Ghayal Once Again Reviews by Critics

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Ghayal Once Again Review by Indicine

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Ghayal Once Again has its moments and Sunny Deol proves once again that he can give the younger generation of Bollywood stars a run for their money. The actor looks younger than his age (58) and performs most of his action sequences himself. Sadly though, the supporting actors in the film don’t quite match up. Everything from the dialogue delivery to expressions come across as forced and Sunny the director hasn’t been able to extract watchable performances out of his actors.

Ghayal Once Again Review by Bollywood Hungama

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First things first. One has to give it to Sunny Deol for putting his heart and soul in the film as the director. However, even though his attempts look extremely sincere, what does not work for the film is that there are too many tracks (read ‘stories’) in the film that run simultaneously, thus confusing the viewers totally. Even the film’s story (Sagar Pandya, Shaktimaan Talwar) is nothing new and suffers big time in the name of ‘cinematic liberties’. The film’s screenplay (Vishal Vijay Kumar, Sanjay Masoom) should have been written in order to suit today’s taste. There are way too many flaws in the film. Many of the characters and their relationships remain unexplained till the end. For instance, Sunny Deol’s profession oscillates between him being a news agency owner and a social activist. Is Soha Ali Khan merely a doctor who is treating Sunny, or is she also his girlfriend… and many such things. The final twist in the film is way too ridiculous and totally unbelievable. Even though the film starts off on a decent note, the first half becomes confusing towards the interval and then gets endlessly dragged throughout the second half. The biggest letdown in the film is absence of Sunny Deol’s elements of trademark action and hard-hitting dialogues.

Ghayal Once Again Review by Manjusha Radhakrishnan on Gulfnews

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Although, we have to laud Deol for his attempt at giving his award-winning classic a new lease of life, it misses the mark. The villains, especially the business tycoon with a spoilt son, are one-dimensional and some of their threats make you laugh. This seems to be an exercise in overacting. The baddies scream, the hero roars and the young women whimper. There’s an interesting twist in the second half, but by then you may be too numb to care. After watching this, the question about who is the wounded one — the viewer or the hero — may arise.

Ghayal Once Again Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies

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Sunny Deol’s acting takes the standard path. He hollers when he is angry, he scowls when he is flummoxed, and he breathes fire when he means business. It is a style that belongs to the Stone Age. Soha Ali Khan, playing a psychiatrist treating the hero for his blackouts and meltdowns, is always at hand to remind him to pop the prescribed pills before he careens out of control. But obviously, she does not have the power to extend any such favours to the audience. So watch Ghayal Once Again at your own risk and only if you can withstand the relentless onslaught it unleashes.

Ghayal Once Again Review by Sarita A Tanwar on DNA India

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It’s important in a thriller to be able to maintain the pace constantly. This one falters quite a bit in the second half after a good start. Even in Ghayal, one of the reasons the film stood out was because of how the protagonist used his intelligence against the system. Even if they had to use the same formula in this one, it would’ve been enough. The whole climax of the hero bringing down a chopper into the villain’s house is a bit too much, especially when the VFX is also not up to the mark. There are also a few edit jerks in the film that could’ve been avoided.

Ghayal Once Again Review by Shubhra Gupta on Indian Express

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Till the film keeps moving briskly—the chase scenes are effective, if stretched—you stay with it. And then the ludicrous plot with all those hanging threads kicks in, and prevents us from getting what we’ve come to this film for : to see Sunny D. do his thing the way only he can. Sunny the actor is still a lethal weapon and can blow his opponent all the way across the room. Sunny the director should just get out his way.

Review by Rajat Tripathi on Bollywood Life

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The action begins so late in the film that you lose interest. And what is finally served doesn’t compensate for the lack of it earlier. While you will be impressed at the realistic hand to hand combats, the feeling is neutralized by over the top shoddy action scenes including successfully jumping from one local train to another and flying a chopper around the Ambani mansion. The film desperately tries to be Die Hard. Sunny is remembered by his fans for his strong dialogues and power packed punches but sadly, this film has nothing of that sort to offer.

Review by Ritika Handoo on Zeenews

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Sunny, who has directed the film has packed many fist fight sequences which the audience will love especially the one in the end where his ‘dhai kilo ka haath’ actually knocks the sound out of the criminal mind. Sunny has tried his best to reiterate the importance of ‘women safety’ and how we need to fight for it. Thank God the maker in him felt the need to not put unwanted songs in the script as it would have been a complete let down.

Review by Shubha Shetty-Saha on Mid-Day India

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Sunny Deol, as a director, does a better than decent job. He manages to keep the plot believable and keep you involved in the goings on. His triumph is also in choosing the right cast and behind-the-scenes people. Good performances (especially by the four youngsters), crisp editing (Chandan Arora), clever screenplay (which goes a bit over the board in the climax, though) and dialogues tailored well to fit the screenplay works towards making this a good watch. Sunny Deol, as the actor, is obviously no patch on the younger version but then again the story of this film cleverly doesn’t portray him to be.

Review by Sonia Chopra on Sify

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How one wishes the central character was written with at least that much thought. We see the emotional arch only much later. Essentially, you see Sunny Deol, fit at 58, doing stunt gimmicks like hanging off a train, hijacking a helicopter and so on. In the end, his “dhai kilo ka haath” makes an appearance as well. And so while Sunny Deol makes for a fairly powerful performer, his filmmaking style is sincere, but keen to stick to the old-school, and rough around the edges. The film is earnest and has a few genuine, emotional moments, but is defeated by an outmoded viewpoint and look. It had the potential to be so much more.

Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies

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However, what the film lacks is a decent pace and there are times when you wish the film could move faster. Also, many elements in the film seem quite unreal- Mehra, who runs a newspaper, also has a Bat-Cave like bunker with the kind of gadgetry that would have made Batman proud. In another scene, Raj Bansal, who is trying to trace Mehra, calls up the Defence Secretary to order him to deploy satellites to find his foe! Things like these make us wish Sunny paaji would have exercised some restraint on his imagination. Another thing that Ghayal Once Again suffers from is the stale plot, which has nothing new to offer, despite Deol’s efforts to make the story seem modern by introducing cyber jargon and hackers and electronic surveillance in his story (a girl committing suicide after being raped is just too 80s, paaji). Some of the VFX scenes, like the climax helicopter sequence, could have been done better to avoid making it look cartoonish.

Review by Rohit Vats on Hindustan Times

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Ghayal Once Again is a throwback to Sunny Deol’s angry common man persona made during the ‘90s. It’s a terribly made film with nothing much to offer except Narendra Jha’s performance as the suave villain. I have borne the pain so that you can live in peace. The ‘dhai kilo ka haath’ shows its age and gives you enough time to duck. So duck.

Review by Sukanya Verma on Rediff

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There’s only one solid reason to watch this reboot — Sunny Deol. The action hero returns to serve some old fashioned justice in Ghayal Once Again as the still seething, still suffering Ajay Mehra like only he can. If also it could deliver the stamp of sharp, solid filmmaking like only the man who conceived Ajay Mehra can.

Review by Suhani Singh on India Today

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Barring one well-staged chase sequence which unfolds in a mall, there is little here that gets the adrenaline going. The screenplay, written by Deol, Shaktimaan and Sagar Pandya, instead of offering an engrossing story is more a series of action events put together. Some of them with substandard visual effects and visible stunt doubles.

Review by Mehul S Thakkar on Deccan Chronicle

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As for the film, being a remake of 90’s blockbuster Ghayal, the story line does bring in some relevance from the old plot. This makes the situations in which Ajay Mehra has been operating appear more realistic. Baring few shots, which appear like a work of an amateur, the VFX could have been better.

Review by Renuka Vyavahare on The Times Of India

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Though not as emotionally engaging as the original, the sequel delivers what it promises on the action front. Skilfully shot, elaborate nail-biting chase sequences across the city leave you glued to your seats, gasping for breath. Heavy-duty fist fights are equally gripping. Soha Ali Khan acts well and so do the teenagers.

Review by Rajeev Masand on IBNLive

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Melodrama reaches fever pitch, particularly in the final act, when a corny twist is revealed. There’s also a shrill female character who gets a little too much screen time to ham it up to the hilt. As far as our hero is concerned, Sunny Deol can still land a punch, and he directs his actors competently. But he deserves a better script…and so do we. By the time he flies into the frame on a chopper in the film’s overlong climax, you’re at the end of your patience and you really just want the film to end.

Review by Kunal Guha on Mumbai Mirror

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Deol’s directorial debut, Dillagi (1999), failed to impress. But clearly, action and blood-boiling revenge is a genre closer to home and he packs in most of the ingredients in this one. The chase scenes in the film aren’t nearly as terrifying as those in The Transporter series or Bond films but the fact that we’re comparing, speaks volumes for how they’ve been conceptualised. A hat-tip to the VFX team for furnishing the aerial night shots and the cityscapes, which make aamchi Mumbai resemble any first-world metropolis. While Ghayal was a path-breaking revenge story that won seven Filmfare Awards, this sequel won’t manage as much traction. But if you’re a Sunny Deol fanboy, this one ticks all: lung-tearing screams and crushing punches.

Review by Martin D’Souza on Glamsham

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Sunny is good in the action as well as emotion sequences and he throws in a neat twist into the script to take the film to its climax. A bit of DIE HARD 2 flashes into your mind. And though the end is a little over-the-top, you can forgive this largesse. This is Sunny Deol and his Dhai Kilo Ka haath does talk in the end! The kids Anushka (Aanchal Munjal), Rohan (Shivam Patil), Zoya (Daina Khan) and Varun (Rishabh Arora) all put in a decent performance but the boy who hits the high notes with his performance is the one who plays Bansal’s son. Soha Ali Khan has a confused role. One does not know whether she is just a doctor to Ajay or if there is more to their relationship.

Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning

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This movie does not make any pretence of being anything less than an action movie. So there are no needless song breaks or ear-shattering punches. The young villain (Bansal’s son, Kabir) is creepy and wicked. So awful, that when the ‘dhai kilo ka haath’ hits the young, wild lad, you whoop happily with others in the theater. What more do you need in an action flick?

Review by Meeta on Wogma

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The story writing doesn’t support them in the second half. The film goes from being about the menace of the business-politic nexus to a personal story, rather abruptly. Also, all the focus on the main story, the long-long chase sequence is wrapped up all too quickly making you wonder what the fuss was all about. Speaking of which, the chase sequence (like the film) starts out engaging you completely making it a thriller worth its salt and then overstays its welcome. When the film ends though, you remember what you liked even though you are totally miffed with how it all ended. A lot of what you like has to do with what was avoided – like self-references, songs, romantic track and so on. Unfortunately, you can remember a film for what it is not, only so much.

Average critic ratings of other movies released in 2015 – 2016

• Saala Khadoos – 2.6 stars
• Mastizaade – 1 stars
• Airlift – 3.7 stars
• Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 – 1 stars
• Wazir – 2.5 stars
• Dilwale – 2.5 stars
• Bajirao Mastani – 3.2 stars
• Hate Story 3 – 1.7 stars
• Tamasha – 3 stars
• Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – 2.7 stars
• Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 – 2.6 stars
• Jazbaa – 2.6 stars
• Singh Is Bling – 2.3 stars
• Shaandaar – 2.2 stars
• Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon – 2.17 stars