Ghayal Returns isn’t unwatchable – far from it. But it’s old-fashioned and evokes a distinct sense of déjà vu.

Sunny Deol the actor is still a lethal weapon and can blow his opponent all the way across the room. Sunny the director should just get out his way.

Ghayal Once Again is a throwback to Sunny Deol’s angry common man persona made during the ‘90s. It’s a terribly made film with nothing much to offer except Narendra Jha’s performance as the suave villain. I have borne the pain so that you can live in peace. The ‘dhai kilo ka haath’ shows its age and gives you enough time to duck. So duck.

The action hero returns to serve some old fashioned justice in Ghayal Once Again as the still seething, still suffering Ajay Mehra like only he can. If also it could deliver the stamp of sharp, solid filmmaking like only the man who conceived Ajay Mehra can.

…watch Ghayal Once Again at your own risk and only if you can withstand the relentless onslaught it unleashes.

Sunny Deol cries, screams, fights, jumps off trains, runs, falls and occasionally also attempts to act. The last one is especially hard but he is unfazed.

Ajay Mehra has mellowed down and is mature now.  If you wanted to watch him thrash men with his ‘Dhaai Kilo Ka Haat ‘ and scream ‘Balwantrai ke kutton’ get set for disappointment.

…comes across as a shoddy and outdated attempt of the classic remake. Fans of Sunny Deol might patronize the movie; however the aam junta might not take a liking to it. As a result the movie will have a tough time at the box office.

The computer generated scenes are a tad cringeworthy because they are so obviously computer generated. But on the whole the story keeps moving on a predictable path.

Much, clearly. To start with, unlike most other films that treat sequels as brand franchise, Ghayal Returns is genuinely the second part of Ghayal (1990), where Om Puri’s cop character is now an RTI activist. The hero, who’s lost his whole family, himself sees images from his life from two and half decades ago, when he took on ‘Balwant Rai ke kutto!’

What do you expect from a Sunny Deol flick? Lots of action, punches and some hard-hitting dialogues? But, his latest outing ‘Ghayal Once Again’ which was earlier titled ‘Ghayal Returns’ lacks in these core Sunny Deol speciality areas.

The film is earnest and has a few genuine, emotional moments, but is defeated by an outmoded viewpoint and look. It had the potential to be so much more.

There’s an interesting twist in the second half, but by then you may be too numb to care. After watching this, the question about who is the wounded one — the viewer or the hero — may arise.

Ghayal Once Again, in a nutshell, is Sunny Deol (and his antics) unleashed…absolutely unleashed! Does Deol deliver a solid punch in the end to make us clap and whistle? The answer to that one is a thunderous NO!

…is strictly for the hard-core fans of Sunny Deol as the fans of the original instalment are bound to get disappointed. Looking like a 90s affair, the film can be given a miss.

If you have the courage to bare Sunny Deol’s acting then you can surely watch for it is not as bad as one would expect it to be!

Ghayal Once Again is a desperate cry from the 90s – a mediocre time we’ve thankfully come ahead of. Not a colossal disappointment but too dated to ring true and a damp squib that discredits the success it won in its prime. 

All said and done if you are thinking to watch this film for some strong dialogues and powerful punches, the film doesn’t meet any of it.