Taapsee,
Vikrant,
Sunny
are
a
fine
fit
on
their
own
as
well
as
around
each
other
and
prove
themselves
to
be
well
equipped
to
survive
the
air
of
double
dealing.
What’s
missing
is
sizzle,
observes
Sukanya
Verma.
Three
years
ago
when
Haseen
Dillruba
came
out,
it
attempted
many
things
at
once
as
a
small-town
tale
of
female
empowerment
in
the
body
of
a
thriller
fuelled
by
crime
of
passion
and
pulp
fiction
novels.
Despite
its
wild
tonal
inconsistencies,
Director
Vinil
Mathew’s
treatment
of
Kanika
Dhillon’s
story,
screenplay
and
dialogues,
revolving
around
a
volatile
marriage
navigating
a
fatal
attraction,
delivered
moments
of
mystery
and
magnetism.
The
directorial
baton
has
now
passed
on
to
Jayprad
Desai
(of
Kaun
Pravin
Tambe?,
Mukhbir:
The
Story
of
a
Spy
fame)
for
its
sequel
titled,
Phir
Aayi
Hasseen
Dillruba.
Only
this
time,
Kanika’s
story,
screenplay
and
dialogues
are
sorely
lacking
in
bite
and
motive.
Recycling
the
original’s
‘jo
pagalpan
se
na
guzre
woh
pyaar
kya,
hosh
mein
rishte
nibhaye
jaate
hain‘
sentiments
to
stretch
out
a
plot
that
has
outlived
its
welcome,
Hasseen
Dillruba‘s
progress
is
limited
to
the
extras
and
l’s
in
its
title.
With
scarcely
anything
new
to
offer,
the
bland
follow-up
goes
around
in
circles
in
search
of
deception
and
devilry.
Concerning
itself
with
the
aftermath
of
Rishu
(Vikrant
Massey)
and
Rani’s
(Taapsee
Pannu)
unattainable
happily-ever-after,
Phir
Aayi
Hasseen
Dillruba
does
away
with
the
original’s
quaint
setting,
domestic
nok-jhonks
and
teasing
temper
to
escalate
its
sinister
mood.
Building
on
the
meta
tone
of
fictional
author
Dinesh
Pandit’s
campy
bestsellers
Rani
voraciously
reads,
the
movie
opens
with
her
storming
through
a
midnight
downpour
crying
for
dear
life,
draped
in
a
chiffon
sari,
drenched
from
head
to
toe.
Where
there
is
chiffon,
can
crocodiles
be
far
behind?
A
peculiar
reptile
problem
plagues
Agra
amidst
broken
barrages
and
overflowing
rivers
giving
the
makers
a
perfect
excuse
to
create
an
air
of
foreshadowing.
That
the
creature
touch
is
more
comical
than
lethal
is
another
story.
Here’s
what
I
can
tell
you:
Between
the
hustle
bustle
of
Rani’s
parlour
job
and
Rishu
juggling
his
prosthetic
arm
between
physics
tuitions
and
pizza
delivery,
the
twain
lead
separate
lives
yet
meet
on
the
sly
planning
their
escape
from
the
city
of
love
and
crocodiles.
It’s
a
wild,
wild
world
yet
everybody
speaks
like
a
character
from
a
1960s
drama.
‘Intezar
se
darr
nahi
lagta
kyonki
akele
kar
sakte
hain
darr
toh
mulaqat
se
lagta
hai
uske
liye
aapka
hona
zaroori
hai‘
would
be
an
easy
fit
on
Raaj
Kumar
but
props
to
Sunny
Kaushal
for
doing
his
best.
He’s
equally
valiant
in
pulling
off
‘Pyaar
do
logon
mein
hota
hai.
Teen
logon
mein
toh
sirf
saanp
seedi
kheli
jaati
hai.’
Sunny’s
Abhimanyu,
the
earnestly
smiling
compounder
in
9-to-5
attire
has
the
hots
for
Rani.
On
the
other
hand,
Rishu’s
anxious
landlord
(Bhumika
Dube)
has
her
own
axe
to
grind.
In
the
absence
of
clever
challenges
to
advance
the
narrative,
Kanika
relies
on
cliches
and
confusions
for
the
sake
of
twists
foreseeable
20
minutes
into
the
movie.
Of
its
two-something
hours
running
time,
the
first
30
are
spent
in
providing
a
summary
of
Haseen
Dillruba
while
the
rest
capture
a
pair
of
admirers
wanting
Rishu
and
Rani’s
respective
attention
by
hook
or
crook.
There’s
Jimmy
Shergill’s
disgruntled
cop,
likened
to
a
tenacious
woodpecker,
hijacking
Aditya
Srivastava’s
case
over
reasons
so
disappointingly
unimaginative
they
really
reflect
the
simple-minded
tone
of
Phir
Aayi
Hasseen
Dillruba‘s
lacklustre
writing.
A
movie
about
incessant
outwitting
made
with
bare
minimum
smarts
and
tons
of
conceit,
I
found
myself
more
confounded
than
curious
by
the
whole
deal.
High
profile
cases
won’t
receive
as
much
law
and
order
attention
as
Rishu
and
Rani
do,
drawing
the
entire
Agra
police
force
in
their
pursuit.
CCTV
cameras
capture
incriminating
evidence
more
accurately
than
high
resolution
ones
in
reality
shows.
But
the
real
treat
is
how
some
invisible
media
pressure
weighs
heavily
on
cops
to
shut
the
case
for
reasons
nobody
knows.
Taapsee,
Vikrant,
Sunny
are
a
fine
fit
on
their
own
as
well
as
around
each
other
and
prove
themselves
to
be
well
equipped
to
survive
the
air
of
double
dealing.
What’s
missing
is
sizzle.
Neither
the
seduction
of
a
mysterious
paramour
nor
the
desperation
of
star-crossed
lovers
has
an
ounce
of
steam
to
it.
This
is
a
genre
that
relies
on
wits,
wickedness
and
uncertainty
to
work,
but
the
insipid
tone
and
amateurish
creativity
of
Phir
Aayi
Hasseen
Dillruba
suggests
the
makers
exhausted
all
their
inspiration
in
rustling
up
trippy
titles
like
Cobra
Ka
Intaquam
and
Kasauli
Ka
Qahar.
Phir
Aayi
Hasseen
Dillruba
streams
on
Netflix.
Phir
Aayi
Hasseen
Dillruba
Review
Rediff
Rating:
