Dharmaveer 2

After the success of Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane, the much-awaited sequel Dharmaveer 2 carries forward the story of the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe and his political disciple Eknath Shinde. Directed with intensity and conviction, the film is both a tribute to Dighe's towering personality and a portrayal of Shinde's journey into political prominence. Prasad Oak once again delivers a magnetic performance as Anand Dighe. His screen presence is commanding, capturing Dighe's charisma and the deep bond he shared with his people.

Kshitish Date, portraying Eknath Shinde, impresses in the second half with sincerity and depth. His transition from a loyal follower to a leader in his own right is one of the film's most engaging arcs.

Dharmveer 2 promised to be a continuation of the legacy established by its predecessor, but unfortunately, it falls flat in almost every aspect. From the start, the film feels more like an extended fan-fiction rather than a genuine tribute to its source material.

Plot: The storyline is incredibly weak and lacks any real substance. It seems like the filmmakers have based the movie on a completely fictional narrative that barely has any grounding in reality. The plot is incoherent, filled with unnecessary drama, and moves at a snail's pace. The historical inaccuracies and misrepresentations only add to the frustration, as it's difficult to take the film seriously when the foundation itself feels fake.

Characters: The characters are poorly developed, with little to no depth. The lead character is one-dimensional, and instead of growing through the movie, he remains static and uninteresting. The supporting cast barely gets any meaningful screen time, making it hard to care about their involvement in the story.

Direction & Screenplay: The direction is lackluster and lacks any creative vision. The screenplay is full of clichés and melodramatic scenes that feel outdated and irrelevant. Every scene seems forced, dragging the audience into a plot that has no real tension or excitement.

Conclusion: Dharmveer 2 is not only a waste of time but also a huge disappointment for anyone who expects a well-made historical film. With its misleading premise and shallow storytelling, it's difficult to recommend this movie to anyone. Unless you're looking for something to criticize, it's better to skip this one.

Dharmaveer 2 continues the story from its predecessor, but it divides the narrative equally in two parts. A half belongs to Mr. Anand Dighe, his work, his ethics, and his pride, and the rest belongs to Mr. Ekanath Shinde, his work, his ethics, and his pride (before he became the honorable chief minister of Maharashtra). That's one of the main issues with the film because it feels like more of a Shinde's film than Mr. Dighe, who is supposed to play the titular role. Also, the film is made right before the election period in Maharashtra, so one might look at it as promotional content, even though the film is fully real and honest from Mr. Ekanath Shinde's point of view. Therefore, it is strictly for the fans of Dighe Saheb, Shinde Saheb, and Kattar Shivsainiks who hail Hindutva as the greatest thing in their lives.

Dharmaveer 2 brings back the powerful presence of Prasad Oak as Dharmaveer Anand Dighe, and his performance is undoubtedly the highlight of the film. Oak's portrayal is nothing short of brilliant-his screen presence, dialogue delivery, and the way he coordinates his eyes and facial expressions bring depth and intensity to his character. Every time he's on screen, it's magnetic, giving the audience those goosebumps-worthy moments.

However, despite Oak's strong performance, the film doesn't fully capitalize on his brilliance. There should have been more screen time dedicated to him as Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb. As an audience member, I was there to witness Oak's powerful portrayal, not get lost in the film's heavy focus on political content. If they had given him more focus, the overall scenario might have been completely different.

While Pravin Tarde's direction is solid in parts, and the themes of Hindutva and humanity are woven well into the story, the political subplots tend to weigh it down. The first half is engaging with action sequences and a strong plot, but the second half loses momentum, struggling to keep the audience's attention.

That said, the action sequences are a treat, and the background music amplifies the excitement during those scenes. But even with those highlights, the film falls short in delivering a cohesive experience that holds attention from start to finish.

In the end, Dharmaveer 2 is worth watching for Prasad Oak's stellar performance, but it's hard not to feel like more focus on him would have made the film much better. As it stands, the movie is decent, but not quite the impactful experience it could have been.

