Nishaanchi 2 (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Twin brothers, identical looks but different values, face brotherhood, betrayal, love, and redemption. Their paths weave through crime into a deeper story of human nature and its results.

My Take – Released just two months ago, Nishaanchi worked well enough as a messy, indulgent, stretched, occasionally frustrating, yet endlessly fascinating Hindi heartland crime-comedy. A decent entertainer that for its nearly three hours run time swung between gripping flashbacks, raw violence, and powerhouse performances.

However, since the film ended with a cliffhanger, and found little to no takers at the box office, the follow-up (along with its first installment) has landed on Prime Video without any fanfare. A drastic step that can be easily termed as a blessing in disguise, as the second installment, disappointingly, struggles to maintain the same elements that made its predecessor so likable.

Sure, there are flashes of strong writing, and the atmosphere has a quiet pull. In fact, die-hard fans of director Anurag Kashyap will notice touches of his style, particularly his mix of humor with danger. But for others, especially who liked the first film (like myself), this one might feel like a slow burn that never fully sparks. It doesn’t disappoint, but it doesn’t surprise either.

Often falling prey to the same plotting exigencies present in the stories that have inspired it. By the end of both films, which total five hours and 35 minutes, director Kashyap has delivered parts that are compelling in of themselves but don’t add up to a whole. A lot happens, but not all of it leaves a mark.

There are scenes that work very well, especially when the focus stays on the three main characters. Yet, other scenes feel like they exist only to push the plot ahead. And of course, there is a sense that the two films could have been shaped into one tighter narrative. Leaving us with something that is neither a misfire nor a standout, just a film that passes by without leaving a mark.

Picking up the right from where the first film had ended, the story once again follows the same characters. Babloo (Aaishvary Thackeray), has been handed an extended prison sentence, while Rinki (Vedika Pinto) is trying to push her dancing talent forward, hopping from one audition to the next, and has pretty much moved on with Dabloo (Aaishvary Thackeray), upon learning the truth. Rinki eventually grabs a shot at fame by featuring in a music video, while Dabloo finds a job with a steady pay check, and along with his mother, Manjari (Monika Panwar), leaves Kanpur and moves to Lucknow.

Shifting to a decade later, a now free Dabloo arrives, only to find his heartbroken by the knowledge that the love of his life is now with his brother, but realizing that the turmoil he caused by his earlier actions, he takes up the challenge of avoiding trouble at all costs.

However, unknown to him, Ambika Prasad (Kumud Mishra), who has climbed his way up the political ladder and now sits comfortably as a minister, has other plans in minds. Unleashing corrupt cop Kamal Ajeeb (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) on him, just when the ace shooter looked like he would finally walk the straight and narrow path.

Here, director Kashyap takes a small detour from his usual grit and turns his attention to the push-and-pull between relationships and power. The film still circles around redemption and revenge, but the tone is gentler for an Anurag Kashyap outing. What the film captures well is its setting.

Moving the story to Lucknow gives it a different rhythm—slower in some parts, sharper in others. The film has a clear direction, but its energy rises and falls unevenly. Sometimes it grips you, sometimes it simply moves along without making you feel much. It’s steady, but not always stirring. The biggest problem here is its pacing – it indulges you but in pauses. While the film attempts to deepen the emotional knots between the brothers, it takes too long to reach its destination.

Hence when the climax finally arrives, it lands with a thud. Its clear writers Ranjan Chandel, Omjit Sahu and Kashyap had imagined this unfolding in a packed hall, the kind where an audience would break into applause as the film flipped the traditional expectation of a woman waiting for someone else to take revenge on her behalf. But after about 150 minutes, the story stretched long enough to building toward this moment, the finale feel oddly muted.

Performance wise, Aaishvary Thackeray continues to be a revelation in his debut venture. His ability to switch between Dabloo and Babloo, two completely opposite personalities, is genuinely impressive. Vedika Pinto also benefits from more screen time and delivers with ease.

Monica Panwar continues to prove why she is an underutilized talent. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub steals every scene he walks into, while Kumud Mishra is effective as always. On the whole, ‘Nishaanchi 2‘ is a modest follow-up which despite striking performances, struggles to be the knockout experience it aims to be.