In any such endeavours that attempt a second part, specially having achieved hands down success on the first, and having little or no continuity with the second, it is always known to need to match up to, if not surpass, the expectations of the original. Hence the review will be comparative. So is this.
I had gone to the theater after watching the official trailer, and even though the first thing I thought I'll miss was Akshay Kumar, it wasn't so. Not too deeply in any case. The lead actor did his best to fill the veteran's shoes. Some of the demeanor of the lead actor were quite reminiscent of the veteran.
The same cannot be said about the lead actress, but not for lack of effort. Kiyara just wasn't given enough material to even have a chance to attempt a remotely close enough rendition to the lead actress in the original. That of course makes sense, as in this case the lead actress was Tabu. Yet, in one musical scene Kiyara does attempt a somewhat similar rendition to Vidya, and I felt it was reasonably close. Although the story didn't really focus on that part, which was sad for her.
There were other differences too, which struck as odd. Unlike the first part, here it isn't just a psychological thriller, but there's a hint of an actual ghost? And in that light, some of the antics of the comedic characters were a tad overkill. No complaints about Sanjay Mishra, he did what he does best. Kalsekar, however, seemed misplaced and underutilized.
Finally, what peeved me most was the mutilation of one of the most identifying characteristic of the movie: the song, Ami je tomar. The tone and pace of the song were so lazily altered, and it was only partly rendered(?) that it sounded almost like a badly made spoof. I'm not a musician, but I think the music director played with the "re" note in part 2, trying to make it sound more bluesy, but in the bargain ended up destroying the real spirit and flavour of the song.
So yes, like I said, I cannot give it more than 5.5 overall.
