The biggest irony of Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and its 2011 hit prequel is that it is directed by a man called ‘Luv’ Ranjan. Irony because this man called Luv hits love and its affiliated emotions exactly where it hurts and unabashedly blames the fairer sex for most of the modern day relationship issues. While you may disagree with the notions propagated by him, or even worse, you may call him blatantly misogynistic, utterly frustrated and dismiss him completely if you suffer from bouts of feminism, but you cannot take away the director’s legitimate right to make his point. A point that he so strongly believes in and goes about emphasizing it in a very eloquent, humorous and mostly harmless manner that in most cases, it should not (and does not) offend anyone (from either sexes).
I will not mince words in warning you beforehand that Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is not for you if you are a devout feminist, a bit too sensitive kinds or devoid of even a gentle dollop of humor. You might consider dropping reading this review right here right now or even if you want to continue to read (in case you are massively impressed by my writing), you should definitely not think of watching the film. Pyar Ka Punchnama 2 is shameless and remorseless in its female condemnation. Be warned!
Using the same old template of its much-appreciated prequel, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is about three carefree boys (Kartik Aaryan as Anshul/Gogo, Sunny Singh as Sidharth/Chauka and Omkar Kapoor as Thakur) who share a stunningly luxurious flat, party most of the times and yet never get broke. Enter three petite young women (Nushrat Bharucha as Ruchika/Chiku, Sonalli Sehgall as Supriya and Ishita Raj as Kusum) to turn our boys’ blessed lives upside down. The three couples hit it off initially but problems peep in as soon as the girls’ start to ‘take control’ and ‘domesticate’ our boys. Lusty and romantic background music quickly makes way for Mika Singh’s Ban Gaya Kutta and puppy noises, and you know the real fun has just begun. What follows is a series of comical relationship situations that many of urban, metro-dwelling couples would identify with.
If Pyaar Ka Punchnama was about boys whining over how girls frustrate them with their silly tantrums, unreal expectations and virtual exploitation, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 goes a step further and seems to be indulging in genuine finger pointing. It pits all the blame of relationship misery on females and in fact smartly picks up three most common issues – money, marriage and mistrust, to drive home its highly opinionated and somewhat prejudiced points.
Like its predecessor, this film also features an 8-minute long ‘monologue of frustration’ by Kartik Aaryan – an improvement of at least 5 minutes from the previous film. Kartik begins his monologue with ‘problem yeh hai ki wo ladki hai’ and you know where it will go. The relentless rant is both a rabble rouser as well as an absolute uproar at places. You find yourself giggling, nodding in agreement (at times) and letting out a haww in disbelief as well. The monologue, which has been fittingly picturized at a signage in the backdrop that reads ‘dead end’, concludes with Kartik arriving at the conclusion that perhaps it’s better for man to marry his hand rather than a woman. Ouch. Get it?
Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 also ups the ante in the oomph department with generous dosage of kissing, bikini and unbuttoning scenes. The film also gets the lingo spot on with ch**iya becoming a synonym for a man in love andch***yapa becoming an expression for every suffering that a man has to undergo because of his bae. Courtesy oursanskaari censor board, there are several beeps in the film but it is no rocket science to figure out what the actors are mouthing. The good part about the film’s dialogues and its overall lingo is that it never seems made up or pretentious and comes across as what it aspires to be – youth-centric and day-to-day. But, overall if you compare Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 with its prequel, the former clearly seems to have an edge – largely because its novelty and originality.
The three male actors in the film are in top form with each of them both living every man’s dream and also venting out every man’s grumbles. Kartik Aaryan, the undisputed veteran of the three when it comes to doing a post-mortem of love, is hilarious in some of the scenes with the frustrated monologue easily topping the charts. Sunny Singh as the affable Sardar is the surprise pack with its innocent looks, charming personality and cheeky sense of humor. His plight seems to be most genuine of the three lads and you feel for the guy most of the times – a true victim of ‘aurat ka atyachaar’ in every sense. Omkar Kapoor as Thakur carries the intense look well and manages to hold his own amongst the three boys. He acts confidently and brings a certain calmness to the madness of Kartik and Sunny.
The leading ladies too pull of their jobs admirably with Nushrat Bharucha coming out with flying colors in her bimbette act. Nushrat steals the show in a sequence where three boys and herself are watching a India Vs Pakistan cricket match. Her dumbness in this sequences, where she innocently confirms with her boyfriend that whether Sachin Tendulkar has actually retired, is so spectacular that you want to roll on the floor laughing. Sonalli Sehgall and Ishita Raj also fit in their roles perfectly, balancing glamour with meanness/dumbness with relative ease.
But, everything is not hunky dory with Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2. Its jokes do look repetitive at times, especially in the second half and the music fails to inspire. The film is also brazen at times while making fun of women and although it never becomes insulting, it definitely goes on to become heavily lopsided on occasions. The screenplay is also dodgy at places with the situations becoming way too predictable and the rants becoming way too obvious.
But, overall Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is mostly entertaining and consistently enjoyable. It is blatant, bold and buoyant with the sentiments of male victimhood and female bashing. It’s light, comical look and feel makes matters tolerable or else we would have had women protesting on the streets demanding a ban (pun intended).
Watch it if you subscribe to the ideals of ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus’!
Rating: *** (3 out of 5 – Good)
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