Nishaanchi 2

Watched: Nishaanchi Part One & Two

Yesterday I watched Nishaanchi Part One and Part Two.

Part One is basically a full setup-introducing who the characters are and what their temperaments feel like. But honestly, the film doesn't offer any big twists or turns. At times you end up wondering why you're even watching it. And yes, I'm talking specifically about Part One here.

But. But. But.

Then comes Nishaanchi Part Two-and that changes everything.

Every single thing that felt like a minus in Part One becomes a big plus in Part Two. From the very first frame to the last... Part Two is pure cinema. Pure time-pass. Pure payoff. Absolute blast.

After watching both parts, Part One does feel a little weak... but without it, Part Two wouldn't hit this hard, nor would it make this much sense. And honestly, that's exactly how Gangs of Wasseypur felt-Part 1 was good, but Part 2 was the real madness. Even today, whenever I can't decide what to watch or feel bored of the same genres, I revisit Wasseypur 2.

Nishaanchi Part Two gives that same revisit-worthy feeling.

I will definitely rewatch Nishaanchi 2 in the future.

Thanks, Anurag sir - you are an inspiration to all Indian creators.

The film follows two twin brothers one is in jail due to a crime linked to a corrupt political leader, while the other struggles to find a job. The second brother finally gets work in an engineering firm and unexpectedly falls in love with his jailed brother's girlfriend. As fate turns, the elder brother returns from jail but the political leader again tries to push him towards criminal activities. The brother refuses, and his honest decision changes the direction of the story. When corruption crosses the limits . A mother rises to deliver justice showing that a mother's pain can be stronger than any law. A gripping emotional drama with a powerful climax.

A decade in prison, Babloo is finally return to his Rinku but the world he left behind is not the world he is about to return to. Babloo is unaware of this harsh truth while Dabloo and Rinku have moved on. The prison life has not prepared Babloo for the life outside and he struggles to make a decent life, away from his past. Rinku has made it clear that she will never forgive him and Babloo realizes how wrong he was the whole life. This leaves him with earning his mother's love back. Meanwhile, Ambika Prasad is still after Babloo. How does this end for Babloo? Will he reunite with his family? Will Ambika succeed in breaking them apart forever? The sequel rounds it all up, in Anurag Kashyap's style.

Honestly, this did not need to be made into separate film. Anurag Kashyap tried hard to make another GOW but the characters were not enough to justify it. The sequel resorts to the linear narrative and sadly, Rinku and Dabloo get sidelined. The focus shifts to Babloo and Manjari so the drama takes up the major runtime. It is the third act which despite it's predictable twists and end, which makes it worth sitting through. Monika Panwar truly shines in her role while owning the climax. All the brownie points for the final act and the way it was superbly executed. I wish the rest of the film's narrative had complimented it better. May be I would have enjoyed it better if this were to be made into a single film with cramping up the previous film into first half and this one into second half. I am going in with a lenient rating solely for the performances and the final act.

The second part ended exactly how it should have ended, giving the real Nishaanchi its place. I guess, Kashyap compliments his Msters Degree Human Psychology and emotions. :P However, i feel the conversation and the setting followed by the song 'Wonderland' could be better and hitting the Bhojpuri music video world, precisely.

The only thing bad and sad about the film is that it didn't get eyeballs, it deserved. May be soooon.

Kashyap films always arrive with a particular texture, a lived-in quality that comes from streets you can almost smell. Here, he shifts from Kanpur to Lucknow, and the language adjusts accordingly. The dialogue carries that regional cadence, the kind that roots you in a specific geography without feeling forced. This is still revenge cinema, but softer around the edges than his usual offerings. There are nods to the Bollywood bloodbaths of decades past, the Amitabh era where vengeance was a family affair. Some of those references land with a grin; others feel more like obligations than inspiration.

The film spends its opening hour threading needles. Dabloo hustles. Rinki auditions. Babloo emerges from prison with questions nobody wants to field. These are the small, human moments that give the story its pulse. Aaishvary Thackeray, in his first outing, commands the screen with a confidence that feels almost unfair for a debut. Watching him toggle between the two brothers is a masterclass in restraint. Dabloo is careful, measured, always thinking three moves ahead. Babloo is coiled fury, quiet until he is not. Thackeray nails the body language, the vocal shifts, the micro-expressions that separate one from the other. It is the kind of performance that should launch a career.

Vedika Pinto benefits from more room to breathe this time. She is not just reacting; she is driving scenes, and the added screen time allows her to settle into Rinki's ambition and frustration. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub slithers through his role as Kamal Ajeeb, the cop who operates in moral gray zones with a smirk. Every scene he inhabits crackles. Monica Panwar's Manjari radiates a sharp, unapologetic confidence. But Kumud Mishra, as the oily minister Ambika Prasad, feels underutilized. He has the presence to dominate, yet the script keeps him at arm's length, never fully letting him unleash.

The pacing holds steady through the first half. Kashyap knows how to build tension without tipping his hand, and the character dynamics keep you leaning forward. But then the film reaches for its climax and stumbles. Babloo learns the truth about his father's death. Manjari poisons a security detail. These moments should explode; instead, they deflate. The energy dissipates just when it should be peaking. At two and a half hours, the film earns that climax, but what arrives feels muted, almost interchangeable. You could drop it elsewhere in the runtime and nothing would break.

There is a subversive thread woven through the story, a quiet rejection of the patient, long-suffering woman trope. This is not Karan Arjun, where a mother waits for reincarnation to deliver justice. Nishaanchi flips that script, handing agency to a character who refuses to sit idle. It is one of the film's sharper choices, a middle finger to melodrama that plays with restraint.

Still, the nagging question lingers: did this story need two films? Strip away the fat, tighten the connective tissue, and you probably have one lean, mean piece of genre filmmaking. Instead, we get a sequel that stretches when it should sprint. Hardcore Kashyap devotees will find the familiar flavors, the rough edges, the bursts of controlled chaos. But for everyone else, this settles into the middle tier of his catalog. Not a misfire, not a triumph. Just a film that passes through your system without leaving a scar.

The second half delivers more punch than the first, especially once Babloo's arc takes center stage. There are moments when you feel the energy spike, when the film remembers it is supposed to be a thriller. Writers Ranjan Chandel, Omjit Sahu, and Kashyap stitch together a finale that satisfies on a baseline level. You can sense they imagined this playing in a packed theater, the kind where audiences erupt at the right beats. On a streaming platform, those moments land softer, more solitary.

Nishaanchi 2 will work for viewers who appreciate character-driven genre exercises and do not mind a slower burn. If you came for the grit and the lived-in performances, you will find enough to justify the runtime. But if you are looking for Kashyap at his sharpest, this is not the film. It is competent, occasionally inspired, and always watchable. Just do not expect it to linger once the credits roll.