236. Dakuaan Da Munda 2; movie review

 

DAKHUAA DA MUNDA 2

Cert 15

140 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, drugs misuse

Don't get me wrong, it is progressive of an Indian movie to be addressing drug addiction given the high numbers of people in the country who are suffering from it.

But, in my opinion, Dakuaan Da Munda 2 handles it so cack-handedly, the audience could be forgiven for thinking its subject, played by Dev Kharoud is a hero.

Indeed, Kharoud has had to explain in interviews that he is not.

Mandeep Benipal's film is an adaptation of the autobiography of the well-known writer and teacher Manga Singh Antai.

He was a potential international volleyball player whose addiction led him into a spiral of crime.

It begins with him as a shambles of a man who no longer has enough money for bus fare and yet was once feared by everyone who was in his path and many beyond.

He was entirely dependent on his next fix, regardless of being married to a beautiful wife (Jhapi Khaira) with a young child.

The movie switches between the present day and the past when Manga evolves from a shy young man, nervously courting a pretty girl to an arrogant boaster who metes out violence as a first resort.

He then begins to take drugs and his criminal behaviour pays for his habit.

The problem is that the movie seems to glory in his antics and it is never clarified why his girl, knowing how much he had changed from the lad she first met, ended up marrying him.

Dakuaan Da Munda 2 tackles the deceit of drug takers and the remarkable web of lies they spin to hide the truth of their addiction.

Sure enough, its final message is uplifting but it takes far too long to arrive there. Indeed a 140-minute picture could have easily be condensed to an hour and a half and nothing would have been missed,

Reasons to watch: Highlights the perils of drug addiction

Reasons to avoid: Too many jolting flashbacks

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 5/10

Did you know? According to the National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India in 2019, about 2.1% of the country's population (22.6 million individuals) used opioids which include opium (or its variants like poppy husk known as doda/phukki), heroin, and pharmaceutical opioids.

The final word. Dev Kharoud: "Not once in the film do we tried to portray the character as a hero. You will get to see how a drug-addict often lies to loved ones, breaks trust and crosses limit. These are not the qualities of a hero. The intention is to entertain as well as deliver a social message.” The Tribune

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