Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 – Agni Pariksha (2022) Review: The Trial By Fire

“Let the flames begin!” When Sameer Chaudhary’s adopted daughter Nandini got brutally raped and murdered by Bachchu and his gang, it was up to Sameer to seek vengeance on the criminals for Nandini. Starring Bollywood’s fierce action hero Vidyut Jammwal, “Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2: Agni Pariksha” has been written and directed by Faruk Kabir and released across theaters in India on July 8, 2022.

Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 – Agni Pariksha (2022) Official Trailer:

The Good:

A Vicious Crime-Thriller That Will Keep You Glued To Your Seats

The first and foremost requirement for you as an audience to Khuda Haafiz 2 is that you need to be very strong-hearted and accept matters as the scenes proceed. So, if you are a strong-hearted individual who is planning to watch a vicious crime-thriller that involves ruthlessness and extreme violence, you surely need to go for this one.

The plot is interesting and thrilling though it lacks innovation. What I mean to say is that in both the films, Sameer is chasing goons and criminals to either save his wife or seek vengeance for the rape and murder of his adopted daughter. Only God knows, why out of the billions of citizens in India, every time hell falls on Sameer and his family only. It looks too much of a coincidence! Whatever may be the case, I must say that the plot is interesting and enthralling enough to keep you glued till the end. You probably wouldn’t want to miss out on the tensions unfolding within the screenplay as each moment passes.

Vidyut Jammwal’s Character Of Sameer Chaudhary

Vidyut Jammwal is not a great performer in terms of expressions and dialogue delivery. He is an ace martial artist and professional stuntman who is basically suited for intense action-oriented roles involving shirtless fight scenes.

Vidyut Jammwal has been ruling the action genre in Bollywood and the South Indian film industry for over a decade. Whatever, roles he has played till now, he can be seen fighting the villains with startling martial art moves. What makes his character of Sameer different as compared to his characters in his other movies is that Sameer is a “common man”, a software engineer to be exact, who works 9 to 5. He is not a professional fighter. So, he fights the way the “common man” does when he gets angry or agitated.

Vidyut Jammwal, being an ace martial artist himself, revealed in an interview that he had a difficult time adjusting himself in the shoes of his character, Sameer Chaudhary. As Sameer, Vidyut was required to fight the goons and criminals using weapons and non-aesthetic moves, which generally a common person does when he has to fight all of a sudden in difficult circumstances. As compared to his “Commando” series films which showcased his brilliant martial art moves, Khuda Haafiz 2 had him as an amateur fighter.

I must say, Vidyut Jammwal did an amazing work in his character of Sameer as I believe that as an action hero, one needs to be open to innovation and consider trying out various types of action-oriented roles in his career. Vidyut is doing just that and his professionalism and dedication to his work are remarkable. Even if his character Sameer is not a great fighter, but his ferocity and intimidating nature towards the criminals completely rocked the show! And yes, Sameer did successfully kill them all!

The Making Of The “Prison Fight” Sequence in Khuda Haafiz 2: Behind The Scenes (Vidyut Jammwal Training The Villains Himself)

Amazing Dialogues

The dialogues in Khuda Haafiz 2 are interesting and inspiring as well. However, as I mentioned before, Vidyut Jammwal is not very proficient in dialogue delivery but his fists deliver booming punches to the faces of villains. So, it’s his fists that do the dialogue delivery work for him. Jokes apart!

However, Vidyut has still managed to deliver some impressive dialogues in Khuda Haafiz 2. An amazing dialogue from the movie goes, “Kisi Aadmi Ko Itna Majboor Kar Diya Jaaye Na Ki Use Anjaam Ki Parwah Na Rahe, Aise Hi Mamuli Log Aage Chalke Bahubali Bante Hain” which means, “If a common man is compelled to the extent that he doesn’t care about what’s coming in his way, he becomes invincible later on”.

Marvelous Editing

The editing in Khuda Haafiz 2 has been done sequentially. The scenes in the film have been placed on the basis of the events as they occur. This is not that type of film which fluctuates constantly from present to the past making the audiences confused. This is a perfect well-devised story that runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes. It has been marvelously edited by Sandeep Francis maintaining its flow throughout.

The Bad:

The Initial Scenes Make The Movie Lose Pace

The initial sequences in Khuda Haafiz 2 may appear a bit slow to you, and you may end up getting bored. The movie’s initial parts comprise Nargis’ mental breakdown due to her past sufferings, Sameer meeting Nandini, and Nandini’s adoption by Sameer and Nargis. All these sequences cover a major part of the initial run duration and slow down the pace of the movie to a great extent. The real drama and thrill pick up after Nandini’s death when Sameer embarks on his quest for vengeance.

