The teaser of Awarapan 2 released today and, ironically, it seems to echo exactly what many viewers may be feeling after watching it. It opens by saying that something is “very strange.” What follows is a dialogue that roughly suggests someone came close to the narrator but never truly accepted him. The teaser then moves through a collection of bizarre and disconnected visuals before ending with another cryptic line that says either this awarapan will end or Shivam Pandit (Emraan Hashmi) himself will.
And that’s where the problem lies. A teaser has one job. It should leave audiences wanting more. It should build curiosity for the trailer and create excitement for the film. Awarapan 2 does neither.
Instead, it leaves viewers wondering what they just watched. The dialogues are so vague that they fail to create intrigue. The visuals appear random rather than mysterious. Even after the teaser ends, there is hardly a single memorable moment that makes one want to revisit it.
Yes, there is nostalgia around Awarapan. The return of Emraan Hashmi as Shivam Pandit has naturally excited fans who have waited years for the sequel. But the nostalgia belongs to the original film, not to this teaser.
In trade circles, a teaser is expected to start conversations around the film. Here, the conversation is more likely to be about how little the teaser actually reveals or achieves. It introduces the sequel but gives audiences no emotional anchor, no story hook and no compelling reason to eagerly await the trailer.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the teaser seems to believe that being cryptic is the same as being intriguing. It isn’t.
By the time the 90-odd seconds are over, many viewers may simply move on, struggling to remember anything beyond the fact that Awarapan 2 exists. For a franchise that enjoys cult status today, that is an opportunity missed.