Director: Ayan Mukerji
Writer: Shridhar Raghavan
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, N.T. Rama Rao Jr, Kiara Advani
Synopsis: Things get complicated when Kabir Dhaliwal, a secret agent, is accused of betraying his nation, and his former batchmate Vikram is assigned the task of finding him.
If you thought Siddharth Anand’s War contained lots of homoerotic tension, watch out, because Ayan Mukerji’s War 2 has even more of it. The highly-anticipated sequel to the hit 2019 film, and sixth installment overall in the YRF Spy Universe, is light on the gay subtext that made Anand’s film stand out in contemporary Bollywood cinema, until its post-intermission half, where Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir fights off against N.T. Rama Rao Jr’s Vikram inside a secluded cave in the Arctic. With nothing to lose, the two wield phallic-shaped ice picks as weapons to kill one another instead of admitting that they’re actually in love.
Don’t believe me? Mild spoilers: there’s a moment where Vikram gains the upper hand and impales Kabir in the shoulder…until Vikram does exactly the same thing so he can be as close as possible to his enemy? Friend? Lover? You decide! Some may think I’m reaching, but the first movie was dubbed “Gayer than Top Gun” amongst critics when it released, and Anand himself has not been shy on the fact that, yes, it does contain some homoeroticism. Just look at comments he made on the matter when discussing Hrithik Roshan’s now-famous entry in the film, where Tiger Shroff’s Khalid looks at him in pure admiration as he walks out of a helicopter:
“If Khalid looks at him with awe, you as the audience will look at him with awe. […] He’s looking at him like a fan would. The fact that Hrithik looks the way he does is also why you feel the homoeroticism. Even the men who are looking at him going, ‘Oh my god, how good looking is he?’ You can’t help but look at him with lust.”
While I wasn’t a big fan of Anand’s War, the scene I most remember is the scene Anand is describing, which made everyone have the exact same reaction the filmmaker is talking about. You can’t help but look at him with the same desire Khalid has, and, at this very moment, could think Roshan is the hottest actor, from any country, who’s ever graced a screen. For the sequel, Ayan Mukerji, who previously helmed Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva dials up everything Anand built in the first installment, making almost every setpiece bigger, louder and gayer, which could be a feature, a bug, or both for anyone looking for 173 minutes of pure entertainment on the big screen. Narratively, there’s not much that makes sense, and the leaps in logic Mukerji takes with screenwriter Shridhar Raghavan are incredibly baffling.
It’s hard to discuss the plot of War 2 without divulging some elements the filmmakers certainly want kept secret. However, the movie does undoubtedly deliver on the Hrithik vs. NTR (who is in his first Bollywood feature) confrontation that the trailers have advertised. The gist is that Khalid, who has been undercover in attempting to find the people behind a secretive organization that plans to destroy the very fabric of India, is accused of betraying his country when a misunderstood exchange between him and his mentor, Colonel Sunil Luthra (Ashutosh Rana) is sent to the colonel’s daughter, Kavya (Kira Advani), who believes he has done something unconscionable when Kabir has always followed his advice ever since he became an agent: “Death before dishonour, service before self, India first.”
From there, the newly appointed RAW chief Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor) tasks Vikram to find Kabir and bring him to headquarters, where the truth will be revealed once and for all. It’s a rudimentary synopsis we’ve all seen before, but done relatively efficiently for the movie’s first half. In fact, Mukerji seems more seasoned than Anand in crafting efficient action of tangible spectacle, particularly when staging a Tollywood-like introduction to NTR’s character. The (very) loud background music blares in the IMAX cinema, as Vikram blows up an entire ship in the most scientifically improbable, yet effortlessly badass fashion.
There’s a real sense of play in the action sequences that Anand’s War sorely lacked, from a bravura, gravity-defying, plane fight that puts the entirety of The Fast and the Furious and Zack Snyder’s filmogrpahy to shame, and a boat chase that culminates in NTR’s jet-powered naval vassel cruising the Formula 1 track in Abu Dhabi alongside many racecars (can you do that, Sonny Hayes? I don’t think so!). Oh, and I haven’t mentioned the train sequence, whose pure sense of nonsensical energy, from shifting character motivations to gargantuan superheroics that even people who suspend their disbelief may question, will confound as much as it will enthrall you.
Of course, the real show-stopper is that homoerotically-charged confrontation between Kabir and Vikram, which goes on for an eternity and has more twists and turns than a glut of anime titles you can think of. Suppose you were disappointed at the lack of subtext in its pre-interval half. In that case, the post-intermission section of War 2, which develops the rivalry between the two characters in more interesting angles than the first, delivers on what fans of the first have been waiting for. Hell, all of this unnecessary bloodshed and alpha male domination could be avoided entirely if they just kissed already. Mukerji can haphazardly include a female character who dips for a good chunk of the film’s 173-minute runtime if he wants, but everyone knows the real love story is between Kabir and Vikram, who fight so hard not to kiss in that never-ending confrontation that one wishes they would just stop it all and say what they truly feel towards each other.
They kinda do, which makes this push-pull all the more hilarious. Impressively so, though, we buy into this messy conflict because NTR and Hrithik Roshan deliver impassioned portrayals, which the latter hasn’t done in ages. Roshan has been more concerned with promoting his HRX brand as much as possible than giving a damn, as he did in Koi…Mil Gaya or Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… His turn as Kabir here is more meditative and sincere than his first go-around with the character, while NTR proves once again why he is the Man of Masses and will always live up to the mantle no matter what.
It’s just a shame that War 2 begins to sag once it returns from its intermission. Its admittedly simple, but effective plot begins to overcomplicate itself until it has no idea where to go. As a result, it literally and figuratively jumps the shark with mass sequences in the hopes that the audience won’t notice how illogical the whole thing is. We do, and it takes many leaps for us to suspend our disbelief and immerse ourselves in the story, but we also don’t care, because what Mukerji does with the sequel to the worst YRF Spy Universe installment is enjoyable enough in the places that matter. Namely, wall-to-wall, exhilarating action, fun musical numbers, and a gay subtext that sets the film apart from the bevy of Bollywood blockbusters being released today.
Look, all things considered, the homoeroticism was probably unintentional (or not), but it’s undoubtedly part of the charm – and fun – of a film like War 2. If you’re not prepared, perhaps this hugely galaxy-brained, but sincerely entertaining, motion picture may not be for you. But you’re missing out on some proper cinema if you don’t at least seek one of these films out.
