Film: Ek Villain Returns

Cast: John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Tara Sutaria, Disha Patani

Director: Mohit Suri

Rating: 3.5 Moons

Heroes clearly don’t exist in the universe of Mohit Suri. Known to develop anti-hero stories, the filmmaker is back with the genre he is a master at. After the success of Ek Villain (2014), Mohit has directed its sequel but with a revamped cast and a new theme. In Ek Villain Returns, the story orbits around not just one villain, but four. Who’s the villain and who’s the hero, the audience will find out in the film. 

Ek Villain Returns is about four characters, Gautam (Arjun Kapoor), Bhairav (John), Aarvi (Tara Sutaria) and Rasika (Disha Patani). Known for his notorious activities, Gautam is one of the prime suspects in the case of brutal serial murders in the city. But is he the actual culprit? The duty to trace down the ‘villain’ is handed over to an ACP (played by JD Chakravarthy of Satya fame). While investigating the case, he realises there is more to the serial murders. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to yet another cop (Shaad Randhawa) who is hell-bent on proving Gautam guilty. 

Amid this, the anonymous one-sided lover is still on his hunting spree. That’s when Bhairav comes into the picture. Though he is a simple cabbie on the superficial layer, there’s a lot more to him, maybe a villainous side? His love interest is Rasika, who is also a middle-class, simple-looking girl. It must be added that Bhairav’s and Rasika’s steamy scenes are bound to set the screen on fire. Gautam’s ladylove, Aarvi, is a pop star.  

As Mohit’s directorial shows signs of progress, each layer of every character peels off gradually making it difficult to predict the climax. Keeping his style and unique flavour active throughout the narrative, Mohit loads Ek Villain Returns with numerous twists and plot turns and some of them do come across as over-the-top and can confuse the audience.

Not the actors, but the music of Ek Villain Returns is the real star. Blending effortlessly into the narrative, the soulful background score and songs shine throughout. Standing next to the music is Arjun Kapoor. He is intensely promising and delivers yet another solid performance as Gautam. Tara Sutaria gives a remarkable performance and makes one sit and take notice of her craft. John does decently well. Disha looks sizzling hot and her scenes with John are the highlights. 

Ek Villain Returns serves the purpose of entertainment with a dash of thrill.

PeepingMoon.com gives Ek Villain Returns 3.5 Moons