Ghayal Once Again: Wounds wide open

Ghayal Once Again
Hindi (U/A)¬¬
Cast: Sunny Deol,
Narendra Jha
Director: Sunny Deol

The man has aged, but his dhai kilo ka haath hasn’t. So when Sunny Deol returns after 16 years — still licking his first wound — more baddies are bound to be battered by those heavy-duty limbs.

Deol dutifully goes through the beating-to-pulp routine, but restrains his lungs, thankfully.
The vigilante of 1990-hit Ghayal did a fresh job then. Nobody could better him. Now, after two decades, when he takes on the corrupt system once again, the hangover shows. With no formidable opponent and with just four students to protect, our man (who is also the film’s director) just lets his superhero powers snooze in the office of Satyakam — a media group of which he is the heart, soul and expose expert.

An RTI activist (Om Puri) is murdered and Deol gets to work his muscles upon a bunch of “phoren” goons. The men are sent by an industrialist — an effective and suave Narendra Jha — who has a finger in every Mumbai pie. The tycoon and his spoilt son keep Deol on the job for the rest of the movie.

The action is gripping and the chase sequences first-rate. A CGI helicopter, though, undoes the good work in the end.

Deol fans may enjoy the hulking show. The others needn’t get hurt a second time.