Judwaa 2 trailer: Varun Dhawan looks way too groomed for a tapori, a far cry from Salman Khan’s reckless, rustic portrayal

Judwaa 2 trailer is entertaining but Varun Dhawan is no Salman Khan to pull off a nonchalant, reckless tapori. His Raja looks too sharp and glamourised

By: Vineeta Kumar |
August 22, 2017 10:07 am

Now that the trailer of Judwaa 2 is out, Varun Dhawan seems to have made one thing clear. He is the only actor of his league to pull off the whacky characters of 90s that belonged to Salman Khan and Govinda. He gave a glimpse of the same with his 2014 hit film, Main Tera Hero, but with Judwaa 2, the entertainment quotient seems to have gone up a few notches.

The storyline of Judwaa 2 is same as of the original Judwaa, except that the new film is based in an urban setup. The movie has majorly been shot in London, which gives it an international touch. Varun seems to be playing the twin characters of Prem and Raja with ease, but take a look back at the original Judwaa of 1997 and you might just be able to realise where this new Judwaa film falters.

Apart from the cult comedy, strong performances by actors like Kader Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Reema Lagoo and the music by Anu Malik, what was striking about Judwaa was Salman Khan’s portrayal of Raja, the tapori character. He played a man who lived in the chawls of Mumbai, did robberies to earn living and support his younger sister. While it is a little early to figure out whether Varun Dhawan justifies his parts in Judwaa 2, the trailer of the film hints at Dhawan’s Raja being nowhere close to the performance given by Salman Khan in the original.

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Varun’s Raja is not as convincing as Salman’s Raja. It may be due to an evident lack of tapori characters on screen, with Varun being the only contemporary to attempt to bring this cult of tapori back in films. Varun looks too perfect to play an immensely faulty character like Raja in Judwaa 2. It’s important to not glorify a tapori character and yet build a liking for it among the audience. Salman’s Raja had nothing outwardly special about him. One may though like Varun’s Raja just for having that chiseled body and long hair. Salman’s Raja rather was more of a hero in his deeds while Varun’s Raja appears a hero with his looks. What also comes out as striking are the deliberate efforts to establish Raja as the hero, while there shouldn’t have been any if comparing the trailer to the original film.

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Look at this introductory scene where it is being repeatedly established that Varun has a swag:

Now look at this scene where Salman effortlessly establishes how much of swag does Raja have:

@BeingSalmanKhan #Judwaa pic.twitter.com/JNrPsRjCdq

— Bash (@_TheEternalStud) July 26, 2017

There is no denying that Varun is perhaps the apt millennial actor to play a character as nonchalant and reckless as Raja in Judwaa 2, yet, Salman Khan is dearly missed. And the blame largely goes to making Raja look more like a stylish hero than a dirty tapori. Watch the trailer if you haven’t already:

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