EK VILLAIN RETURNS is the story of a killer on the loose. Gautam Mehra (Arjun Kapoor) is the son of Mehra (Bharat Dabholkar). He is brash and creates a scene at the wedding of his ex-girlfriend. A video of him beating up guests and security guards goes viral. An upcoming singer, Aarvi Malhotra (Tara Sutaria) uses bits from this video to create a parodical song. It goes viral. Gautam meets her at the Revel Music Festival. A famous singer Qiran (Elena Roxana Maria Fernandes) is all set to perform on multiple days at the festival. Aarvi expresses a desire to perform at the festival instead of her. Gautam uses his wit and wickedness to get Qiran out and replace her with Aarvi. This helps Aarvi to further get famous. She falls in love with Gautam. Things take a turn when Gautam backstabs her and leaves as he wanted revenge for using his video clip to get fame. Six months later, Aarvi is having a house party when a killer arrives and takes her away while injuring or killing the rest of the guests. A video from the scene of the crime shows Aarvi addressing the killer as Gautam. The cops conclude that Gautam is the culprit. However, ACP V K Ganesan (J D Chakravarthy) has his doubts. He rounds up several suspects, one of which is Bhairav Purohit (John Abraham), a cabbie. He's a mysterious character, deeply in love with Rasika Mapuskar (Disha Patani). What happens next forms the rest of the film. Mohit Suri and Aseem Arora's story is intriguing and like the first time, promises a healthy dose of romance, heartbreak and violence. Mohit Suri and Aseem Arora's screenplay is tight. The film has two tracks, each of the two lovers, and it runs parallel and also intersects neatly. In the first half, however, it gets confusing in several places. Aseem Arora's dialogues enhance the massy quotient of the film. Mohit Suri's direction is splendid. It is very evident that he has evolved as a storyteller and this can be seen in his narrative style and treatment. A film like this is not easy to handle. Firstly, one needs to give equal prominence to both tracks. Secondly, the characters lack morals. Everyone in the film is wicked. To relate to such a film is not everyone's cup of tea. Yet, Mohit Suri manages to give the film a very mainstream touch. On the flipside, the first half may leave several viewers puzzled. Also, the way the narrative moves back and forth can add to the confusion for a section of moviegoers. EK VILLAIN RETURNS begins on a rocking note. In fact, viewers shouldn't miss the beginning at any cost. The music festival sequence is over the top, especially the way Gautam gets Qiran out of the picture. Bhairav's track starts late but once it does, it adds to the overall mystery of the film. There’s a fight sequence on a metro train that is worth a watch and uber-thrilling. The intermission point is a huge shocker. Post-interval, things get clearer, especially with the flashback sequence. The finale fight is fun but what adds to the madness is the suspense. Most viewers won't see it coming. And if you think that's all, you are mistaken as the final scene will leave you excited. Speaking of the performances, John Abraham appears a bit stiff in the initial scenes. However, he gets better as the film progresses. In the second half, he plays his part with ease. Arjun Kapoor looks dashing and the director has presented him in a mass-pleasing way. His performance is also quite good. Disha Patani looks wonderful and performance wise, she has gotten quite better. Tara Sutaria is much better than her act in her last film, HEROPANTI 2 [2022]. She leaves a mark majorly in the first half and the scene outside the hospital in the second half. J D Chakravarthy is a bit over the top. Shaad Randhawa (Inspector Rathore) doesn't get much scope to perform. Bharat Dabholkar (Gautam’s father), Elena Roxana Maria Fernandes, Shivani Tuli (Aarvi's friend Rubina), Karishma Sharma (Gautam's ex-girlfriend, Siya), Prasad Jawade (Ashu) and Digvijay Rohidas (Bhairav's friend Keshav) are fine. The music of the film is decent. 'Galliyan Returns' is the best of the lot, also due to the picturization. 'Dil' comes next followed by 'Shaamat' and 'Naa Tere Bin'. Raju Singh's background score is arresting and heightens the impact. Vikas Sivaraman's cinematography is splendid. A lot of shots are captured creatively and it adds to the impact. Rajat Poddar's production design is cinematic. Aejaz Gulab's action is a bit gory but not disturbing. Ayesha Dasgupta's costumes are glamorous and the ones worn by Disha Patani are memorable. Unifi Media's VFX is first-rate. Devendra Murdeshwar's editing is sharp. On the whole, EK VILLAIN RETURNS is a perfect amalgamation of supreme music, amazing visuals, thrilling moments, and strong franchise value. At the box office, it can surprise, especially in the mass centres and emerge as a huge success.Read more

