Yateesh A
Great Absurd Comedy with unexpected jokes
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/07/24
Full Review
Audience Member
I made the mistake of accidentally watching this movie before its prequel, because the original Tere Bin Laden isn't available on any streaming platform. Without having watched that I thought it's a completely original idea, but later on I figured out it was the continuation of the story.
Normally movie sequels are made to continue on the story that the previous movie left off from. But this one was something completely different. It begins from how the director made the movie and became a sensation overnight (although that didn't happen since that movie was forgotten in less than a month, let's consider it did happen for the story's sake). And now al-Qaeda is looking for the director so that he can bring Osama Bin Laden for a video and make him talk to Obama.
Just like the prequel this movie also does not take itself seriously, although this time it goes a little too far. The CIA is shown to attack terrorists using arcade-styled drone system in which the user has to insert a coin first, the terrorists are shown to have their own version of Olympics, the actors have no sense of their work and the director doesn't even understand that he has been kidnapped. Although the ending was a bit disappointing, it's still better than what most Bollywood movies make.
The only problem with this movie was when it was released. If this movie was released in late 2011 or early 2012, it would have been phenomenal. However, it picks up a dead topic (as dead as Osama Bin Laden) and then drags on with it as though we are still interested in it, which we clearly are not. I think most either there must have been studio meddling which caused this movie to release so late, or the director got the idea too late. Either way it's a big irresponsibility.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/16/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Day: Saturday
Date: 18 June 2016
Time: 10.00 pm
With: Azeem, Maa
On: HDTV
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
mirza m
About six years ago, writer-director Abhishek Sharma (The Shaukeens) made a comedy which turned out to be one of the most refreshing Hindi films of that year. The dig at global politics & the amount of cheekiness shown in the film was widely lapped up. It had a clever spin on current affairs, as a TV reporter desperate to get to the US sniffs an opportunity when he spots an Osama bin Laden lookalike and hatches the audacious plan of making a threatening tape. The success of the 2010 venture obviously prompted this sequel, which honestly is not a bad film, nor is it a great sequel to the hugely popular Tere Bin Laden. This sequel fails where the 1st one succeeded, mainly due to a poor script. However the film is filled with completely crazy and zany scenes, and some comic punches/ ideas do hold the viewers attention. The story follows Sharma (Manish Paul), the heir to a halwai shop in Chandni Chowk, unyokes himself from the family vocation and flees to Mumbai to make movies. He encounters Paddi Singh (Pradhuman Singh), a farmer with a striking resemblance to Osama bin Laden, and hits upon an idea for a film Tere Bin Laden. Yes! the original film is shown as a film starring Pakistani pop star Ali Zafar & directed by Sharma. The success of the film helps Sharma to convince the producers Shetty sisters to make a sequel to the film sans the star struck Ali Zafar. However when the real Osama Bin Laden is killed in the U.S. operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the sequel is shelved rendering both Sharma & Paddi jobless. Meanwhile, back in the US, President Barack Obama (Iman Crosson) is being pressurized by the media to provide proof of Bin Laden's death. In order to that he sends CIA's kingpin, David (Sikander Kher) to pull off a ruse by shooting a fake film portraying his death. In the mix are also extremist followers of Bin Laden, who in order to confuse the world also want Paddi Singh to make a fake video. This is an all out spoof film, the film spoofs the prequel, spoofs Bollywood, they even spoof the killing of Bin Laden, and the way the American government works. While with these ideas could have led to a great comedy it ends up being a muddled attempt at best. Almost 20 minutes of the film is wasted in paying homage to the Ali Zafar starrer. And Mr Zafar returns to play a womanizer and a troublesome, snooty actor (in the film) who is busy dancing away to a song called Six Pack abs. The film then shifts between American intelligence and terrorist organizations' need to find Osama or someone who looks like him. A comedy of errors begin and there is absolutely no thrill in this no brainer. There are long moments when the pace slackens and the jokes are either too trite or wrung out. But there are several superbly silly bits: Khalili presides over a mujaheddin Olympics with sports such as dodging landmines; US President Barack Obama, haunted by the specter of Osama, visits a shrink called Dr. MacGuffin; and there's a news anchor who makes theatrical gestures as he announces sensational headlines much in the manner of Hindi newscasters. The Olympia-e-dehshat, where terrorists battle it out to win a suicide jacket signed by Osama Bin Laden himself & the way the American government played drone attacks was hilarious too! But like many such spoofs, the premise of Sharma's script is built on the stupidity of its protagonists and the even lower IQ of the supporting cast, specifically a Gujarati-speaking writer (Chirag Vohra), a make-up artist and "method actor" (Sugandha Garg), a mimic (Rahul Singh) and the