Ek Villain Returns

The first Ek Villian was never my favourite but it worked quite a lot because of the cute chemistry between Siddharth and Shraddha and the terrific performance by Riteish Deshmukh who in 2014 was known mostly for comic role but not a role like killer one. Not to forget the masterpiece music album that will rule playlists for many decades .

Cut to 2022, Ek Villian returns . Mohit Suri decided to remove all cuteness , emotions and acting out of it and made Ek Villian returns, a sequel noone ever wanted.

The film starts off pretty well with lots of intriguing parts that left me wondering what is going on but soon in 2nd half, things gets pieced together, and by the end , you realise you watched a bizzare illogical film with a bizzare yet seen before climax (in an Amir Khan film, spoilers for those who can guess it).

The only thing that held my attention with all the weird stuff going on was the interesting screenplay that was interesting enough to hold my attention till the end.

Had the screenplay been boring, i would have been *issed off by the cringe moments that the film has along with some really really terrible dialogues. What's this using "hashtag" while conversing ? "I became hashtag famous"! , then there are constantly dialogues like "Mai Tera Hero, tu meri villian" repeated a million times throughout the film and it irritated me. Ha Bhai pata hai Ek Villian dekh rahe hai you don't have to say that dialogue to make us remind what we are watching.

Songs. Big disappointment 😥😥. I thought even if the film was bad or good, atleast the music album would be chartbuster but sadly other than "Dil", no other song clicked. And my god did they ruin Galliyan!! The original Galliyan had such a cute sweet video of Shraddha and Siddharth in it but now they replaced it with a terrible lusty video that forces you to cringe.

There is no emotions nothing in this sequel. You don't feel for any actor. Their performance is equally average. None were good. Arjun was casted only because he possess that stoic look for a goon like person like him. He possesses no charm like Siddharth did. John is the same. Actresses need not be discussed. They are equally bad, not to forget that Qiran girl who was super cringy in her accent.

Overall, just a one time watch. Oh and one more thing. Right at the end there is an exciting cameo of someone, that persons 10 sec cameo was better than the whole films acting department.

Having been persuaded by my girlfriend to see the movie, I watched it with her.

My time in the theatre ended up being one of the most torturous of my life.

To me, the mental torture I endured was worse than that my girlfriend did.

Following the intermission, I left the movie as well as the girl I was dating.

I don't understand why Bollywood makes such garbage.

This movie is perfect example where Indian cinema is heading now because of favoritism.. arjun kapoor doesn't know how to act, disha patani doesn't know anything else other than nudity..why mohit suri couldn't cast some good actors... this movie could have been way better if mohit suri wouldn't have casted disha patani, arjun kapoor and Tara sutaria.. it pissed me off.

I don't know why people are hating this movie so much. While people are looking out for massy south films, they are trying to dump this one which has entertainment value of most massy entertainers. The story was great, the plot was engaging. I have seen worse films. KGF for example, was too annoying and I have no idea why people love it so much. I couldn't sit throught it for more than 10 minutes. The screenplay, the plot of this movie was good enough. If they could have afforded better actors and dialogue writers, then maybe this movie would have done better as a whole. This movie has its flaws but it isn't as bad as people make it to be. I enjoyed it. I think instead of going for stylised masala pot boiler, had this been made specifically for OTT with more erotic R-rated scenes and gore, this movie would have achieved a cult status. I guess film makers should evolve theselves for OTT and give up this obsession for theatre audience. Let the theatre be for theatrical movies. Mystry thrillers deserve to be made with more grounded performance. The audience has evolved and so has our tastes. But anyways, this movie was a decent watch.

Ek Villain Returns review :

A serial killer on the prowl That makes some 'bewaffa' women howl Is it Arjun or is it John?

Or maybe Disha with her deranged frown..

The sequel to Ek Villain, which had Riteish Deshmukh as the demented serial killer with Sid Malhotra as his nemesis, is turned in to a franchise here by Mohit Suri whose last film Malang (2020) was quite okay though it didn't exactly set the box office on fire. Here, he has an interesting story to tell but alas, the execution is too sluggish and confusing to entertain...even at a crisp two hours ten minutes of runtime!!

Infact, the first hour is only about a spoilt rich brat Arjun Kapoor doing some serious faltugiri with an aspiring singer played by Tara Sutaria. Music has always been Mohit's fortè but the songs in Ek Villain Returns are ahem (!!) unsatisfactory to say the least. Worse, the ploy to take the story forward through the songs falls flat as we find them jarring to the narrative flow.

John Abraham comes nearly an hour late and his entry elevates the movie two notches higher. He plays a radio cab driver who falls for a clothing sales girl Disha Pattani. Their love story progresses from the mushy taxi rides in Mumbai to a makeout in Lonavala where one of them gets a shock of life...

Mohit Suri hasn't been able to develop his key characters optimally unlike the first part where Riteish's serial killer was build up fantastically through his experiences with a nagging wife. Here, the main villain's intention doesn't look convincing at all. The metro fight sequence is imaginatively choreographed but who has ever seen an empty coach or a deserted platform in the ever busy Mumbai?! As for those clumsy VFX, the less said the better!!

Overall, Ek Villain Returns aint too bad for a one time dekho, but had the potential to be a fantastically wicked slasher movie. Mohit has lost a good opportunity but its still kinda okay. There is a hint of a sequel in the end credits scene and I hope that one kills it...literally!!

"Rating zaroor dena" repeats the cabbie John throughout the movie. 5 stars (out of 10) is what Ek Villain Returns gets from me.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.