Carry On Jatta 2 review: Laughter abounds in this medley of fools

2012 was a landmark year for Punjabi films. The release of the Diljit Dosanjh- Neeru Bajwa-starrer Jatt and Juliet and that of Carry on Jatta shortly after, marked a revival of Punjabi films that continued to grow and offered a formidable alternative to Hindi cinema. Jatt and Juliet became the highest grossing Punjabi film of all time and nipping at its heels was Carry on Jatta, the second highest. The actors of both films, Dosanjh and Gippy Grewal, consolidated their hold over the industry and became huge stars whose every release is eagerly awaited.

While Jatt and Juliet 2, was released in 2013, it has taken six years for the release of part 2 of Carry on Jatta. The director of the film, Smeep Kang, who has a brief cameo in his latest work, attributed the delay to busy schedules and high audience expectations set by the success of the first film. Well, he needn’t have worried, as the second iteration of the film is every bit as silly and enjoyable as the first.

Carry on Jatta 2 reunites most of the original cast and their take-away stock dialogues, with a few tweaks. Jass (Gippy Grewal) has the rather inevitable dream of every Punjabi boy — he longs for a Canadian visa. The easiest way to do so is by marrying a Canadian resident. His friend Honey (Gurpreet Ghuggi), runs a marriage bureau and takes him to a wedding where Canadian residents are a dime a dozen.

Jass meets the girl of his Canadian dreams, Meet (Sonam Bajwa) and manages to woo her. But Meet, who is an orphan, longs to experience the love and joys of a large family and it’s up to Jass, also an orphan, to whip up a family overnight and embark swiftly on his NRI aspirations. The fracas between Advocate Dhillon (Jaswinder Bhalla) and his son Goldy (Binnu Dhillon) continues, as does the former’s distaste for tenants; themes carried over from the first film.  

The forte of Punjabi films is situational comedy and confusion abounds in Carry on Jatta 2 as family members are left baffled and used. We are drawn into the harebrained schemes of Honey and Jass.

Sonam Bajwa replaces Mahie Gill from the first film and is adequate for a role that mostly requires her to look pretty and confused at the shenanigans unfolding around her. Gippy Grewal, meanwhile is engaging as he hatches schemes to keep his secret from being revealed. The foot-tapping numbers sung by him are sure to be the life of Punjabi parties (and SUVs) hereon. Karamjit Anmol appears in an unusual new look and his character adds another dimension to the general hilarity that ensues.

Some jokes in Carry on Jatta 2 are old and repetitive, and one wishes for a tighter narrative, but the film undoubtedly belongs to the comedians - Gurpreet Ghuggi, Jaswinder Bhalla and Binnu Dhillon, who demonstrate that they are true masters of their craft as we are seamlessly taken from one hilarious situation to another.

There is one hilarious scene where Jass and Honey are hidden inside a dummy buffalo and the latter, fearful of getting caught and thrashed, remarks that they should have thought of hiding inside a cow as, “People think twice before hitting a cow.” One wishes for more such informed jokes but well, Carry on Jatta, nonetheless.