militant leader (Piyush Mishra). If the original scored for the performances, humorous script and energetic direction, this re visitation fumbles on all these fronts. The jokes are desperate, the performances so hammy they hurt, and the meta device overused to the point of misplaced self-congratulation, since this story was obviously dead on arrival. Acting wise Sikandar gives a standout performance here. It turns out, has a talent for parody. The actor, who was last seen three years ago in Aurangzeb, is giddily ridiculous with his southern twang, toothy grin and visible layers of foundation. He's also amusing when he, as David Something, pretends to be Hollywood producer David Chaddha in a ploy to gull Sharma and Singh. The way he does the American, and Punjabi accent is amazing (its very authentic), and with extensive makeup job he is unrecognizable. His character will have you in splits (probably the only time you really laugh). Piyush Mishra has the best dialogues to mouth, and his whole angle of terrorists being poor after the death Osama, is funny. If only his character got more substantial screen time. Manish Paul is wasted, his comic talent is not used properly, he just does the same thing he does on TV. Pradhuman Singh's character of Osama loses a lot of novelty during the course of the film because his role is to redundant. There is nothing new to offer, other than same jokes. Manish Paul's comic timing is best reserved for television. He is never an actor and his character seems to have walked out from the sets of Mickey Virus. On the whole, 'Tere Bin Laden Dead or Alive' is a an average film at best, and really doesn't live up to its very enjoyable prequel.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive, is not a bad film, nor is it a great sequel to the hugely popular Tere Bin Laden the 2010 cult classic comedy. I honestly feel that makers and Director Abhisek Sharma should have waited till they got a better story before making part 2, because TBL 2's biggest problems is that it has a poor script. However the film is completely crazy and zany, and some comic punches/ ideas do hold the viewers attention. The actors especially Sikandar Kher and Piyush Mishira do there bit well. But will this over the top spoof comedy hold the audiences attention,lets analyze.
Story wise Sharma wants to become a film director and escapes from the clutches of his Halwai father to Bollywood. He meets Paddi Singh who has an uncanny similarity with Osama Bin Laden and the germ of an idea pops up in his mind. He narrates a story idea to the silent producers Shetty sisters. 'Tere Bin Laden' starring Ali Zafar and Paddi goes on to become a big hit and a sequel is being planned. Scheming CIA agent David turns into slimy Bollywood film Producer David Chaddha with a sexy assistant in Junior in tow. He is on the lookout for Paddi Singh. The dreaded Mujahid Khalil is also on the lookout for Paddi as well. Mayhem follows and even President Obama joins the cast too.
Acting wise Sikandar gives a standout performance in TBL 2. The way he does the american, and punjabi accent is amazing (its very authentic), and with extensive makeup job he is unrecognizable.His character will have you in splits (probably the only time you really laugh). Piyush Mishra has the best dialogues to mouth, and his whole angle of terrorists being poor after the death Osama, is funny. If only his character got more substantial screen time. Manish Paul is wasted, his comic talent is not used properly, he just does the same thing he does on TV. Pradhuman Singh's character of Osama loses alot of novelty during the course of the film because his role is to redundant. There is nothing new to offer, other than same jokes.
TBL 2 is a spoof film, the film spoofs the prequel, they spoof bollywood,they even spoof the killing of Bin Laden, and the way the american government works. While with these ideas a great comedy could have been made, but TBL 2, ends up being a muddled attempt. The film hardly soars above mediocrity.For me I just couldn't believe the extremely over the top premise, things were just way too illogical even for a Bollywood film. The films editor, tried editing the film in such a way that the film was so fast moving that the viewers would overlook the dumb plot errors, but that does not happen unfortunately. For example is it really that easy to make a Bollywood film, or convince someone to make a hollywood film, like come on don't think your audience is that dumbfound. However some of the films zany ideas do provide laughs, and not all is lost because of the films fast pacing, one is really never bored cause of the fast proceedings.The whole terrorist olympics scene had me roaring in laughter, the way the american government played drone attacks was hilarious too and those scenes are the films highlight. Even the films actors Sikandar and Piyush make sure they give there all to the film, which makes TBL 2, more enjoyable. But the films jokes, and comic punches fall flat more often then not, the whole Obama angle just didn't work for me, and needed to be edited out.Technically speaking the films music was bad the six pack abs song was ear bleeding bad, the vfx was okay, but the whole helicopter scenes were amateurish. The cinematography was nice, and dessert scenes looked good.
Overall TBL 2 is a average film at best, and really doesn't live up to the cult classic prequel. Watch the film if you are bored this weekend, otherwise you will enjoy it more on DVD. While it was funny at times its still a disappointing watch for me.
55% C- grade
2.5/5*
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
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