Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobaara is a washed out, toned down, sheen-less successor of a film we have etched in our minds and hearts. I, for one, was more excited about OUATIMD than Chennai Express; but the latter gave me a far better time than this one. In the hall, with friends, we had a joke about which is the best scene in OUATIMD – the one in which they show a glimpse of Ajay Devgn. There is absolutely nothing wrong in a predictable story line which the film stenches of sameness but when memories of the film’s last edition comes alive, OUATIMD seems like a dismal failure.

Being a Milan Luthria film, there are always higher expectations. Given a theme like Silk Smitha’s life, which he translated into a fabulous film as The Dirty Picture, I went expecting his usual marvel. Alas, my disappointments surpassed my expectations making my aversion for gangster sagas even worse. I have never been a fan of Shootouts or ala Once Upons, but OUATIM was a good experience for me. With a strong plot, fantastic execution and delectable screenplay, it was hard to dislike the film. Fashioned on the life of Haji Mastan, Ajay Devgn delivered a delicious performance. Emraan Hashmi, who played his protege was first rate. An out an out gangster saga, with thrilling manipulative politics and gritty action, OUATIM was a film to be remembered fondly.

Contrarily OUATIMD has none of the better values of its prequel. The story line is dull and has nothing to do with don-hood. It is a love triangle where two baddies love the same woman! The film’s screenplay is shabby where there are too many loose moments that will bore you and there are too many ridiculous sequences that will crack you up when you are supposed to choke up. It would be unfair to compare the actors, who are both remarkable in their own right but Ajay Devgn as Sultan outshines for the script’s ability to infuse charisma in the role. Even Emraan Hashmi as the protege was so brilliant that it was hard to take your eyes off that Shoaib. Akshay fails to bring in the same intensity, passion and zeal of his character. As Sultan’s protege in the earlier stint, Emraan gave one of the most memorable performances as his career. Whereas Imran Khan falls flat in front of him in a similar role.

With a countable three expressions on his face, the director makes a judgement error in giving him long sequences which will bore you to death (remember the hospital scene). The man’s dialogue delivery is a test of your patience, and this blue eyed Khan defies his Mamu’s brilliance! The dirty game never get down really dirty and Shoaib just dons a fake gangster persona, with his story providing no meat for the same. He is a mock don who spends far too much time bickering with his men rather than focusing on his work. Seems like the don who controls Mumbai is so utterly jobless!

Coming to the dialogues, OUATIM reveled in words that will have you awestruck whereas OUATIMD gives you lines like, “Doodh mein nimbu jisne nichora, paneer uska” and “Pyaar aaj kal naukrani jaise ban gaya hai. Aata hai, bell bajata hai, kaam karke chala jaata hai.” You’ll be flabbergasted and confused as to laugh at their audacity of writing such witless dialogues or laugh at their poor sense writing, nevertheless do laugh! For a good part of the first half, there is confusion of intermediate and intercourse, a gag poorly conceived and overstretched. OUATIM’s dialogues did not reek of brilliance, but were more interesting for sure. With lines like, “Mushkil toh yeh hai ki main abhi thik tarah se bhigda bhi nahin … aur tumne sudharna shuru kar diya!” and “Jinki manzilein ek hoti hai … woh raaston par hi toh milte hai”, the dialogues had a greater screen value with a stronger punch. Whereas the writer could only get tirelessly repetitive in this one giving us multiple variations of ‘Raaste ki parwah karoonga toh … manzil bura maan jayegi!’ The music of OUATIMD in ordinary and forgettable as compared to the original one. being an absolute fan of the prequel edition, I dont know why did the film’s makers decide to botch up the memory of an absolutely wonderful film that warmed the cockles of our heart being cinema lovers with a sequel so inappropriate and unintelligent. Now the mere idea of a Teesra film will traumatize me. I simply hope that Ekta too gives that idea a miss, or we are in for another warped-ly named film with a more convoluted mess of a story!