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Jolly LLB2 Movie Review: Tedious pace aside, this is a unique Akshay Kumar ride!
In the last act of the film, a judge (played wonderfully by Saurabh Shukla), puts it straight - only once in a while, comes a case, which makes the effort of being a judge worthwhile. That stands for every field, especially for the one who watches movies as a profession; rarely does a film take the effort of creating something that sweeps you off your feet. Director Subhash Kapoor gets full marks for intention and sincerity, but this time he has written a layered story which picks on multiple vices - there is corruption, terrorism, the apathy of cops, the wobbly bureaucratic set up et al. Of course, so much cannot be said without a few hiccups. In this case, the hitches aren't as far and few as one would've hoped.
A Jolly Good fellow, lawyer Jagdish Mather has an easy going life. We see him helping kids in an exam by reading answers of English paper loudly on a mic. The services are paid for by the parents of the children who want them to pass the exam. When at work, he works as a senior lawyer's Man Friday helping his wife fry kebabs. But when he dupes a pregnant young lady to get to his dream, without thinking of repercussions, his life takes a scary turn. Guilt-ridden, haunted by dreams of the lady he prompted to commit suicide, he takes it upon himself to get her justice. Her husband was killed in a fake encounter and it is difficult to take the cops to the task. But Jolly investigates every side of the matter and ensures justice is served.
Akshay Kumar has time and again garnered compliments for backing substantial films in recent times. But now, in this particular case, he fits into the character effortlessly. He gets the twang right, the body language is perfect and mostly he gives Jolly a certain straight-faced, dry humor which comes naturally to the actor. Huma Qureshi, on the other hand, suffers from a badly sketched part. She has a few scenes and to put it simply, it's a film that could do without her acting prowess. Who really help the film is its supporting cast. There is the crackling banter between Akshay and Annu Kapoor. Kapoor is easy on the eyes and so effortlessly vicious as the defense lawyer. Kumud Mishra misses the streak of evil he requires but can you ever fault an actor of that stature.
This time Kapoor takes on a risky subject - the case of mistaken identity and fake encounters. Getting a Kashmir angle is even more dangerous but Kapoor handles it well, diplomatically with a preachy sermon. Thankfully Kumar and Shukla save us from taking objection to this. The second half is crisp, even as Jolly becomes a superhero dodging bullets, rescuing prisoners from jails, it's hard to not think about the plausibility of the setting. No, a dharna in a courtroom is as bizarre as it sounds. But bhai, documentary thode hi na hai! Maza aaya? Enough and more!
Despite the simplistic plot which seems nuanced but sinks into sameness and contrivances and grave pacing issues, the film is earnest. If you can let go of a judge discussing Manish Malhotra lehengas for his daughter's wedding, this could make for a good one time watch.
We rate it a 60% on the Pinkvilla movie meter.
