The sequel to Silence: Can You Hear It?, a slow-burning police procedural that writer-director Aban Bharucha Deohans crafted around a murder investigated by Assistant Commissioner of Police Avinash Verma and his team of Mumbai Special Crime Unit (SCU) sleuths, significantly broadens the canvas of crime. A personal motive drove the killing that resulted in the ACP being removed from the anti-drug bureau and given command of the SCU. It was an impulsive reaction to an adulterous act. The investigation was conducted in front of an elderly judge, his deceased daughter, her married best friend, and a young politician who had a secret. The sequel widens the net considerably.
Naturally, Silence: Can You Hear It? was a Manoj Bajpayee production from beginning to end. With characteristic grace, he portrayed ACP Verma, an officer who detests leaving anything up to chance and, more importantly, who suppresses his own instincts—even when they conflict with his boss’s will. In Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout, Manoj Bajpayee continues where he left off with another expertly timed performance. The Zee5 film is held together by him. The author of the crucial role deserves some of the praise for what makes Silence 2 work.
Despite his unwavering toughness, ACP Verma has his share of frailties in both his personal and professional lives. He is single after divorcing his wife. Although he has moved on, he still has a special place in his heart for his daughter, who is far away in London.
The officer’s defense is his total focus on his work as a crime-buster. His team is under pressure to keep up. Instead of just looking into another murder case, the crime he investigates in Silence 2 is a human trafficking network. The culprit is an organized gang, not a single person. The fact that the alleged mastermind is a phantom and has never been seen by anyone—not even by those who think they are a part of the network—complicates things.
Anger or hatred alone will not cause the act of unspeakable violence mentioned in the title. The case is far more complex than it first appears. Even though ACP Verma has a tough job, he pays close attention to every important detail.
The lack of an antagonist potent enough to keep the unstoppable police officer on his toes and incite the kind of misbehavior that landed him in hot water earlier weakens Silence 2 a little.
The film also lacks intense confrontations and explosive encounters—remember the flare-up between the ACP and the standoffish politician in a hospital when the latter calls the cops “bloody idiots”?—that”gave the lead character and the actor playing the part the scope to sharpen the edges of the battle of attrition he is drawn into.
Dinker Sharma, a theatrical actor who is tense and frequently quotes Shakespeare, is the main suspect in Silence 2, and ACP Verma has called him “a cold-blooded, fully functional sociopath.” There are additionally others. Aarti Singh (Parul Gulati), a mysterious art dealer, and her husband Rajeev (Padam Bhola) are among them. However, none of them develops into a frighteningly menacing character.
The reason the film stays focused on the inquest is due to the engaging methods used by ACP Verma and his core team of three inspectors: Raj Gupta (Vaquar Shaikh), Amit Chouhan (Sahil Vaid), and Sanjana Bhatia (Prachi Desai). These methods help the audience stay engaged in the story even when the red herrings and cold trails are visible from a distance.
Similar to its predecessor, Silence 2 is a tough cop film with cops who are more persistent than confrontational. They are not quite as glib and trigger-happy as police officers are typically depicted on the big screen. They seem like real people carrying out risky jobs, which makes them relatable.
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ACP Verma’s trusted trio would have fared better if the screenplay had made room for each of their unique inner worlds, even with the heavy workload they shoulder. They are currently supporting, if not peripheral, actors. To their credit, Prachi Desai, Sahil Vaid, and Vaquar Shaikh continue to find ways to maximize the restricted bandwidth allotted to them.
A late-night shootout in a Mumbai bar results in the deaths of multiple people, including a girl we see in the opening sequence who has a facial scar. The attacker’s face is concealed by a hoodie. In order to collect evidence, ACP Verma and his team raced to the crime scene. Although the murderer leaves enough evidence, it takes time for them all to come together.
Working for a system that offers him very little in the way of ungrudging assistance, ACP Verma is forced to rely entirely on his own deductive abilities and the unshakable dedication of Sanjana, Amit, and Raj. Theirs is an arduous endeavor devoid of glitz and glamour. Even when the stakes rise, they do not waver.
At one point, the commissioner of police gives the ACP an order that is very similar to the one he gave him the first time: either you succeed or get ready to have your unit permanently disbanded. The officer is therefore running out of time once more. With their backs to the wall, the detectives continue to dig and uncover a world where adolescent girls from small towns in the lower middle class are enticed to Mumbai by the prospect of lucrative jobs. It takes work to determine who is responsible for the crime and how it relates to the bar shooting.
Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout is entertaining and intriguing in a good, straightforward, and vintage way, but rarely more so than a C.I.D. episode on television.
In general, Deohans’ writing is consistent. More than anything else, though, Manoj Bajpayee’s solid performance in the movie allows Silence 2 to hold together through all of its turns and turns. His co-actors’ performances seem to absorb the control and coiled energy he generates.
There is no reason you would not enjoy Silence 2 if you enjoyed Silence. It has all the elements of the murder mystery from 2021. Alright, nearly.
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