Ek Villain Returns is about a serial killer with a twisted self-rationalisation. He feels he is the torchbearer or messiah of one-sided lovers who is extracting their revenge by killing the girls they love. And he is doing all this for ratings. The bigger the murder, the more ratings he gets from his ladylove. Twisted, right? But most serial killers have twisted minds. Eight years after Rakesh Mahadkar's (Riteish Deshmukh) spine-chilling killings, another serial killer is on the loose, who is wreaking havoc in Mumbai. The film begins with the villain's return, who breaks into a high rise building by smashing the glass and killing and assaulting everyone who comes in his way until he gets hold of singer Aarvi (Tara Sutaria). Her murder is the big breaking news on every channel and spoilt brat Gautam Mehra (Arjun Kapoor) is accused of the crime. The story soon moves to a flashback where Gautam crashes his ex-girlfriend's wedding and creates a huge ruckus. However, when the girl declares that she still loves him, he tells the to-be groom that he can now marry her. Why? Because 'marna chalega par haarna nahi'. A video of Gautam's stunt is made viral by Aarvi, who turns his seeti-maar dialogues into a rap. He tracks her down and comes to know that she wants to be a singing sensation. He helps her sabotage another singer's career and make a place of her own. Earns her trust and love and, when the time is right, hits back at her for turning him into a viral meme.Meanwhile, John Abraham's Bhairav Purohit loves Rasika (Disha Patani) to bits. While Rasika is a salesgirl at an apparel store, Bhairav is a cab driver and a part-time zoo keeper. And, he can do anything to earn Rasika's love and appreciation. While the trailer might have kept you guessing who is the villain of this story, just 30 minutes into the film, you will understand who the real villain is. However, the regular twists and turns in the story manage to keep you on the edge of the seat. The first half has quite a few jump-scare moments and they build up to an interesting second half. And, the last seven minutes of the film take the cake. The gripping plot of Ek Villain Returns is the winner with an engaging storyline. Mohit Suri, who did a good job with the first film of the Ek Villain franchise, brings a masala entertainer with massy dialogues, thrilling moments and good performances in the sequel. While there are some impressive stunts in the films, there are a few bad VFXs as well. The film's music is good and the songs are melodious, but none other Galliyaan has a shelf life. Arjun Kapoor is quite impressive as the spoilt brat obsessed with winning. He also experiences a change of heart after falling in love. He outshines others with a convincing act and intense gaze. Disha Patani was a surprise package. She nailed her role and succeeded in bringing out the evil side of Rasika well. Aarvi can be termed as Tara Sutaria's one of the best performances so far. John Abraham might look too beefed-up in the film, but when you see him breaking ribs and smashing heads and glasses, you will understand no one but John could convince us as Bhairav. The film had many illogical twists and action sequences. They tried to show John Abraham to be immensely powerful, whose expertise lies in breaking glass, be it in high-rise buildings or a metro rail. He might also also remind you of Sunny Deol when he easily dislodges the pole in the metro train and breaks the iron gate in the zoo. However, Riteish Deshmukh's 'aaj ke baad appko shikayat ka mauka nahi dunga' is still more scary than Ek Villain Returns' 'Madam rating dena mat bhoolna'. If you have watched the Ek Villain, you will miss Riteish in the sequel. And, we think the makers were also aware of this. No wonder they tried to make it up to the viewers. How? For that you need to watch the film. "Darr aur pyaar logon se buri cheezein karwata hai, toh main kaun hoon? Tera daar ya tera pyaar?" Disha asks John, but it is actually Arjun who answers this question towards the end of the film.Read more