Director: Deepak Shivdasani
Cast: Raai Laxmi, Aditya Srivastava, Ravi Kisan, Pankaj Tripathi
Right at the beginning of Julie 2, we see Aunt Annie’s (Rati Agnihotri) super-zoomed face followed by Raai Laxmi’s character Julie, waking up to something that comes close to a poorly done Poo from Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham. “I’m the best," she says out loud with a certain discomfort and a forced demeanor.
The film follows Julie’s trail from a young girl to a star to ending up as an actor whose career is now in ashes, courtesy “the dark entertainment industry". The dark entertainment industry is a reference to industry men who, barring one, all lust for her body- not for her acting skills, not for her talent but because “she’s the best."
The makers take you for dimwits because every obvious visual is followed by more obvious words. Like they actually get a producer to say, “Madam, yaha talent nahi, sirf body chalta hai" when Julie shows her portfolio or in another instance, because her name is Julie, the god in reference has to be Jesus and a particular dialogue in the film refers to Julie as Jesus’ sweet child. And not one, not two, but his name is chanted many a time in the film and all in vain.
Cut to the chase, Julie decides to bog down and compromises to become a star. Her rise to stardom is flanked by clichés which don’t even appeal on the paper now, let alone on celluloid- sleeping her way to top- with a producer, an affair with an underworld insider, a relationship with a cricketer, a love story with a Southern industry superstar who is stereotypically more concerned about his public image than his personal life.
She becomes such a huge star that a French filmmaker named Jean Claude decides to cast her in a bilingual film (Hindi and English) that’s aimed at being a contender at International film festivals. Yup, not kidding.
To celebrate her 25th birthday, Julie visits a jewelry shop and some godforsaken men loot the store with the apparent aim of killing the protagonist. She was right in front of them when they fire at least 20 shots at her and still couldn’t get her. Such a pity that even if you use a microscopic lens to find logic to the scene in question, you’ll fail.
Anyway, while it’s crystal clear that it wasn’t a regular burglary but a murder attempt, ACP Devdutt (Aditya Srivastava) steps in to investigate the case. And with him, comes a CID hangover that is far from authentic. Within four hours of the news, he gets his hands on the four masked men. “Ye dhai kilo ka nahi, dhai feet ka haath hai," he says to make things worse shatters any interest you may have developed. (No, we’re sure you’d have walked out by now). The supposed thriller then follows a trajectory to find out the actual villain.
The film is so illogical that even if you walk in without expectations, you’ll be disappointed. And so poorly crafted that it can go down in textbooks as an example of how now to make a film. From unnecessary extra close up shots to dialogues that serve no purpose to acting that stands nowhere, to a plot that, well, doesn’t exist- the film is mash-up of all things pointless. In fact, just before the interval, the direction and writing credit appear and you can’t help but loathe at the money you’ve spent to put yourself through this torture.
Julie 2 is a sequel to the 2004-film Julie, starring Neha Dhupia, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Sanjay Kapoor. And if you’re acquainted with the prequel, you’d agree that the first film should have been the last.
Interestingly (or not), the film has been presented by ex-CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, a self-claimed flag bearer of all things sanskaari. That he has presented this senseless piece of work is hardly any surprise but the mere thought of this film coming to CBFC during his tenure is alluring, to say the least. Wonder what would have irked him more- uncomfortable kisses or the scantily clad body show?
Rating: 1/5
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