Hindi
Jolly LLB 2….Lacklustre
Jolly LLB 2 is, what the Hindi film industry has got used to describe as a sequel and this one is supposed to be a sequel to Jolly LLB (2013). The film actually is another comic satire on the judiciary like the earlier one and the same director if that qualifies it to be called a sequel.
Otherwise, the film is just using the title considering the earlier Jolly LLB was a fair success.
Jolly LLB 2 takes similar start as the earlier one in that, though Akshay Kumar’s character is a qualified lawyer, he works with a senior solicitor in Lucknow where he is mainly an attendant to his boss, never trusted to take up a case or stand in court.
Akshay has a demanding wife, played by Huma Qureshi, in that Akshay has to do all the house work, make whiskey for her, cook for her etc. While Akshay has but one ambition, that is to have his own chamber and take on cases independently, Huma’s ambition is to wear Gucci dress. Akshay can’t afford it so, on one occasion, she gets a Gucci dress on rent. That is the kind of comedy the film offers.
Sayani Gupta’s husband, Manav Kaul, has been killed by the policeman, Inaamulhaq, passing it off as an encounter just to get accolades and his next promotion. Pregnant Sayani wants Akshay’s boss to take up her case but he is not even willing to meet her. Akshay lies to her and accepts two lakh from her as fees for his boss and uses it to get his own chamber. Sayani commits suicide and guilt-ridden Akshay decides to take on the might of the local police.
The rest of the film tries to replicate the earlier version as the big time lawyer defending the cop here is the character played by Annu Kapoor while the judge is Saurabh Shukla, straight out of Jolly LLB. A novice, Akshay tries to get a conviction for Inaamullah but Annu comes up with all sorts of antics most of which are farcical, let alone be convincing.
For distraction, some song and dance routine is put in at places but that hardly helps. The fact is, there is little scope for a heroine in the story. Instead, the couple also have a child nobody knows to what purpose except to stretch the film. This aspect actually bogs down the film.
The court proceedings are lackluster and get neither serious nor funny. Characters pop out from nowhere as if to give the film another twist; the ploy fails.
The film suffers right from conception stage as the script is poor lacking the expected thrill and twist and turns from a courtroom drama. The comparison with the earlier film is inevitable as, even the comic quotient, is missing in most parts. Direction is patchy. Music has no decent song to offer and only drags the film. Editing is slack. Production values are below par.
As for performances, Akshay Kumar tries his best but lacks his usual élan. Annu Kapoor goes overboard being loud. Saurabh Shukla is okay. Huma Qureshi was not needed in this scheme of things and, while she is there, she adds nothing. Imaanulhaq does well and so does Sayani Gupta.
Jolly LLB 2 is an average fare lacking the required entertainment value.
Producer: Fox Star Studios.
Director: Subhash Kapoor.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Annu Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Saurabh Shukla.
Hindi
The Right Draft 2026 reveals writer struggles
Tulsea-Ormax survey of 254 scribes reveals rising AI use amid stubborn gripes on pay, credit and support.
MUMBAI: Screenwriters are finally getting the last word and it’s not a happy ending yet. Tulsea and Ormax Media have dropped the second edition of The Right Draft: 2026, shining a spotlight on India’s professional wordsmiths with hard numbers rather than hearsay. Building on the 2023 debut, the country’s first deep-dive into writers’ views of the entertainment machine, this update quizzed 254 screenwriters from every corner and corner office. The respondents span OTT series, theatrical films, TV fiction, non-fiction, docs, ads, gaming, micro-dramas and more, across generations and experience levels.
The headlines sting sharper than a rejected draft:
- Pay woes worsen 74 per cent now feel unfairly compensated (up from 63 per cent in 2023), 52 per cent report delayed payments (up from 40 per cent), and a whopping 78 per cent chase dues relentlessly.
- Credit crunch 54 per cent say writers don’t get fair billing, while 64 per cent note zero consistent industry standard for credits from producers or platforms.
- Scripts sidelined, In theatrical films, only 6 per cent believe producers value scripts over stars (with 83 per cent pointing to star power dominance). OTT shows a slide too just 62 per cent now see scripts prioritised or equal (down from 76 per cent).
- Mentorship drought, Access to solid mentors has plunged to 19 per cent (from 30 per cent), 76 per cent say there’s no real infrastructure to hone the craft, and only 38 per cent trust grievance systems.
- AI in the mix, 41 per cent use AI tools at least occasionally. Half don’t view it as a career threat, but 68 per cent worry producers now devalue human creativity because of it, and 50 per cent feel expectations for lightning-fast turnarounds assume AI magic.
Tulsea Media co-founder Chaitanya Hegde framed the purpose plainly, “With the second edition of The Right Draft, we wanted to deepen the industry’s understanding of what writers experience on the ground across pay, credit, feedback, nurturing structures, and now AI. The data points to some shifts and some stubborn constants. Our hope is that the report helps move conversations from perception to process, and toward more consistent, fair, and creator-friendly systems.”
Ormax Media founder and CEO Shailesh Kapoor echoed the call, “Writers sit at the core of the storytelling ecosystem, yet too many friction points remain structural rather than episodic. By measuring writer sentiment across key dimensions, The Right Draft is intended to be a practical input into how the industry can build stronger alignment, accountability, and creative ownership.”
Structured across seven punchy sections The Right Pay, The Right Credit, The Right Feedback, The Right Value, The Right Nurturing, The Right Tools, and The Right Environment, the report isn’t just venting, it’s mapping the gaps so the industry might actually fix them.
For anyone who’s ever binge-watched a show and wondered about the brains behind the dialogue, this one’s a reminder: great stories start with respected storytellers. Until then, the draft remains anything but right.
