Navra Maza Navsacha 2 Movie Review : A family entertainer high on nostalgia

Review: In 2005, Sachin Pilgaonkar and team gave viewers an experience to remember with Navra Maza Navsacha. The film is remembered for its story, punchlines and cast. Now, 19 years later, Sachin takes the story forward with Navra Maza Navsacha 2, in the process trying to recreate the same magic.

Navra Maza Navsacha 2 has a simple story that banks largely on its punchlines and situational comedy. Like the first part, the sequel revolves around a vow made to Lord Ganesha. While Vacky, short for Vakratunda (Sachin Pilgaonkar) and Bhakti (Supriya Pilgaonkar) fulfilled a vow made by Vacky’s father in the first film, Bhakti made another one immediately after – that Vacky would create a Ganesha idol every year and they will return to Ganpatipule for its immersion. When their daughter Shraddha (Heymal Ingley) tells them that she has found her life partner in Lamby short for Lambodar (Swapnil Joshi), the family is overjoyed, and Bhakti is ready to pass on the responsibility of the immersion to Lamby. Things don’t go as planned though, as Lamby is an atheist. In the following days, Shraddha makes another vow to Lord Ganesha, one that she promises Lamby will fulfil at Ganpatipule. Thus begins another journey. What is the vow and does Lamby fulfil it?

Navra Maza Navsacha 2 is a clean and simple comedy that is reminiscent of the quintessential Marathi comedies of the Sachin Pilgaonkar-Ashok Saraf-Laxmikant Berde trio. Packed with pun, lame jokes, funny retorts and some brilliant punchlines, the film delivers what it promises – wholesome family entertainment. It also rides high on nostalgia for those who enjoyed first film. Even for those who haven’t watched Navra Maza Navsacha, the sequel holds fort as a standalone film.

That said, Navra Maza Navsacha 2 has its flaws, the biggest being repetitive jokes that lose steam after a point and random introduction of characters for the sole purpose of getting some situational laughs. There are some contrasting scenes that leave you confused. On one side there’s a brilliant satirical part featuring Siddharth Jadhav as a politician, while on the other is one featuring stereotypical Chinese character named Randy Cha (yes, slang-pun is intended). Why is a Chinese man travelling to Ganpatipule via Konkan Railways, you may ask. Well, an answer is provided in the climax but don’t expect it to be logical.

The biggest win of Navra Maza Navsacha 2 is its cast. Supriya has great screen presence and Heymal delivers an easy-breezy performance amid a stellar cast. But it is Sachin and Swapnil who light up the screen with their acting skills and keep the tempo of the film going. Other noteworthy performances are by Vaibhav Mangle, Harish Dudhade, Siddharth Jadhav and Ashok Saraf.

To cut the long story short, Navra Maza Navsacha 2 is a film where the journey is more important and enjoyable than the destination. This makes it a perfect family entertainer to watch over the weekend. Word of advice– don’t go to the cinema hall with cerebral expectations.