The return of Shivam Pandit has the right nostalgia and some solid performances, but Nitin Kakkar’s sequel struggles to recreate the emotional magic of the original.
The expectations were naturally enormous. The original may not have been a theatrical success, but its music, heartbreak, atmosphere and Emraan’s portrayal of a broken man gave it a life far beyond its box-office run.
The sequel understands that nostalgia is its biggest strength. Unfortunately, it also becomes its biggest weakness.
Awarapan 2 is not a terrible film. There are portions that work, some beautifully staged moments, effective action and a few performances that genuinely stand out.
But when the film tries to recreate the emotional impact of its predecessor, it repeatedly falls short. The biggest culprit is the writing.
Story: Familiar Territory, Very Predictable The film takes Shivam Pandit into another dark chapter of his life, continuing the character’s journey through crime, love, sacrifice and redemption. The premise has enough material for an intense sequel, but the screenplay never extracts its maximum potential.
The biggest problem is predictability. Several developments can be anticipated well before they arrive, while some of the supposed twists fail to create the impact the makers clearly intended.
There are moments where the film appears to be building towards an emotional explosion, only for the payoff to arrive without the necessary punch.
This becomes particularly noticeable because the original Awarapan had a very strong emotional core. Its characters carried pain, loneliness and helplessness, and the audience could feel Shivam’s internal battle.
Awarapan 2, despite having darker situations and bigger dramatic moments, doesn’t consistently generate that same emotional connection.
Direction: Nitin Kakkar Keeps It Functional – Nitin Kakkar, who takes over the director’s chair from Mohit Suri, handles the film with reasonable control but never quite establishes a distinctive identity of his own.
The film has some slick locations, action portions and atmospheric moments. Interestingly, early audience reactions have also praised the locations and action design, with some viewers calling the film visually impressive.
Mohit Suri’s Awarapan had a particular melancholy running through almost every frame. The sequel has the darkness, but not always the soul.
Emraan Hashmi: The Film’s Biggest Strength
He slips back into Shivam Pandit with remarkable ease. The screen presence is still intact, the dialogue delivery remains effortless, and his body language carries the character’s history without requiring excessive exposition.
There is a certain maturity to his performance this time. He isn’t simply recreating the angry, broken man from 2007, he plays Shivam as someone who has lived with his scars for years.
Emraan is the emotional anchor the screenplay desperately needs. The excitement around his return was visible even before release. The teaser, unveiled exactly 19 years after the original, generated strong nostalgia among fans, while current audience reactions have continued to single out Hashmi as one of the film’s biggest positives.
Disha Patani: More A Link Than A Character Disha Patani gets a role that feels familiar to anyone who has followed this particular style of Bollywood romantic drama.
Her character largely functions as a link within the story rather than becoming a fully developed emotional force. She has her moments, but the writing doesn’t give her enough material to create the kind of impact the role potentially demanded.
Shabana Azmi Is Excellent Shabana Azmi, meanwhile, is one of the film’s most dependable performers.
She brings authority and gravitas to her scenes, and even when the screenplay becomes predictable, her performance never feels mechanical. Her dialogue delivery and presence add weight to the proceedings.
Interestingly, actor Suvinder Vicky, who plays Jaideep, recently spoke highly of working with Azmi and described her as extremely supportive on set. He also discussed the pressure of being part of a sequel to a cult film and the importance of getting his introduction right.
A Sequel That Sometimes Feels Stuck In The Past This ultimately makes the film feel like a story that might have worked beautifully in the early or mid-2000s but feels somewhat outdated in 2026.
The problem is that Awarapan 2 sometimes feels stuck in the past rather than inspired by it. The original soundtrack is one of the biggest reasons Awarapan became a cult film. “Toh Phir Aao” and “Tera Mera Rishta” remain deeply associated with the franchise, and expectations for the new album were naturally massive.
“Ve Junoon” received a mixed response, with some listeners appreciating its melancholic mood while others felt it sounded too similar to Saiyaara.
“Yeh Awarapan,” sung by Arijit Singh and composed by Amaal Mallik, also divided listeners, with several reactions calling it average despite praise for the vocals and melody.
Box Office: A Strong Start Could Change The Picture
As per KBP REVIEW’s advance-booking tracking, Awarapan 2 was comfortably ahead of Batwara 1947, with one trade report putting its advance gross at around ₹11.36 crore, compared with ₹4.21 crore for Sunny Deol’s film.
The film has a terrific lead performance, some strong supporting actors, impressive action and enough visual appeal to remain watchable. Yet the predictable screenplay and comparatively weak emotional writing prevent it from reaching the heights of its predecessor.
[ MOVIE REVIEW ] : Batwara 1947 Review: Sunny Deol & Shabana Azmi Deliver Knockout Performances In A Heart-Wrenching Partition Drama
