PremiumKaagaz 2 Review: Satish Kaushik's last film seeks replies to all the right questions; but are these enough to drive the audience to the theatres?
This week’s release is Kaagaz 2 (which is independent of Pankaj Tripathi’s ‘Kaagaz’) which stars the late Satish Kaushik, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Darshan Kumaar and Smriti Kalra in pivotal roles
Last Updated: 09.27 PM, Feb 29, 2024
Kaagaz 2 Story
The film starts off with a nostalgic classroom session that has class teacher Radhika Chauhan (Neena Gupta) telling her students to write down their dreams and ambitions on a piece of paper, only to be read out aloud before all the other students. Amongst the many students, there exists Uday Rajan (Darshan Kumaar) who aspires to join the Indian Army.
Kaagaz Review:
The film, then, takes the audiences to Uday Rajan’s training at the IMA (Indian Military Academy). It is here that he feels that he does not belong here as he is scared of water heights, which facilitates a punishment from his superior. Seeing the rigorous training in the IMA, Uday decides to back off and go back home, and also manages to pay a penalty of Rs. 5 lakhs with the help of his friend’s father.
Once he goes back home, he remains mum before his mother about the real reason for him to come back. That’s why, he lies about an injury which made him come back home. Things seem ok till the time Radhika gets to know about the real reason for Uday's homecoming. Just as when the mother and son are having an argument, a phone call from a certain ‘Raj Narayan Singh’ takes the viewers to Uday’s personal life that mirrors the differences he has with his father (Anupam Kher). Uday hates his father so much that he does not even like the ‘Raj’ in his surname.
But, upon Raj Narayan Singh’s repeated insistence to meet him, Uday agrees to go to his house. Every action of love from Raj Narayan Singh gets welcomed by an opposite reaction of hate by Uday. After he leaves his father’s home in anger, he meets the extremely affable and simple Rastogi (Satish Kaushik), who discloses that his father Raj Singh is suffering from a rare kind of cancer in which getting a bone marrow from a donor is the only way to save his life.
Even after knowing that, Uday’s rigid feelings for his father do not melt and he ultimately decides to go back home. That’s when Rastogi reveals to Uday about his UPSC topper daughter, who met with a fatal accident, but could not be saved because of a 15-minute delay in reaching the hospital due to a political rally. Rastogi, then, explains the greatness of Raj Narayan Singh’s greatness of being ready to fight the case, despite having such a sensitive health condition.
Does Uday have a change of heart and he accepts his ‘almost-dying’ father, or does he go back to his mother or he goes back to join the army and what ultimately happens to Rastogi and his fight for justice by Raj Narayan Singh is what forms the rest of the film.
First things first. The film definitely holds a special place in every cinegoer’s hearts as it marks the last film of the stellar actor Satish Kaushik. At the same time, on a practical front, the film suffers from lack of proper direction, which seems wavy at many places. The film takes its own sweet time to arrive at the main point.
By then, the audiences are left wondering about where the film is headed to. The film also has multiple plots and subplots within it, which makes it a bit tough to digest or even remember. In an attempt to do justice to all the plots and subplots, the film lands up looking like a mixture of many.
Also Read: Kaagaz 2 actor Smriti Kalra: Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik are institutions in themselves
As for the performances, no prizes for guessing this one. It is definitely the two pillars of the film viz., Satish Kaushik as the proud father-turned-helpless father and the near-to-flawless Anupam Kher, who makes you happy and sad with him. If that isn’t a sign of a superlative actor, then, what is!
Having said that, besides these two gems, the film also has another powerhouse in the form of Neena Gupta, who looks a bit out of place in the film. She is not utilising her full potential. Ditto for Smriti Kalra, whose role could have been a bit more juicier than just playing the only-supporting girlfriend to Uday. As for Darshan Kumaar, he looks extremely convincing in the role of Uday the soldier and also Uday the son!
The film’s music, cinematography and editing are just about average. All in all, Kaagaz 2 will surely find resonance with the common man who finds himself in helpless situations before the law.