Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba review: An engaging sequel that tries too hard to be clever

If Haseen Dillruba (2021) and its sequel Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba were novels divided across four chapters, they could’ve been titled —love, crime, investigation and the Great Escape. Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba—the sequel to the widely watched thriller romance, on Netflix— has the heart of a page-turning pulp-fiction novel—trying too hard to outsmart the viewer, staying true to the grammar of the original.

For the uninitiated, Haseen Dillruba told the story of a small-town couple—Rani and Rishabh—who hatch a plot to cover up a murder and manoeuver the evidence to suit their escape plan. Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba has the couple shifting to a quaint town on the banks of river Yamuna, where they conceal their true identities, hoping to move abroad soon and start life afresh.

While a compounder Abhimanyu is smitten by Rani and woos her like there’s no tomorrow, a physically challenged girl Poonam is after Rishabh at a coaching centre. As if the two didn’t have enough trouble, the cops are back to haunt Rani for the ghosts of her past. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the couple lands in a soup all over again, but is this all part of a larger plan?

Charismatic characters and edgy situations 

Set in the Hindi heartland, in a village around the Taj Mahal, harbouring many dirty secrets, Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba draws you involuntarily with its charismatic characters (who are literary aficionados), edgy situations enriched by the innovative word-play and the retro-styled, flashy colour palette. An untapped sensuousness and tension envelopes the story and it’s hard not to be seduced.

“Ek Haseena Thi… Ek Deewana Tha”, the popular song from Karz (1980) plays in the background to introduce first-time viewers to the couple’s past. As Abhimanyu tries to win over Rani, there’s delectable old-school romance around plain sarees, monsoons, poetry and filmi tributes. As the hunky-dory phase subsides, the film is all about clever ploys and mind games and everyone isn’t what they seem.

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Consistently absorbing 

Even if it is structured similarly to the original, Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba remains consistently absorbing. The cop Montu Chacha has a personal connection with Neel’s murder. The deception, and the escape plan, too, are quintessentially homegrown—involving crocodiles and a railway bridge. However, the main concern is how the pieces of the puzzle, fit together.

Though Haseen Dillruba was no classic, its primary strength was its unpredictability and the freshness in the screenplay; it wasn’t easy to read the minds of its characters. Rishabh Saxena and Rani Kashyap were deliciously flawed. With the sequel, Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba, you are reasonably aware of their capabilities and sense their potential to bail out of tricky situations.

The newer addition to this universe—Abhimanyu, reveals his colours too quickly and the character transition isn’t quite seamless. The makers, after a point, become too conscious of the modus operandi of the first part and deny a distinct identity to the sequel. As a plot idea, the sequel is clever but it comes with a few boundaries that dilute the appeal of the film, to a certain extent.

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Convincing performances by Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey

There’s not much to complain about the performances—Taapsee Pannu, and Vikrant Massey slip into their roles effortlessly as if they’d hopped onto this film’s set right after Haseen Dillruba. There are two other show-stealers this time—Jimmy Shergill and Sunny Kaushal. While the former lends a cold, mean dimension to the portrayal of a cop, a plain-faced Sunny delivers a handful of surprises.

The supporting cast aids Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba’s premise with their solid performances—be it Aditya Srivastava, Trupti Khamkar or Bhumika Dube. Sachet-Parampara’s songs “Haste Haste” and “Kyaa Haal Hai” work within the scope of the film, though you’re unlikely to bank on them for their recall value. Vishal Sinha’s visual texture complements the mysterious, seductive ambience of the film.

Kanika Dhillon, the writer, displays her talent with sharp dialogues reminiscent of the Salim-Javed era, including a standout line describing red as ‘beimaan rang’ (the colour that can’t be trusted). The film leaves room for a third instalment, hopefully offering a smoother experience than the second.

Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba serves better as a standalone film for new viewers rather than as a sequel to the memorable Haseen Dillruba.

(Views expressed here are personal)

(Edited by S Subhakeerthana)

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