'Ek Villain Returns' review: A predictable plot in a needless sequel

Ek Villain Returns

Hindi (Theatres)

Director: Mohit Suri

Cast: John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani, Tara Sutaria, J D Chakravarthy

Rating: 2/5

Mohit Suri’s ‘Ek Villain Returns’ is a sequel to the 2014 hit ‘Ek Villain’. It deals with the story of a cab driver suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and psychosis due to his one-sided love. The disorder compels him to murder over a dozen women. He targets only those who break-up with men after a brief relationship for the want of materialistic life.

He abducts a promising singer, who has been ditched by a spoilt brat of a rich dad’s son. She still loves him. The police launches an investigation to nab the serial killer. Rest of the story answers these questions: Who is the hero? Who is the villain?

Suri pulls the audience into a strange world where villains thrive early on, arousing a lot of curiosity. However, our interest is killed soon with a highly predictable plot.

The first-half establishes four important characters. The tales of all four get intertwined with some interesting twists in the second half. However, Suri fails to maintain the momentum as the ‘spot-the-serial-killer’ game becomes absurd and ridiculous. The director loses an opportunity to convert the flick into an intense psychological thriller.

Non-linear storytelling is a wise choice. The flick lacks a sense of continuity of a good sequel. ‘Teri Galliyan’, the soulful track from the first part, has been reprised as ‘Galliyan Returns’. However, it fails to repeat the magic of the original.

Arjun Kapoor and John Abraham, the two best action heroes and Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria, the two pretty girls, can’t save the film as Bollywood continues to disappoint.

In the film, Abraham is often seen requesting ‘Rating zaroor dena.’ Unfortunately, anything beyond 2 for this film appears illogical.