Son of Sardaar 2 (2025) - Action Comedy Sequel | Review

The last time we saw Jaswinder “Jassi” Singh Randhawa, he was dodging flying axes and settling a generations-old blood feud with a hearty dose of Punjabi hospitality. That was 2012, and the comedy of misunderstandings played out against a rustic, sun-scorched village backdrop. Now, in 2026, Vijay Kumar Arora’s long-gestating sequel, Son of Sardaar 2, pulls a drastic gear shift: swapping mustard fields for misty Scottish highlands, and swapping a bride he didn’t want for a wife he desperately needs to win back. The result is a sprawling, uneven, but strangely endearing 145-minute ride that feels less like a sequel and more like a vacation gone very, very wrong.

The film opens with Jassi (Ajay Devgn, reprising his role with a weary charm) surviving house arrest and living a life of quiet domesticity. But the quiet is shattered when his wife, Dimple (Neeru Bajwa), has had enough of his chaotic past and decamps to Scotland. The plot, such as it is, kicks into gear when Jassi, a man who has never met a problem he couldn’t punch, decides to follow her. His mission: romance. His reality: a hostage crisis involving a local mafia don, a wedding that defies all logic, and a cast of characters who seem to have wandered in from three different films.

Let’s be clear about the tone. The synopsis promises a caper, but Arora directs with a split personality. One moment, we’re in broad, slapstick comedy territory as Jassi’s sidekick Tittu (Vindu Dara Singh, who delivers his lines with the timing of a seasoned stand-up) tries to navigate a Scottish pub menu. The next, we’re plunged into a genuinely tense standoff involving the menacing Tony (Mukul Dev, relishing his return to villainy). This tonal whiplash is the film’s biggest weakness. It never fully commits to being a laugh-out-loud comedy or a gripping action-drama, leaving the audience in a state of cautious amusement rather than outright glee.

The emotional anchor is supposed to be the fractured marriage between Jassi and Dimple. Devgn plays Jassi as a man who is genuinely bewildered by his own past, wearing a constant expression of “how did I get here?”. His chemistry with Bajwa is warm, but their reconciliation arc is oddly rushed, sandwiched between a car chase and a bagpipe-led bhangra sequence. The true scene-stealer is Mrunal Thakur as Rabia, a fiery local woman who becomes embroiled in the crisis. She isn’t just the love interest or the damsel; Thakur brings a sharp, contemporary energy that feels refreshingly out of step with the film’s more antiquated gender dynamics. Her banter with Devgn sparks, and one wishes the script had given them more room to breathe.

The supporting cast is a rogues’ gallery of talent. Sanjay Mishra as Bantu Pandey, a scheming hotel manager with a heart of gold buried under layers of greed, is a masterclass in comic timing. Deepak Dobriyal as Gul, a bumbling local fixer, almost steals the entire film with his deadpan delivery. And then there’s Ravi Kishan as Raja, the local mafia boss whose wedding plans are at the center of the chaos. Kishan is a force of nature, playing his role with a theatricality that borders on operatic. The “most bizarre Sardaar wedding of the century” he presides over is exactly that - a cacophony of tartan, turbans, and gunfire, a sequence that is both visually spectacular and narratively nonsensical.

So, where does that leave Son of Sardaar 2? With a TMDb score of 4.367, it’s clear that it hasn’t won over the critics. And it’s easy to see why. The plot is a cobbled-together affair that relies heavily on coincidences. A hostage crisis is less a high-stakes thriller and more a convenient backdrop for Jassi to show off his martial arts skills. The logic is flimsier than a soggy samosa. But there’s an undeniable, old-school charm to its excesses. It reminds you of a time when masala entertainers didn’t apologize for being loud, messy, and illogical.

For Devgn fans, this is a return to a beloved character. He brings a world-weary gravitas to Jassi, a man who has survived everything the world has thrown at him and is now just tired. The action sequences, when they occur, are well-choreographed, though they feel oddly restrained compared to the original’s barnstorming finale. The film’s core message about family, forgiveness, and the messiness of love does land, albeit in a chaotic, last-minute rush of sentiment.

Is it a good film? By conventional metrics, no. It’s a bloated, over-stuffed narrative that tries to be three things at once. But is it an entertaining spectacle? Absolutely, if you check your expectations at the door. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a heavy, spicy meal: you know it’s not gourmet, but the sheer flavour and volume leave you oddly satisfied. For those ready to embrace the chaos, Son of Sardaar 2 offers a wildly uneven but frequently entertaining trip to a Scotland you’ve never seen before - one populated entirely by Punjabi mafia dons and a hero who just wants his wife back.