Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara

The most famous and stylish gangsta is back in Mumbai…Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara (OUTIMD) is a sequel to the 2010 hit Once Upon A Time in Mumbai. It is always interesting to watch underworld and mafia movies. They have an aura of their own and keep the audience involved. But this time, OUTIMD fails to create the same magic as its prequel. The story is dull and the characters are seen dealing with their own emotions and personal dilemmas. There is lots of drama and a lot of unimpressive dialogues. Some characters are undefined and leave us wondering about the purpose of their role. The movie will be disappointing for the fans of the original movie who may be looking forward to some more gangster action.

The movie takes a leap from the prequel and brings us to a time where Shoaib (Akshay Kumar) is the undisputed king of Mumbai underworld and has also expanded his territory beyond Mumbai. He handpicks his men. One such apprentice is Aslam (Imraan Khan), picked from the slums of Mumbai. Aslam believes in everything that Shoaib does and will die for him. Shoaib has his set of enemies who challenge his rule over Mumbai. They are willing to go to any extend to overthrow his reign. Amongst the nasty fights and the messy dealings with the police, there is something that catches Shoaib’s attention. He begins to fancy an upcoming actress Jasmine (Sonakshi Sinha). The story takes a turn from here and shifts gears to become a love story. While the Don is set to win over his damsel, there is someone else he has to fight with to win her. It is Aslam. Jasmine finds a fan in Aslam too. Aslam is equally smitten by her. But what does Jasmine want? Is she really in love and who is her choice? There are no prizes for guessing here…but the wait is a test of patience.

This is the first time when I am not sure of the positives in a movie (if any). The movie is lengthy and slow. The plot stretches unneccesarily for 160 min and has some lousy direction. I kept wondering as to why the essence of the series had been taken away in the sequel? The story has no connection to its prequel. There are some meaningless dialogues and stereotyped performances. There is no match for Ajay Devgan when it comes to such genres. Ajay Devgan was phenomenal in the prequel and could carry off the heavy dialogues with panache. Imran Khan is too suave to be a gangster. It does not suit his persona. As for Sonakshi Sinha, she did a decent job. Personally for me Akshay Kumar was the only saving grace in the movie. He is a fine actor and is only getting better with age. But I would like to see him in a more thrilling action movie or a comedy. Unfortunately the movie did not work for me and would not recommend it to anyone. However... I leave it to your discretion and judgement.

Nidhi