Son of Sardaar 2 (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – A man fakes being a war hero to assist a couple in gaining their parents’ approval for their marriage.

My Take – Though known mainly for his action and dramatic roles, occasionally, Ajay Devgn takes timeout from his usual tough guy image to appear in comedies. And while he has found success under the direction of Rohit Shetty (Golmaal series, Bol Bachchan), his other films in the genre rarely rise above mediocrity.

One such film was Son of Sardaar (2012), a remake of filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli’s Maryada Ramanna (2010). A disposable and forgettable situational comedy which is mostly remembered for its controversial release clash with late filmmaker Yash Chopra‘s last film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan‘.

Now, thirteen years later we have a spiritual sequel and it delivers exactly what it promised in the trailers: a largely unfunny ensemble comedy with two-three passable gags. Directed by Punjabi filmmaker Vijay Kumar Arora, who replaces Ashwni Dhir (Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?) from its predecessor, the film wants to be a laugh-a-minute, madcap caper, but keeps slackening.

Lined with familiar India-Pakistan jokes, the stereotypical Punjabi entertainer, over relies on loud humor and Ajay Devgn to act goofy, because if it worked once, it should again a decade later, right?

Sure, it might work for fans, except the jokes here just don’t land, the one-liners fall flat and worse, nobody from the well-stacked cast looks like they are having fun. Instead, the joyless ride continues for 147 minutes with soap opera-level plot developments before concluding in a jarring melodramatic change of tone.

The story once again follows Jaswinder “Jassi” Singh Randhawa (Ajay Devgn), the good-hearted, simple-minded son of Punjab soil, who after years long wait for his visa to come through arrives in the UK only to find out that his wife, Dimple (Neeru Bajwa), wants a divorce as between their long wait to reunite, she ended up finding someone else.

Not wanting to return to India and break his mother’s heart, Jassi strikes a chord with Rabia (Mrunal Thakur), a Pakistani wedding performer who runs a troupe which consists of the transgender, Gul (Deepak Dobriyal), her best friend Mehwish (Kubra Sait), as well as her foster daughter, Saba (Roshni Walia), after being ditched by her philandering husband, Danish (Chunkey Panday).

However, the real trouble begins when Jassi is roped into pretending to be the father of Saba, who has been dating the sole heir of the Sikh millionaire Sandhu family, who is unaware of her actual identity. And since the family is led by Raja (Ravi Kishan), who hates Pakistanis and loves Indian army men, Jassi has to channelize being a decorated Indian Army colonel as well.

To their credit, director Vijay Kumar Arora and writers Jagdeep Singh Sidhu & Mohit Jain find ways to incorporate long live the neighbor into the script in these frosty times, but does little to build on the crazy plot. The screenplay opts for easy jabs and recycled gags, undermining its half-hearted attempts at conveying a message about unity and tolerance.

Jokes about national stereotypes, gender roles, and interfaith romance fly fast and loose, but few actually land. Gags that were not funny the first time – like Jassi acting crazy after having poppy seeds – continue to be repeated because the makers thought maybe the second, third, or fourth time would be the charm.

Shockingly, the film has just three fairly amusing moments: an absurd Border (1997) scene, a funeral scene where two female weepers try to hit on Raja’s father while mourning, and the climax about mistaken perceptions where the lies unravel through the return of a couple of forgotten characters.

Shot in Punjab and the UK, the film does have visual appeal and a clean production design. But these surface-level strengths can’t compensate for a screenplay that doesn’t know whether it wants to be a satire, a family entertainer, or a commentary on modern relationships. The film lurches between farce and sentimentality without ever finding its comic rhythm, seeming constantly unsure of who it’s entertaining.

Performance Ajay Devgn shuffles effortlessly between being a buffoon and a brave heart, but only if the writing was sufficient enough to support him. Mrunal Thakur does fine with what she’s given, fits right into the madness, and proves that she has good comic timing.

As the unlikely sardar, Ravi Kishan, who was brought in as a last-minute replacement for Sanjay Dutt, fills the screen with unrehearsed energy and finds his groove in the company of the late Mukul Dev and Vindu Dara Singh, who were also part of the original, and try their best to bring some of the earlier comic flair.

In supporting roles, Deepak Dobriyal, Kubra Sait, Sanjay Mishra, Chunky Panday, Roshni Walia, Sarath Saxena, and Neeru Bajwa are mostly wasted. On the whole, ‘Son of Sardaar 2′ is an unfunny comedy sequel that struggles to provide the necessary laughs.