Pyaar Ka Punchnama was one of the biggest surprises and sleeper hits of 2011. The characters were adorable and relatable and no wonder that the film continued to remain popular over the years. Hence, one can’t help but expect a lot from Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, especially when it’s trailer has been so great. And thankfully, it does meet the expectations although Part 1 is better!
The story of the movie: Anshul alias Go Go (Kartik Aaryan), Siddharth alias Chauka (Sunny Singh Nijjar) and Tarun alias Thakur (Omkar Kapoor) are roommates and thick friends. They all fall in love, incidentally at the same time. Go Go starts dating Ruchika aka Chiku (Nushrat Bharucha), Chauka gets smitten by Supriya (Sonnalli Seygall) and Thakur falls for Kusum (Ishita Raj). However, each of this relationship comes with its share of challenges and problems.
To be honest, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 doesn’t immediately impress. The film follows the pattern of the first part and hence one can’t help but start drawing parallels. The intro scene is hardly impressive and immediately one goes down memory lane and reminds oneself that Pyaar Ka Punchnama started on such a rocking note. The scene of the three guys meeting the girls is when the film picks up. The second meeting that the guys have with their girls is even better. The problems that the guys face are different this time but very relatable. And most importantly, it’s highly entertaining! The intermission point is quite smart and one really gives kudos to the writers for coming up with such a cool idea! The fun continues in the second half as well. The monologue this time is almost 7 minutes long and its sure going to bring the house down! The film ends on a completely justified note. Sadly, the film is not without its share of blemishes. The problems shown in part 1 were much more touching and relatable as compared to the ones in the sequel. The monologue is great but the way it suddenly commences looks a bit forced. In the first part, it came up very organically. Lastly, the abuses in the film are beeped despite that the film was given an‘A’ certificate. The charm of few scenes withered away thanks to these beeps.
Kartik Aaryan delivers a terrific performance. The actor is in top form and makes great use of his chocolate boy looks. And needless to say, he rocked in the monologue scene! Sunny Singh gave some blank expressions in the dancing scenes but in the rest of the film, he is quite good. Omkar Kapoor looks quite dashing and gives a fine and controlled performance. Most importantly, he looks the part of a person who’s earning Rs 3 lakhs a month. Nushrat Bharucha looks very adorable and gets into the skin of the character. Sonnalli Seygall delivers a great performance and leaves a huge mark in some scenes. Ishita Raj proves her worth with a great job. Watch out for her dancing skills! Manvir Singh (Sunny) is good in a small role. Sharat Saxena and Mona Ambegaonkar are okay as Supriya’s parents.
Hitesh Sonik’s music is good but not chartbuster variety. Paro is the best of the lot and is almost like the film’s theme. Moorakh is very nicely shot. Background score is a bit loud but works. Rajat Poddar’s production design is quite nice and the film looks rich thanks to him. Luv Ranjan’s story is original and very much in sync with today’s times. Rahul Mody, Tarun Jain and Luv Ranjan’s dialogues are smart, sharp and funny and one of the big reasons why the film works so well. Screenplay is more or less fine. Luv Ranjan’s direction is simple and effective. However, he could have done a slightly better job in few scenes. The problems faced by the characters could have been better depicted. Also, the film is devoid of emotional scenes. Such scenes were there in part 1 and it really helped. But here, the relatability factor is there but could have been more profound. Nevertheless, a fine job by Luv overall and eagerly waiting for part 3!
Some of the best scenes:
1. Go Go, Chauka, Thakur meet Chiku, Supriya, Kusum
2. Chiku comes to watch the match with the guys (hilarious)
3. The three couples go for dinner
4. The intermission point
5. The couples in Thailand
6. Go Go fights with Chiku over Sunny
7. The last 20 minutes
8. The monologue
On the whole, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 is a fun film that is sure to impress its target audience – the urban youth. Performances are great and the film is riddled with some very funny dialogues and moments. However, it follows the pattern of the first part and hence one can’t help but draw parallels. In that regard, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 fails to reach up to the level of part 1 as the latter was slightly more relatable and convincing. Nevertheless, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 deserves a watch for sure. And yes, there’s a monologue this time as well which in itself is a big reason to see this film!
My rating - *** ½ out of 5!
