Dream Girl 2: Ayushman Khurrana, who had delivered over 7 consecutive hits in a span of 3 years before 2019, brought out one of the most regressive films in the filmography of an actor who achieved fame out of social conscientiousness.
The Raaj Shaandilyaa’s film, Dream Girl (2019) had, Ayushmann as a man who is able to generate a flawless female voice. The film grapples with sexual repression against men in small towns who also face loneliness. However, Dream Girl was overly satisfied with achieving the low-hanging fruits available within its premise.
Dream Girl 2 is somewhat a regressive choice for Ayushmann Khurrana, who with his choice of films has touched many social issues in the country, even if they could not make it big in the theatres such as Anek and Bala, which never appeared unsophisticated owing to the thought level.
Ayushmann has mostly been the torch bearer for providing middle-class society with something to think about.
However, the audience’s reception to Khurrana’s sophisticated movies lately explains why he is returning to his career’s most cheeky film and trying to build it into a franchise.
His recent films Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Anek, Doctor G, and An Action Hero, have all failed miserably at the box office. With Dream Girl 2, the actor seems confident to regain his lost momentum, even if the film seems unsophisticated.
Dream Girl 2, which is also directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa has Karam and his father (Annu Kapoor), riddled with debt and Karam must do something to change the fortune of his family with his special ability. Karam (Ayushmann Khurrana) is tasked with the role of a bar dancer, psychiatrist, and daughter-in-law in this film.
The movie portrays Karam’s female avatar as Pooja. The film provides enough space to comment on gender fluidity or transpersons on the screen but it is used for making jokes at lecherous men and hapless women seeking love desperately. Sona Bhai (Vijay Raaz), owner of the dance bar falls in love with Pooja. Karam’s father, Jagjit Singh (Annu Kapoor) played his part with utmost sincerity and is as entertaining as in the first film.
The film opens with some to-the-point one-liners that are quite good and promising as in the original Dream Girl (2019). However, the film after a point of time focuses only on the laughs, no matter how they are achieved, whether it is the older actors acting as fools in certain situations or the scenes around mistaken identities.
The film tries to portray itself as progressive but at certain points passes lazy, transphobic lines and the stereotypical queer coding in the film. The film also pokes fun at sensitive matters such as adoption, sexual orientation, gender fluidity, and even depression.
By far the funniest character in the film is a bank employee, Tiger Pandey (Ranjan Raj), who falls for Pooja and tries to find her in the whole of Agra and Mathura.
