Vadh 2 Movie Review: Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta’s howdunit isn’t as smart as it thinks it is

Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta return as the mild-mannered murdering duo Mishra and Manju ji in Vadh 2, a denser but long-drawn sequel to 2022’s body-disposal thriller of the same name. In the previous part, the actors played an ageing, strapped husband-wife who have been abandoned by their NRI son and ultimately find themselves trying to cover up the murder of a sleazy loan-shark. It was Baghban emotions packed in a Drishyam wrapping. The sequel isn’t a continuation but a different storyline, kind of a parallel universe for the characters. In this world, Shambunath Mishra and Manju aren’t married. He is actually a low-ranking constable who smuggles vegetables out of a prison to sell them for some extra cash, while Manju is a convict who was jailed long ago when she was young for possibly killing a couple. Apart from his green collusion, Mishra also procures utilities for Manju and the other inmates, but their relationship isn’t merely transactional. They sometimes talk, late into the night, each sitting on either side of the prison wall.

Written and directed by: Jaspal Singh Sandhu

Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Neena Gupta, Kumud Mishra and Shilpa Shukla

There are also new entrants. Kumud Mishra plays Prakash Singh, a casteist prison supervisor who enquires about everybody’s surname. Shilpa Shukla is a stern warden whose morality isn’t clear while Akshay Dogra plays Keshav aka Bhoora bhaiyya, another convict, the brother of the local MLA and a psychotic misogynist who is evil enough to put puppies under the tires of a truck. He also has eyes on Naina (Yogita Bihani), a fresh into jail undertrial. No points for guessing who will get murdered.

In Vadh 2, the killing comes after a lot of time has been killed. We sit through a lengthy and laboured setup before Keshav goes “missing.” The characters too don’t offer much intrigue. It all seems unnecessary since the film isn’t a whodunit, we know who did it and how it all happened isn’t much of a mystery as the film progresses. To investigate Keshav’s disappearance, a cop, strangely named Ateet Singh (played by Amitt K. Singh) gets in on the action but all he does is routine questioning, trying to join the dots while chain-smoking like a noir detective. The only thing missing from this trite setup is a thread-laced investigation board.

The biggest undoing for the film is its lack of surprises. Vadh 2 is pulpy but predictable. A thriller whose twists mystery aficionados can spot from miles before. However, the sequel does add on over its predecessor. It has been made more complex, there are more players in the mix but ultimately, the film isn’t riveting enough. You see a sack and you exactly know what is in it, a freezer too isn’t exactly housing a reveal. Vadh 2 seems like a film which has consumed too many crime news clippings and doesn’t know how to come up with anything inventive. The plot keeps stretching till it gets exhausting.

Sanjay and Neena, both seasoned actors, get nothing substantial to chew on. Also, we abandon Neena’s Manju for a good 40 minutes of the runtime. Sanjay is competent but his comic timing got more applause than his smart moves in the screening I was in. Moreover, it was never explained what made Sanjay’s Shambunath Mishra cleverer than he seems. Is it the same character from the previous film since he also mentions an NRI son? Has he done all of it before? Kumud Mishra brings an interesting energy to the ensemble but his character seems to be only there to justify a plot twist. The film resorts to convenient routes for quick fixes and is desperate to join the dots, hoping all of it successfully comes together.

Vadh (2022), although simplistic, had a central emotion, of a man fooling a system that was never on his side. The sequel jettisons the theme for genre but still ends up serving lukewarm thrills. It feels Vadh 2 has been made to only build up on the limited popularity of the first part. It is derivative and predictable, like a ‘manohar kahani’. Nothing more, nothing less.