Hindi
Force 2…..Of forced action…
MUMBAI: Force 2 is the sequel to the 2011 movie, Force, which, in turn, was based on the 2003 Tamil film, Kaakha Kaakha. Force was about John Abraham, an ACP level cop, a loner who refuses to marry because that would hamper his work of chasing dreaded criminals. His department is always at war with the narcotics trade, and his life is always at risk.
However, love happens: he falls for Genelia D’Souza and marries her, only to lose her in his battle with the drug mafia. The rest is about how he avenges her death.
In Force 2, John the narcotics cop goes international. He is deputed to assist a RAW agent, Sonakshi Sinha. John’s childhood friend, Freddy Daruwala, a RAW agent along with two other colleagues has been eliminated by the Chinese while on duty there. John receives a book from his friend and concludes that his friend’s cover was blown by one of his own compatriots.
John takes it upon himself to avenge his death.
It is for John and Sonakshi to identify the traitor from among their own and then to neutralize him. Sonakshi does not think much of John, he being a cop while she represents the elite espionage force. She does not take John’s contribution seriously as she would rather go about singling out the traitor in her copybook style.
The equation changes once John pinpoints the culprit while Sonakshi is still marking the probable suspects. But, much to John’s discomfort, the hierarchy is established. John is supposed to take orders from her even though her bumbling ways and reputation of failing to pull the trigger when needed makes her look more like the hero’s funny sidekick
The villain, Tahir Bhasin, is identified but nabbing him is not easy. After all, he is also a trained spy. What follows is a chase which lasts through most of the first half of the film. The traitor is smart, always well-prepared and a step ahead of his pursuers. He has backup help from the Chinese to whom he is leaking the names of Indian agents in their country!
As John and Sonakshi catch up with Bhasin, he is always saved by his handlers. Whenever that happens, John and Sonakshi are sitting ducks for them but they, it seems, want to chase to go on!
Why would an Indian and a RAW agent at that be leaking information? He has his reasons on which the whole premise of the film is based. He is seeking revenge from someone high up in the Indian establishment. And, that is where the finale shall take place.
The film starts off on an exciting note in the backdrop of China where three agents’ cover has been blown and the way they are killed. But, no, the fight here is not with the Chinese, they are just incidental. It’s all about the enemy within and that takes away some fun to start with.
After that the action shifts to Budapest for rest of the film but, besides the change of scene as far as the location is concerned, the chases and the one-upmanship game have been seen before and get repetitive. The concept, as mentioned earlier, is based on a premise that is not familiar. Nowhere is the public privy to life of a RAW agent, let alone it being flashed on media like a local incident.
While the pace is swift as most of the footage goes to action and chases with none wasted on romance or singing and dancing, it also means the film has no distractions as in variety. The script is on predictable lines. The direction, in such an event, is all about sticking to action with little attention to script.
The climax takes the audience for granted. Dialogue, especially the lines penned for Tahir, is good. The action is well executed and John, to his credit, makes them look plausible. John also looks sincere about his role of a cop on a rebound. Sonakshi shows little variation in expressions whether she is talking about her mistake which cost five cops their lives or in any other situation. The background score is effective.
Force 2 is a below average action thriller.
Producers: Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
Director: Abhinay Deo.
Cast: John Abraham, Sonakshi Sinha, Tahir Bhasin, Adil Hussain, Raj Babbar.
Tum Bin 2….Old wine gone flat
Tum Bin 2 is a sequel to 2001 film, Tum Bin, a musical love triangle. The sequel, also directed by Anubhav Sinha, comes rather late as far as sequels go, as the idea seems to be to cash in on the current trend of sequels and also to put to use a successful franchise. Tum Bin 2 follows almost same storyline as the original.
Ashim Gulati and Neha Sharma are a pair and live an eventful life full of fun. On one of their days out skiing, Ashim meets with an accident. After attempts to trace him, all hopes are given up on his survival. Neha is devastated and withdraws from the world outside.
This is when Neha meets Aditya Seal through Ashim’s father, Kanwaljeet Singh. Aditya gets busy helping Neha out of her grief. He also gets her involved in her work. Neha gradually starts living a normal life while also getting attracted to Aditya. Just when lives of all connected seem to be hunky-dory, it takes a turn to bring in the ever so popular and old-fashioned twist.
Ashim is not dead after all. It is now a love triangle and Neha is faced with her past and present loves.
There is nothing new to the story about the past catching up and the one in a quandary is always the woman. Tum Bin 2 does not vary from its original and retains the same glitches in the script as well.
The forte in the original was its soundtrack which worked in the film’s favour. Here, the music falls short of expectation. Retaining an old Jagjit Singh number from the earlier version is not much help.
Direction is fair. Dialogue is routine. Cinematography makes the viewing pleasant. Performance wise, Neha Sharma and Aditya Seal do well. Ashim Gulati has little to do in the first half; he is okay.
Tum Bin 2 faces some tough challenges. It comes at a time when demonetisation has affected box office collections all over; the film needed stronger musical score and, the length of 141 minutes (shortened by six minutes from the original censored length of 147) is too lengthy for a love story without any known faces.
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anubhav Sinha.
Director: Anubhav Sinha.
Cast: Aditya Seal, Neha Sharma, Ashim Gulati, Kanwaljeet Singh.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
