After the events of Awarapan, Shivam Pandit (Emraan Hashmi) is back, having beaten death once again, but the scars of his past have not disappeared. While visiting Aaliyah’s grave, Shivam comes across an abandoned baby. He takes the child to an orphanage and names her Aaliyah, keeping alive the memory of the woman he once loved. When the baby is adopted, Shivam believes she has found a new life, only to discover that she has been trafficked. What follows takes him back into the criminal underworld he had tried to leave behind.
His search for Aaliyah eventually takes him to Bangkok, where Shivam comes face to face with a human trafficking network holding around 40 children. What begins as a personal attempt to find one child slowly becomes a much larger battle, bringing him into a world of violence, betrayal and shifting loyalties. Along the way, he crosses paths with Zara (Disha Patani), and her brother Zorawar (Puran Gabbi), while Nafisa (Shabana Azmi) emerges as another important figure in the criminal world. Once again, Shivam finds himself caught between violence and his own need for redemption, and the question is whether he can ever really escape the life that has shaped him.
Awarapan 2 rests largely on Emraan Hashmi, and the actor understands that the best way to return to Shivam is not by overplaying him. Emraan Hashmi looks convincingly physical for the part, but it is the restraint in his performance that works better. There is a certain weariness in Shivam this time, as though years of carrying his past have made him quieter rather than louder. Even when the screenplay does not give him much to say, Emraan Hashmi manages to communicate the character’s pain through his body language and expressions.
The film also makes a clear attempt to raise the action quotient, and some of the sequences work well. The car chase in the pre interval portion is particularly engaging and gives the film the kind of momentum it needs before the narrative moves into its next phase. Several other action sequences are well choreographed, while the Bangkok setting gives the film a larger canvas. The problem is that the scale of the action does not always translate into the same level of emotional impact.
Puran Gabbi’s Zorawar is one of the more noticeable additions to the film. The character is eccentric, unpredictable and carries a certain madness that keeps the audience guessing about what he might do next. There is an over the top quality to the portrayal, but it suits the character, and Gabbi makes the most of it. Zorawar may not be the most layered antagonist, but his presence does add energy to the proceedings.
Disha Patani as Zara has a much more subtle role and, unfortunately, limited scope within the narrative. Her character gradually becomes an undercurrent of a possible love interest for Shivam, but that relationship is never explored enough to create a strong emotional connection. There are moments that suggest what the equation between the two could have been, but the screenplay moves on before it can really develop.
Shabana Azmi brings a different kind of presence to the film as Nafisa. She has relatively few dialogues, but her screen presence is significant, and there is an effortless authority in the way she handles the character. She suits the part well and never needs to force the menace. At the same time, the film could have done more with Nafisa because a character of this nature, especially with an actor like Shabana Azmi playing her, had the potential to add another layer to the story.
A considerable part of Awarapan 2 is spent on inter gang rivalries, twists and turns, with the narrative constantly moving between different characters and shifting loyalties. Some of these twists keep the film interesting, while others feel more functional than genuinely surprising. The screenplay is often busy setting up the next turn rather than allowing the emotional consequences of what has just happened to settle in. That becomes more noticeable because the central premise itself has enough emotional weight to carry a stronger drama.
The music, however, does a lot of the heavy lifting, particularly for those who have a strong connection with the original. The familiar songs and musical references immediately bring back the Awarapan nostalgia, and that works. Hearing the original music in this setting takes the audience back to the emotional world of the first film and, at several points, helps fill the gaps left by the screenplay. It is one of the safest aspects of the sequel because the songs already carry an emotional history with them. At the same time, there are moments when that nostalgia feels like it is doing some of the work that the new story should have done on its own.
That eventually becomes both the strength and the limitation of Awarapan 2. The film knows the emotional value of Shivam Pandit, it knows what Emraan Hashmi brings to the character and it knows how strongly audiences respond to the music. What it does not always achieve is creating enough new emotional material that can stand independently of the original.
Yet there is something satisfying about watching Emraan Hashmi return to Shivam after all these years. The character still carries the loneliness, pain and moral conflict that made him memorable, and Emraan Hashmi remains convincing in that space. Awarapan 2 may not recreate everything that made the original special, but it has enough action, nostalgia, performances and moments of emotional connection to keep its core audience engaged.
For those who still carry the memory of Awarapan, the sequel works best when it allows Shivam to simply be Shivam. It is not always able to create the same emotional impact as the original, but Emraan Hashmi’s presence, the action, Shabana Azmi’s performance and the music ensure that the connection is never completely lost. The final scenes also leave a hint that Shivam’s story may not be over yet, quietly keeping the possibility of an Awarapan 3 open without officially confirming a third chapter. For Awarapan fans and Emraan Hashmi fans, there is enough here to make the journey back to Shivam Pandit’s world worth taking.
Movie: Awarapan 2
Directed by: Nitin Kakkar
Featuring: Emraan Hashmi, Puran Gabbi, Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi, Aniruddh Rawal, Myrah Shivan
Theatrical Release Date: 14 August 2026
Run Time: 2hrs 20mins
Awarapan 2
3.5