Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba review: The screenplay fails Vikrant Massey and Sunny Kaushal in what could've been an interesting romance thriller

Written by Kanika Dhillon, Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is anti-climatic and overwritten, leaving you craving a good romance thriller that isn't overflowing with cliches.

Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba review: Just like its prequel, the morals in Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba can't be up for debate; both films talk about 'deewano waala pyaar' where extra marital affairs lead to murder and more. Ofcourse, they're not ethical or to be taken inspiration from! Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me talk about this film in its entirety. 

Based in Agra this time around, Rani Kashyap works at a beauty parlour and lives as a paying guest to a middle aged couple. Rani's colorful sarees and the rose in her hair do nothing to distract you from Taapsee Pannu's lack of expression, oops sorry, her deadpan portrayal which seems to be consistent throughout most of her films, Dunki included. But, Rani and her formerly jilted lover and husband, Rishu (Vikrant Massey), do have chemistry! I'll give them that! But this film doesn't allow this to blossom into something more, leaving you, and them, high and dry! 

What isn't believable about this story and the couple is just how easily they've forgotten that Rani previously slept with Rishu's cousin and murdered him, leaving Rishu to take the fall for it which brings us to the present where he's considered dead but secretly, he's on the run from the police. He cut his own hand off for her, for God's sake! Wouldn't any couple still be reeling in from this devastation that they call their love life? Apart from the secret meetings, you can't tell that they've committed a crime; they're that casual and nonchalant about it. This almost reminds you of Joe Goldberg in Netflix's You; it's eery because the psychoness is so casually portrayed. Vikrant Massey will have me believing that he's really Rishu IRL, even outside of this film; that's how earnest his performance is. 

Also Read: Gyaarah Gyaarah review: What starts off as an intriguing time travel story loses its grip by the end

Watch the trailer here!

Initially Sunny Kaushal's boy next door vibe works well for him but the creepy Abhimanyu is where he really shines. Kaushal effortlessly goes from being a green flag to the reddest red flag and despite Massey's outstanding performance, there are scenes where Kaushal does outshine him. That and the 'Ek Haseena Thi' background score are probably the only thing this film has going for it. The screenplay is full of loopholes, like the ending of the previous film. Besides the fact that it doesn't seem plausible, it makes its protagonists look dumb, rendering their arc completely useless. Kaushal had something concrete going for him before the second half. But his "I messed up but I still love you" performance at the end was extremely anti-climatic. Despite his overall brilliant performance, his character arc is probably more disappointing than the screenplay. Jimmy Shergill is as straight faced as one gets in his portrayal of Montu Chacha. There's absolutely no difference in his performance here and Your Honour, his previous work, where he plays a judge. His character doesn't have any substance to it. Aditya Srivastava as Inspector Kishore only and only gives Senior Inspector Abhijeet from CID; you can't see him beyond that!

While fictional writer Dinesh Pandit and his pulpy novels are what this movie and its prequel are supported by, it feels too done to death in this one, just like some of the dialogues and scenes where Montu Chacha keeps staring at Neel's photo, like the audience or he will forget that they're related. Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba shows disability in a non stereotypical light. That's one of the few things that are likable about this film. Poonam, who is hell bent on getting Rishu to sleep with her, is disabled and that isn't her whole personality. She isn't a likable character but she's real, not fabricated. 

All in all, this film isn't very enjoyable even if you try your hardest to not compare it to its prequel.

Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is currently streaming on Netflix.

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