Makers and star-cast of Sadak 2 should be thankful audiences have seen just the trailer not the entire movie, otherwise the film would have garnered more dislikes, say critics
When the trailer of Alia Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt starrer Sadak 2 was launched two weeks back, it collected a pile of negative reactions to make it one of the most disliked trailers released in India. In fact, the number of viewers who succeeded in making the trailer, within a few days of its launch on YouTube, become the most disliked, soon touched crores. It cheered the netizens! But why did people want to dislike the trailer so much? The answer turned out to be the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput that set off the debate on nepotism in Bollywood. People, it seems, wanted to teach a lesson to star kids for their domination in Bollywood.
Also read: Actors, politicians welcome shifting of Sushant’s case to CBI
But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. And this also holds true for films as they can’t be judged by their trailers. Perhaps makers of Sadak 2 had this in mind, when despite so much negative publicity the trailer generated, they hoped the film would do well as people might get over their feelings and rate the film well, just as the 90s Sadak, starring Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt.
Sadak 2 released on 28 August on Hotstar and failed to impress people and critics. Not, because they had in mind “nepo” kids but the content was found lacking. Almost every critic rubbished the film. A few called this Mahesh Bhatt directorial junk while some said it was the worst film of 2020. In the view of this critic, the film deserves more dislikes than what it has got so far.
The story revolves around the death under mysterious circumstances of Shakuntala Desai, the mother of Desai Group of Industries scion Aarya (Alia Bhatt), who wants to take revenge and bring the culprits to justice. In order to honour her mother’s last wish, Aarya embarks on a journey to Kailash and the story of Sadak 2 unfolds.
Indian Express‘s film critic Subhra Gupta gave the film just 1 star (out of five) and called it terrible. “All those waiting to pounce on all those who dared to like Sadak 2, kindly exhale. The film is, in one word, terrible: Why would anyone want to make something so dated, so jaded, in this day and age?” reads Gupta’s review. Hindustan Times film critic Jyoti Sharma Bawa said Sadak 2 is one of worst films of 2020 and advised viewers to “take this trip at your own risk”. “The trouble with Sadak 2 is that it is so deeply entrenched in the worst aspects of 90s filmmaking that all of Dutt’s aching intensity and hell-for-leather action cannot free it. It’s a far cry from the superb cinema Mahesh Bhatt served us back in the day – I speak of Naam and Zakhm, Arth and Daddy. Sadak 2 regurgitates the most cliched, exaggerated pulp that Bollywood spewed out in the decade, and in the one preceding it,” she wrote in her reivew. The Times of India gave it two stars out of five and reported, “In a nutshell, Sadak 2, for everyone involved with this project, should have been a ‘road not taken’. And for those who are planning on watching this purely for sentimental reasons, be forewarned: This sadak leads nowhere; turn back. Jai Guru ji!”. NDTV‘s Saibal Chatterjee, who gave 1.5 star out of five, said, “Sadak 2 is a ride best avoided. None of the characters, who hop on, is entirely in control of his or her mental faculties. One is suicidal, another is power-crazed, still another is addicted to drugs. And all of them seem to be driven by a death wish.”
Filmakers should understand that they can’t take the audience for granted. Director Mahesh Bhatt and starrer Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt should be thankful that people have only watched the trailer, not the entire movie, otherwise it would have garnered more dislikes.