Film Review: Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 entertains in the literal sense!

How do you like your football teams? Are you the Manchester City or Barcelona kind? Do you enjoy the sense of calm they exude when trying to destroy teams? Or do you prefer the great Manchester United side? Frantic and entertaining side that keeps you on the edge of your seats. Just finding a different way to win a match. At times, you can enjoy both, and that is the beauty of sports.

Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 is like that Manchester United side. There is no set pattern to the film. Its sole purpose is to entertain you and it doesn’t deviate from it at all. It uses some iffy jokes about body weight and cross dressing etc. thankfully has a whole lot more to offer to the audience.

JPNA 1 was the story mainly of Sherry (Humayun Saeed). This time around, a new character has been introduced, Rahat (Fahad Mustafa) as the multimillionaire brother in law of Pervaiz (Ahmed Butt). Sherry, has once again lost touch with his friends. Saif has moved to Australia, while Pervaiz has opened his own gym. Lastly Sheikh has opened his own security company and still struggling to deal with his wife, Gul (Sarwat Gilani).

Rahat, requests Lubna, wife of Pervaiz (Uzma Khan) to visit Turkey to meet the family of Zoe (Marwa Hoccane). Hence, the journey begins, and the two couples meet the father of Zoe, played by Sohail Ahmed. He is a famous designer from Europe and plays a somewhat stereotypical role.

The relationship between Pervaiz and Rahat is one of hate, which makes for quite a few funny situations, especially the back story scene is enjoyable. In amidst of this all, by luck Sheikh and Pervaiz meet Sherry. He is living in a mental health facility and has attempted suicide multiple times. The reason? Marrina dies due to a Parachuting accident and Sherry losses his will to live.

Now it is in the capable hands of the two friends to save their friends live. Or they believe it is. But in comes Selena (Kubra Khan) in the picture. A laugh here, a smile there and Sherry is in love again. Yes, it sounds rushed but that is because it usually in these set piece based films. Problem? Selena is daughter of Pakistan hating ambassador of the UAE. To make matters worse, Zoe’s 1^st cousin Sher Ali (Omer Shehzad). The story takes one direction than another from here. We have the political angle, there is an encounter regarding financial dealings, and two love stories.

The script in terms of dialogue and creating situation is wonderfully crafted. However, often situations are not as well connected as one would have liked. This is however what happens when the focus is more on inducing laughter than story telling, as is the case is such films usually. As for the performances, Fahad Mustafa gets a significant role especially in the 1^st half. He plays a billionaire with swagger. His romantic angle with Mawra Hoccane provides a little bit of depth to the film. Marwa, looks great on screen. Had it not been an ensemble film, more time could have been devoted to her character. Ahmed Butt, Vasay Chaudhry and Sohail Khan are there to make us laugg and they are successful in doing so. Whereas, Humayon Saeed is brilliant when is trying his hand at comedy. Watch out for mujhy kyun nikala and channa meraya song. Kubra Khan as the new comer sparkles.

3 films are releasing on this Eid. Director Nadeem Baig has brought his A game. From JPNA 1, this film shows that it takes time for story writers and directors to fully exhibit their vision on screen. A fast paced script, and strong performances make JPNA 2 an entertaining film. Let go of that lamb roast and go check this film out!