritty, desperate, efficient. It’s the kind of action that fits the character and the world, rather than the star.
The original movie’s two songs, “Tera Mera Rishta Purana” and “Toh Phir Aao,” still evoke the same emotion within you 19 years after release. One place this song’s been used beautifully. When this film makes the first difference of being a sequel to ‘Awarapan‘. Shivam character’s at police gun point. Then ‘Tera Mera Rishta’ rings in the background, and some Chinese Monks surround him. He escapes. The line between deism and deism blurs. Especially in terms of Shivam’s character. Emraan Hashmi brings back all the emotions in Shivam’s character that the audience wants. His eyes, his body language, everything. But the screenplay’s lightness doesn’t offer anything new. You’re always watching Shivam’s exterior while watching this story. This film doesn’t take the risk of going inside her at all. So you and this movie never have a new relationship.
Puran Gabbi is the only character in the role of Zorawar who had a chance to freshen up. That’s what they’ve done their best. Seeing them perform on screen, it seems that if Vijay Verma and Gulshan Devaiah had a lovechild, it would have been exactly like that. But that too remains a fairly caricatured villain. Shabana Azmi is a major stakeholder of this film. Storywise. But in films, they’re used to move the story forward. That too with extremely limited screen time. Vijayant Kohli and Suvinder Vicky’s characters also don’t add much to the plot. Disha Patani plays Zara, a girl in this film who has had a very traumatic childhood. Disha’s got a little complex role for the first time. To which she can’t add much. But doesn’t let it bother you.
Vishesh Bhatt has done something smart with the script. He hasn’t tried to reinvent the wheel or make a sequel that feels disconnected from its predecessor. Instead, he’s built directly on the original film’s themes and emotional beats. The story is predictable in places—you can see certain plot developments coming—but the execution keeps things engaging. The first half is particularly strong, balancing emotional moments with action sequences in a way that keeps the audience invested.
The second half dips slightly. There are stretches where the pacing loosens, and the story seems to lose focus before finding its footing again. But the finale delivers, and the emotional payoff is earned.
The film makes good use of callbacks to the original. The new version of “Tera Mera Rishta Hai” works as a signature tune, and the scene where Shivam emerges from being buried underground echoes the original film’s themes of resurrection and survival. These moments could feel cheap in less capable hands, but here they function as connective tissue between the two films.
Nitin Kakkar steps in for Mohit Suri, who directed the original. It’s a difficult position to be in—following a filmmaker whose style defined a particular movie—but Kakkar manages to maintain the tone while bringing his own sensibility. The pacing is generally good, and the action scenes are staged with clarity. He understands that Awarapan worked because it took its emotions seriously, and he doesn’t let the action overwhelm the feeling.
There are some missed opportunities. The film lacks the kind of visual nuance that, say, Aditya Dhar brought to Dhurandhar—small details that make scenes feel more grounded. In one sequence, Shivam emerges from being buried in salt without a single grain clinging to his face or clothes. It’s a small thing, but it’s the kind of detail that separates good action cinema from great action cinema.
The film succeeds in the ways that matter most. It entertains. It moves. It carries forward the story of a character audiences already care about without betraying what made him compelling in the first place. Emraan Hashmi’s return to form is the headline, but the supporting elements—the writing, the direction, the emotional core—all work in service of the same goal.
The message at the center of the film—that if God has chosen you for something, no one can stop you—could easily feel heavy-handed. But the film delivers it with enough sincerity that it lands. Shivam Pandit is a man who has been chosen, who has survived things that should have killed him, and who keeps getting up. The film doesn’t ask you to believe in miracles. It just shows you what happens when someone refuses to stop fighting.
The villain is underdeveloped. Zorawar should be terrifying, but the script doesn’t give him enough texture to make him memorable. Disha Patani’s character feels like an afterthought. Shabana Azmi is wasted in a role that’s too small for her talents. The songs, apart from “Ladodo,” are forgettable. The pacing sags in the second half.
These are real issues. But they don’t sink the film. Awarapan 2 works because its central relationship—between Shivam and the girl he’s trying to save—is strong enough to carry the weight. You believe that this man would do anything to protect this child. You believe that he’s driven by something deeper than revenge. And when he finally gets the chance to make good on the promise implied by the original film’s tagline—”Freeing one oppressed means freeing all humanity”—you believe that too.
Awarapan 2 Movie Review: The Last Words
Awarapan 2 doesn’t give much new in the story, but Emraan Hashmi‘s pain, Shabana Azmi’s powerful presence, and music make it worth watching. If the pain and music of the first Awarapan are still remembered, then this film will definitely take you closer to that feeling. The pain is the same, the love is the same; only Shivam’s fight is bigger this time. ‘Awarapan 2‘ could be a bigger movie. But better than the original, the film isn’t in any sense. Emraan Hashmi is the soul of this movie. But this movie itself is hollow. She doesn’t understand Shivam’s sorrow, nor can she give him any closure. She turns him into just a genre, a franchise, which can be further redeemed.
Awarapan 2 is a worthy sequel. It honors the original while expanding its world. It gives Emraan Hashmi a role that reminds audiences why he became a star in the first place. It delivers action, emotion, and a message that doesn’t feel forced. If you liked the first film, you’ll find a lot to appreciate here. If you didn’t, this probably won’t change your mind. But for those who’ve been waiting to see Shivam Pandit again, the wait has been worth it.