Recommended for fans of Prasad Oak and those who appreciate action-packed dramas, but the story may feel underwhelming if you're here mainly for him.

Dharmaveer 2 (2024) : Movie Review -

Dharmaveer 2 continues the story from its predecessor, but it divides the narrative equally in two parts. A half belongs to Mr. Anand Dighe, his work, his ethics, and his pride, and the rest belongs to Mr. Ekanath Shinde, his work, his ethics, and his pride (before he became the honorable chief minister of Maharashtra). That's one of the main issues with the film because it feels like more of a Shinde's film than Mr. Dighe, who is supposed to play the titular role. Also, the film is made right before the election period in Maharashtra, so one might look at it as promotional content, even though the film is fully real and honest from Mr. Ekanath Shinde's point of view. Therefore, it is strictly for the fans of Dighe Saheb, Shinde Saheb, and Kattar Shivsainiks who hail Hindutva as the greatest thing in their lives.

Dharmaveer 2 doesn't have a linear plot, as things are told in a two-layer narrative. One is the past, which belongs to Mr. Dighe's work, and the other one explores Shinde's work from his past with Dighe and then without Dighe. The film begins with Dighe's hardcore Hinduism as the powerful HINDUFIED massy segments come one after another. From Palghar sadhu lynching, Babri Masjid, Jai Shree Ram, Haji Malang, Hindu religion being the best in the world, proselytism, Sawarkar's deshabhakti, the Central government favoring anti-Hindu events, Nathuram Godse's stage drama getting banned to films destroying Bhagawa, it explores everything in the first hour. The second half takes you into Shinde's life, his work, and the torment he had to go through under the political alliance when Shivsena came to rule in Maharashtra during the COVID period.

As mentioned in the tagline, it's a half Dighe and half Shinde show, and it's strictly for Shivsainiks who belong to Kattar Hinduism more than political choices. The film becomes too Shinde-fied in the second half, which many wouldn't have expected because they went in to watch Dighe's biographical, or rather, the curiosity over his sudden demise since Dharmaveer 1 had covered most of his biopic stuff already. The entire second half is about the political struggle Shinde and his close ones had to go through, and we all know the entire story from the media channels from 2019 to 2021. The entire political makeover is known to the public, but not pre-story. Dharmaveer 2 tries to explore that, rather, let's say, it runs with the same motive throughout the second hour. The dated drama may not appeal to a big bunch since they were more interested in watching the Anand Dighe's story from the past than Mr. Shinde's political affairs in the last 4-5 years, which are very much known to everyone through the news channels. The film still has some massy moments and emotional segments that will move you.

Prasad Oak delivers yet another powerpack performance as Dighe Saheb. He is Dighe saheb for those who haven't seen him in real life. He does it again, but this time the screen time is only half. Kshitish Date gets a bigger role this time, and he has done a brilliant job. His getup, body language, and accent as Eknath Shinde are top notch. From Makarand Date to Snehal Tarde to Abhijeet Khandekar and many others, there is a huge supporting cast here, and they all look decent while reprising the roles, including the newly added characters.

Dharmveer 2 has a few action sequences that have mass value and a solid background score. "Asa ha Dharamveer" song sounded much better in the prequel than this. The editing is sloppy in the second half, and the cinematography is below par. D2 isn't anywhere close to the entertainment value of Part 1, so you better keep your expectations low. Pravin Tarde has finally missed a hit as a director. He has been quite successful, but this time, things are looking bad. Let's hope that Dharmaveer 2 evokes the fans and makes a box office hit, but personally, I think it could have been a lot better, if not on par with Dharmaveer (2022). Tarde's vision isn't really appealing enough to carry this all the way, especially in today's time when Maharastra assembly elections are around the corner. Wait, we still have Part 3 coming!

RATING - 4/10*