Border 2 Review

Coming right on the heels of the thoughtful war movie Ikkis, the arrival of Border 2 is telling. The film carries weight for several reasons. It is a sequel to the 1997 classic Border, a rare war film that was both a critical and commercial success. More importantly, J P Dutta - director and producer of the original - is returning as a writer and co-producer. Dutta's involvement matters. For nearly four decades, he has built a career almost entirely around large-scale patriotic and war films, often shaping the popular imagination of nationalism through cinema. Few filmmakers in Indian cinema are as closely identified with the genre as he is. Border 2, then, is not just another sequel - it could well mark yet another significant chapter in Dutta's war filmography.

In 1971, as Bangladesh fights for independence, Pakistan tries to crush the movement. Aware that India is supporting Bangladesh, Pakistan opens up trouble along India's western borders - Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan - to divert Indian forces away from the eastern front. The strategy is simple: force India to fight on multiple fronts and gain the upper hand in Bangladesh.

Set against this backdrop, the film unfolds as a multi-front war drama showcasing a coordinated operation by India's armed forces. Trained under Lt Col Fateh Singh Kaler (Sunny Deol), three close friends from their cadet days step into command roles: Major Hoshiyar Singh Dahiya (Varun Dhawan) on land, Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Sekhon (Diljit Dosanjh) in the air, and Lt Cdr M S Rawat (Ahan Shetty) at sea. Together, they defend India's borders.

If you have seen the 1997 Border, Border 2 may initially confuse you. It starts off feeling like an attempt to cash in on the nostalgia of the original, yet there is also a deliberate effort to distance itself from it. This phase drags on for quite a while - almost an hour and a half - until the key characters are established and the war finally begins. From there, the film charts its own path, one that is refreshingly different from the original. This is not to say the original was flawed in any way, but this movie feels interesting in its own right.

Story-wise, too, the movie differs from its predecessor. The only constants are the backdrop - the 1971 war - and the situations the soldiers and their families endure during wartime. Rather than merely trading on nostalgia, the film shows that patriotic cinema can be made without slipping into propaganda or jingoism. The best part is that it still manages to make a packed theatre hoot in applause.

Director Anurag Singh has perhaps taken on the toughest task of all. He repackages the emotional core of J P Dutta's Border while expanding the war canvas into something larger and more believable. Singh does not stage action sequences merely for "wow" moments. The ground combat feels believable to a large extent. The aerial sequences do not feel like useless gimmicks. The Navy actions, though brief, are masterfully filmed.

All the battle scenes are so carefully calculated and so integral to the overall narrative that it is hard to dismiss any of them as unnecessary or argue that the film could have done away with some of the violence scenes.

Most importantly, Border 2 makes the best use of silence - both in sound and in motion - between action sequences. It is this kind of silence that forces you to think about what is happening and why, while also building tension about what might come next. The director makes you work as a viewer even as you watch the film.

Despite being a war spectacle, the movie strips away rhetoric and hollowness, almost muting the verbal chest-thumping. Instead, it strikes a balance between combat and its human cost, and aims to create an emotional depth that resonates across generations. You never feel that a patriotic scene has been inserted unnecessarily.

That said, the film is not without its flaws. The characters are introduced in a somewhat choreographed manner - their cadet days, evolving friendships, family pressures, love lives, and eventual plunge into war. This prolonged process of character establishment occasionally makes the characters feel heavier than the story itself.

Performance-wise, Border 2 is likely to become one of the defining films of Sunny's career, much like Arjun, Ghayal and Ghatak. At 68, Sunny still pulls off action sequences reminiscent of his Ghayal days. His dialogues are sharp and assertive, and his delivery draws whistles and applause - and at times, even moist eyes. He carries himself effortlessly like a seasoned war veteran and emerges as the movie's main pillar, the central column on which the entire narrative rests.

Next to Sunny, Varun Dhawan's performance is noteworthy. He appears as transformed and believable as he was in Badlapur, without resorting to overacting or excessive dramatization.

The roles of Ahan Shetty and Diljit Dosanjh are relatively shorter than that of Varun, but both do justice to their characters. Diljit's role has a comic edge, yet he never cheapens the film in the name of comic relief.

Among the actresses, Mona Singh has the most substantial role as Fateh Singh's wife - a colonel's spouse and the mother of a martyr from the 1965 war. A constant fear of war is etched on her face, as she is unable to stop her husband and son from going to battle. She effectively conveys helplessness, deep familial love, and an equally profound love for the country.

The cinematography, much like in J P Dutta's earlier films, is spot on, and the action choreography is top-notch. The screenplay, written by Dutta himself, is almost perfect. Even the background score works well. The songs, however, are a letdown. They are not bad per se, but they lack originality. Most are lifted directly from the original Border and presented with altered tempos. Having already heard them countless times, many viewers may not appreciate their current treatment.

At three hours and 20 minutes, the film's length becomes an issue. With crisper editing, the makers could have trimmed a substantial portion of the character development and brought the runtime to under three hours.

Despite that, though, Border 2 is a good movie. It humanises Indian soldiers. It does not dumb things down or exploit emotions through propaganda or popular sentiment, yet succeeds as a mass entertainer.