Low-Quality Sets And Camerawork

To be honest, if you compare the sets, locations, and camerawork of Khuda Haafiz 2 with its prequel, you will find their quality to be low-grade. This is because Khuda Haafiz 2 was mainly filmed in rural locations in India as this is the story of Sameer and his family after they return to India from the Middle East.

In comparison to the sets and locations in Uzbekistan where Khuda Haafiz was filmed, the main sets and locations of Khuda Haafiz 2 in India have poor quality as scenes throughout showcase narrow lanes, open fields, and shabby buildings. Even the camerawork by Jitan Harmeet Singh was not up to the mark as I felt the cinematographic quality to be a bit downgrade. To be precise, this film has a comparatively low budget to its prequel.

However, Faruk Kabir did try to make up for this cinematic shortcoming by taking the story to Egypt where the ending sequences have been shot. The scenes in Egypt did somewhat add an essence to the prequel to this film. If you look at the ending car chase scene where Sameer chases Kamlesh and Bachchu in a desert, it may appear similar to the truck chase scene which was there in the prequel, where Nawab Shah as Iztak Regini chased Sameer who was escaping in a truck with his wife and other girls.

Behind The Scenes Of The Egypt Action Sequence in Khuda Haafiz 2: Vidyut Jammwal With Faruk Kabir

The Verdict:

Faruk Kabir, the mastermind behind the Khuda Haafiz franchise, did great work with an amazing story, script, screenplay, and direction. When I first watched Khuda Haafiz in 2020, I was overwhelmed by its unique rescue-based action story. After the movie became a blockbuster, the filming of Khuda Haafiz 2 was announced. I then wondered what plot could Faruk Kabir possibly come up with for the sequel which also has the subtitle “Agni Pariksha” meaning “Fire Test”. I thought that as Goddess Sita had to give “Agni Pariksha” to prove her chastity before her husband Lord Rama, similarly Nargis would have to prove herself to Sameer after being rescued from the flesh traders. I felt that such a plot could hamper the image of this film franchise because just giving “Agni Pariksha” is no story in itself. But Khuda Haafiz 2 proved me wrong! When I experienced this spine-tingling vengeance story, I regretted my hasty judgment. I wholeheartedly appreciate Faruk Kabir for devising such a terrific storyline for the sequel. However, the violent sexual assault and massacre scenes make this movie unfit for children as well as teenagers.

One scene from the movie shook me as it defied all logic. It was the prison yard fight scene. I am still unable to understand, what were the jail authorities doing when the prisoners were fighting and killing each other? And how on earth can Sameer get released from prison after killing Jaiswal during the fight? He should have been sentenced to life! However, after watching such sequences in Bollywood movies, I now firmly believe that whatever happens in Indian jails, stays in Indian jails! I also believe there was a great shortcoming to the casting of the lead villains in this story. I mean, villains are bound to be intimidating! If you had seen Khuda Haafiz, you would have surely been intimidated by Nawab Shah as Iztak Regini who happens to be a mass monster, and gave Vidyut Jammwal as Sameer a tough fight. But in Khuda Haafiz 2, the lead villains are some underage school kids, and an old landlady (played by Sheeba Chaddha). There cannot be any comparison! To be precise, the lead actors for the negative roles were not strong enough in terms of their appearances as well as physicality; no matter how heinous may be the crimes they have committed as part of their performances. If you ask me, I would say that the side characters who played gang members, like Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Rashid Qasai, were the ones who could really intimidate the audiences in Khuda Haafiz 2.

The lead actress Shivaleeka Oberoi’s performance is not worth commenting upon as her nerve-racking morose behavior in her character of Nargis throughout the movie can frustrate even the most patient ones among the audiences. But that’s nobody’s fault, as her character of Nargis itself demanded her role to be like that.

The tracks in Khuda Haafiz 2 didn’t appeal to me. I usually prefer romantic tracks which directly hit one’s emotions. However, don’t forget to check out the “Junoon Hai” track from the movie which showcases the violent fight scenes and gang wars from the movie which can make your blood boil with rage and excitement, both at the same time!

Overall, Khuda Haafiz 2 is not your regular popcorn flick unless you are direly strong-hearted. You need to be courageous enough to watch the entire film, and keep your emotions under control. It may happen that you may get agitated and throw the entire bucket of popcorn while fuming with rage at the ruthless criminals shown in the movie. But still, if you have the strong will to experience this movie, don’t forget to check out Khuda Haafiz 2 at your nearest theaters to witness Vidyut Jammwal as Sameer Chaudhary in action as he and his gang rampage to trample the criminals once and for all!