Vadh 2

The opening minutes of Vadh 2 feature a surprisingly tender moment. It’s past midnight in a prison complex in the wilderness of Madhya Pradesh. A wall separates the female and male wards. Manju Singh (Neena Gupta), a senior inmate of 28 years, sits on one side of the wall and chats with Shambunath Mishra (Sanjay Mishra), a long-time constable, from the other side. It’s a ‘blind’ date of sorts; they can’t see each other, but it’s a routine etched from decades of familiarity (he’s the official bootlegger) and friendship (her friends refer to him as her “aashiq”). Under the stars, they discuss each other’s life now. Her term is ending and she doesn’t want to leave; he speaks of loneliness and offers her a bottle on his birthday. You feel for the old ‘couple’: united by shackles, divided by freedom. They could be a film on their own. One of the merits of Vadh 2 is that it never loses sight of this little film. It’s a moment that echoes across a story that keeps expanding: a moment that keeps reclaiming the eyes of companionship from the jaws of a crime thriller.

If you compare the two, the spiritual successor of the 2022 Vadh is better than the original, but as a stand-alone, Vadh 2 stops short on delivering on the promise it begins with. First off, though, props to the way the prison drama gives attention to all its characters, not just to the two main leads: Neena Gupta and Sanjay Mishra bear the same names, but, in an interesting turn, do not reprise their roles. In the first film, Shambhunath and Manju are middle-aged spouses, done in by the selfishness of an only son. In this one, the former works in Shivpuri prison, the latter is an inmate, serving life imprisonment for a double murder.

किसी निर्दोष को मारना हत्या कहलाता है और किसी अत्याचारी या दुष्ट को मारना वध। लेकिन कानून की नज़र में तो हर हत्यारा दोषी ही होगा न? और किसी को जान से मारा जाए तो वह हत्या होगी या वध यह कौन तय करेगा? 2022 में आई ‘वध’ में एक अधेड़ दंपती ने अपने घर में घुस कर उन्हें परेशान करने वाले दबंग का ‘वध’ किया था। अब ‘वध 2’ (Vadh 2) में मामला घर के अंदर का नहीं, जेल के अंदर का है। मंजू सिंह 28 बरस से जेल में बंद है। अब उसकी रिहाई होने वाली है। जल्द रिटायर होने वाले जेल के एक सिपाही शंभूनाथ मिश्रा के साथ उसका दोस्ताना है। जेल में बंद एक दबंग से हर कोई परेशान है। एक दिन वह गायब हो जाता है। कहां गया वह? क्या उसे मार दिया गया? उसकी लाश कहां गई? मिली या नहीं? मिली तो कहां, कैसे? और यह हत्या थी या वध? किसने मारा उसे? कैसे मारा?

The arrival of Keshav (Aksshay Dogra) who picks up two cute puppies, is such a fine piece of writing that even before he utters a word, you hate him. You want to kill him. The writing, along with direction that’s in complete control of every character and every situation, makes Jaspal Singh Sandhu’s second outing with Shambhunath Mishra (Sanjay Mishra) and Manju Singh (Neena Gupta) an intriguing watch as details come out in trickles. Sandhu and co-writer Neha Shitole begin with a preamble set in 1994. A young woman is sentenced for a double murder. No words spoken by her.