| Mardaani 2 | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | Gopi Puthran |
| Written by | Gopi Puthran |
| Produced by | Aditya Chopra |
| Starring | Rani Mukerji Vishal Jethwa |
| Cinematography | Jishnu Bhattacharjee |
| Edited by | Monisha Baldawa |
| Music by | Score: John Stewart Eduri |
Production | |
| Distributed by | Yash Raj Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes[2] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹27 crore[3] |
| Box office | ₹67.12 crore[4] |
Mardaani 2 is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film[5] written and directed by Gopi Puthran. It is a sequel to the 2014 film Mardaani. It is produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films, and stars Rani Mukerji reprising her role of police officer Shivani Shivaji Roy from the previous film. The plot follows her attempts to catch a 21-year-old rapist and murderer, played by newcomer Vishal Jethwa.[5][6]
Mardaani 2 was announced on 10 December 2018 by a social media post.[7] Filming began in March 2019 and was extensively done in Rajasthan.[8] The first look was unveiled in April 2019 and release date was announced in September 2019. It was released on 13 December 2019 to generally positive response towards its screenplay, pace, direction and performances (particularly those of Mukerji and Jethwa)[9] The film performed successfully at the box office and earned a worldwide gross of ₹67.12 crore (US$8.0 million).[10]
The opening credits show Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukerji) clearing the UPSC exams in 2015 to become an Indian Police Service officer.
InKota, Rajasthan, a 21-year-old psychopath, Sunny (Vishal Jethwa), kidnaps an outspoken young woman, Latika. He brutally tortures, rapes, and then murders her. Shivani, who has been appointed as the new Superintendent of PoliceofKota, arrives at the crime scene and clashes with her misogynistic subordinate DSP Brij Shekhawat (Sumit Nijhawan). The brutality of Latika's murder disturbs Shivani and makes her more determined to catch the killer.
Sunny, who has actually come to Kota from Meerut on a killing contract given by politician Govind Mishra a.k.a. Panditji (Prasanna Ketkar), sees Shivani on TV when she publicly promises to find Latika's killer. He taunts Shivani by sneaking into her home and stealing her sari. He then dresses up as a woman, tricks the journalist Kamal Parihar (Anurag Sharma), and kills him; he also hires Pravin, a tea-seller near the police station, to kill the journalist's wife, Aabha Parihar, in a suicide blast, then takes Pravin's place as tea-seller to keep an eye on Shivani, introducing himself as a mute boy named Bajrang.
When Shivani brings in Lahanya, a child from the slums who had witnessed the blast, Sunny kills him. Following the media uproar on the failure of the police to catch the murderer, Shivani is set to be transferred from Kota. Since the new officer will come after two days, Shivani, along with her teammates, decides to catch Sunny within that time. Shivani makes peace with Shekhawat since his network of informers is very strong in the city, and he leads them to his contact, who reveals that the real mastermind behind the killing of Kamal Parihar is the youth politician Viplav Beniwal (Sunny Hinduja). Shivani arrests Beniwal's right-hand man Kunwar and brutally tortures him into revealing Sunny's whereabouts. Sunny kidnaps another outspoken woman but the police track him down. They discover his victim already raped and tortured, but still alive, and manage to save her.
Sunny, acting as Bajrang, gets a lift from Shivani. Before he can strangle her, Shivani stops him, having realized that Bajrang is Sunny. The two fight but Sunny escapes. The police find a video of Sunny taken by a bystander, and Shivani has it made viral on all social media platforms. Sunny kidnaps Panditji's granddaughter Priyanka and threatens to kill her unless Shivani apologizes to him. Shivani and the police manage to save the girl. Shekhawat mends his ways and agrees to help Shivani. Shivani discovers that Sunny's next target is the female politician Sunanda. That night, amidst the Diwali celebrations, Shivani and her team search for him. She discovers him in the house of a local couple, having taken their daughter and Sunanda hostage. Shivani is knocked unconscious and tied up.
When she awakes, Sunny is strangling Sunanda; to distract him, Shivani talks about his mother and his past, which she learned from Sunny's father, who is imprisoned in Meerut. As a child, Sunny's father had tried to murder his mother, who had been an outspoken woman. In terror, Sunny's mother had hidden on the terrace, but Sunny told his father where she was hiding; his father then killed her. The guilt and trauma of his mother's death has since caused Sunny to become unhinged and take that anger out on other similarly confident women.
Shivani signals Sunanda and the other hostage to toss the nearby buckets of paint on Sunny, as he is asthmatic. She then gains the upper hand, beating Sunny with his own belt. She kicks him outside and continues beating him as the neighbourhood gathers to watch.
On 10 December 2018 Yash Raj Films announced on their official Twitter account the making of sequel to their hit film Mardaani to be directed and scripted by Gopi Puthran. Rani Mukerji is to reprise her role of Shivani Shivaji Roy of the last film.[8] Vikram Singh Chauhan[11] and Shruti Bapna[12] later on added to the cast.
The principal photography began on 27 March 2019. The official Twitter page of Yash Raj Films posted the announcement of beginning of the shooting and shared a picture from the sets of the film.[9][10] Rani Mukerji went to the second schedule of filming in the first week of May in Kota and JaipurinRajasthan.[13] Mukerji shooting in Rajasthan was battling in 42 °C temperature while filming fighting scenes.[14][15] The Rajasthan schedule of the film was wrapped up on 29 May.[16]
The film was released on 13 December 2019.[17][1]
Mardaani 2 was released worldwide on 2105 screens. The film's opening day nett domestic collection was ₹3.80 crore. In the next two days, it earned nett ₹6.55 crore and ₹7.80 crore respectively. It grossed ₹67.12 in worldwide areas, consisting of ₹56.63 crore (Indian gross) and ₹10.49 crore (overseas gross).[4]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filmfare Awards | 15 February 2020 | Best Actress | Rani Mukherjee | Nominated | [18] |
| Best Male Debut | Vishal Jethwa | Nominated | |||
| Best Debut Director | Gopi Puthran | Nominated | |||
| Zee Cine Awards | 28 March 2020 | Best Actress | Rani Mukherjee | Nominated | [19] |
| Best Male Debut | Vishal Jethwa | Won |
In December 2019, it was announced that Rani Mukerji is set to reprise her role in the third installment of Mardaani franchise titled Mardaani 3.[20]
