Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – ACP Avinash Verma (Manoj Bajpayee) and his SCU are called upon by the Commissioner of Police to investigate a mass shoot-out at the Night Owl Bar in Mumbai. Layers begin to peel at something bigger, deeper, and darker at play.

My Take – Three years ago, ZEE5 released a mystery thriller, Silence…Can You Hear It?, written and directed by Aban Bharucha Deohans, which despite the all the makings of a superb potboiler turned out to be quite the average affair. Though it was constantly engaging thanks to a game Manoj Bajpayee in the lead, it was hard to overlook the screenplay that marred with superlative flaws removed any semblance of an intelligent, twisty murder mystery that might have left viewers in awe with its proficiency.

Its sequel, which sees the core cast and writer-director Deohans return in their respective roles, introduces yet another nifty mystery for the Special Crime Unit squad to solve. And while it has better and more shining moments comparatively, the film, unfortunately, suffers from the same problems as its predecessor, like glaring plot holes and the inclusion of unnecessary sequences, effecting the overall experience.

Yes, the central mystery and the investigation truly keeps you on the edge of your seats, but by trying to tackle too many issues at once, the film struggles to delve deeply into any one of them, leading to a lack of depth and coherence in its portrayal. As a result, the themes are treated superficially, somewhat diluting the impact of the film’s supposed social commentary. Add to that its 142 minutes run time, which becomes a hindrance to the overstretched story line.

Nevertheless, this one too ends up being a one-time watch mainly as Manoj Bajpayee carries on from where he left off and delivers yet another exceptionally measured performance, holding the film together. Credit also goes to director Deohans for making ACP Avinash Verma, and his band of colleagues, easy to root for and one of the stronger reasons to stick around till the end.

The story once again follows ACP Avinash Verma (Manoj Bajpayee), who along with him team mates, Inspector Sanjana Bhatia (Prachi Desai), Inspector Amit Chauhan (Sahil Vaid), and Inspector Raj Gupta (Vaquar Shaikh) form the Special Crime Unit, who despite their extraordinary performance are under constant pressure to be shut down.

Their latest case sees them investigating a horrible mass shootout at the Night Owl Bar in Mumbai which left many people dead. Though the initially assumption is that a minister’s PA, who was meeting a reporter on the premises, was the original target, but as they dig deeper, they uncover signs of a larger, more intricate, and sinister plot unfolding.

At the center of the mass murder is a young girl, Azma Khan (Surbhi Rohra), whose death leaves breadcrumbs of clues that leads the officers down twisting paths of suspicion and intrigue. One suspect leads to another, and soon, the team, presided over by ACP Avinash, begins to unravel the mystery.

The intriguing processes adopted by ACP Verma and the three inspectors in his core team serve to keep the audience invested in the good, simple and old-fashioned inquest. As his team busy themselves with a meticulous and detailed investigation routine, the narrative unveils some more characters – a seemingly disconnected client of the first victim; a mysterious double faced antagonist, who no one has met or seen; his middle-man; a woman who keeps a girl locked up in her house.

As the SCU team probes deeper, some dark truths spill out. But more than anything else, the film is mostly able to sustain itself through its complement of twists and turns. The screenplay even tries to add a layer of ACP Verma’s lonely personal life, but that thread is mostly left unexplored.

While the buildup wasn’t all that bad, it’s the final act that dilutes the efforts. The narrative, though detailed, does stretch and while it comes with an unpredictable plot twist, it is not entirely convincing and leaves some unanswered questions. While the film’s ambition to shed light on pressing matters deserves applause, the execution falls short, resulting in a narrative that feels overstuffed and a bit scattered.

But as the final sporadically loses grip in the final half, it is Manoj Bajpayee’s effortless performance that mostly redeems it. Not only does he get to play the meatiest part, he also gets to mouth the catchiest dialogues dipped in wry humor. His character also exudes a certain empathy towards victims, which is absolutely effortless.

Prachi Desai, mostly relegated to the background, doesn’t have much to do here to stand out, but along with Sahil Vaid and Vaquar Shaikh, manages to make the most of the limited bandwidth accorded to her.

In other roles, Dinker Sharma and Parul Gulati are decent enough. On the whole, ‘Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout’ is an average thriller bolstered by yet another solid act from Manoj Bajpayee.