Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | November 18, 2016

Rating: 2 / 5

The essence: The film looks good but lacks the killer punch. Nevertheless, for those in love, it will bring out a mixed bag of emotions.

A sequel to the 2001 film Tum Bin, the plot remains similar. Anubhav Sinha who directed the earlier version is at the helm of this one too. However, fifteen years later, with no novelty in the script, Tum Bin II has nothing new to offer.

If you have watched the prequel, you pretty much have a hunch of what will unfold. Considering this was a love story weighing heavily on the emotions on the support cast as well, director Anubhav Sinha, who is also the writer of this film, could have spun a newer tale.

However, what he fails to deliver in the script, he provides lavishly in the capturing of the scenes in Glasgow: snow-capped mountains, breath-taking valleys and a tense skiing scene captured beautifully by cinematographer Ewan Mulligan.

Taran (Neha Sharma) and Amar (Aashim Gulati) who are soon to be married, holiday atop a mountain in Scotland. Fond of skiing, Amar, leaves early morning for the mountain top to get his dose of adrenaline rush. However, just as he is about to slow down and stop, he crashes into a biker and is thrown into thin air. For nine days the rescue team look for him before calling the search off. His father (Kanwaljit Singh) is distraught. Taran is heart-broken. She is trying to pick up the pieces of life, when in walks Shekhar (Aditya Seal). Shekhar is introduced to Taran as his friend’s son by Amar’s father.

The twist comes at the interval.

For the entire first half, after capturing the audience with a brisk story in the first 15 minutes, Sinha drags the plot. He pulls and tugs making no headway. The twist in the tale somewhat resurrects the film to only fall flat once again as the central characters are given nothing novel to do. They pretty much run around in circles even when the end is near.

Neha Sharma, caught in a bind, is the only exception who shoulders the responsibility to veer the movie to its climax. With the limited resources at hand, Neha makes the best giving us a gamut of emotions, being true to the character and to the people around her. Aditya Seal, who impressed with Purani Jeans in the summer of 2014, surprisingly is halting in his portrayal of Shekhar, around who hinges the sub-plot. Aashim Gulati who makes his debut has not much of a role here.

The dialogues are weighed with emotions and stand out in a lot of scenes. The end dialogue where Shekhar tells Taran, “Pyaar sahi mat kar, pyaar kar,” is the soul what Sinha was looking for.

Tum Bin II had the promise of being bracketed in the Danielle Steele category. It has the looks but lacks the killer punch. Nevertheless, for those in love, it will bring out a mixed bag of emotions.

CREDITS
Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anubhav Sinha
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Star Cast: Neha Sharma, Aditya Seal, Aashim Gulati, Kanwaljit Singh