Ouch 2 carries forward the theme of its prequel

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Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films is known for exceptional work in this category. And Ouch, made by the same producers in 2016, can easily become a franchise, as it is about two-timing husbands. The idea is to have the husbands get exposed by themselves, either through their own follies and oversights or by twists of fate!

The first short, which featured Manoj Bajpayee and Pooja Chopra, was written and directed by Neeraj himself in 2016 and was a crackling ‘thriller’ about how a philandering executive was caught by a twist of fate despite his best moves. This time, Neeraj entrusts the direction and writing to Vaibhav Mutha, and the 15-minute film features an ‘act of God’ to expose Sudeep (Sharman Joshi), who is carrying on with the seductive Tanya (Shefali Zariwala) after office hours, deceiving her as well about a fictitious, fussy “Mummy-ji” at home.

After dropping Tanya, he is almost arrested for talking while driving by a cop. He then calls up his simple wife, Deepu (Nidhi Bisht) and admonishes her for suspecting him when he drops in late every night after an arduous day at office where the bosses pester him even as he is driving home! He pretends to be as white, if not whiter, than the driven snow to his spouse, and almost convinces her. But for a change, this time, his luck deserts him. How? Watch the film!

Sharman Joshi acts well, Nidhi Bisht is even better, with her expressions showing how good she is as an actress. Shefali Zariwala has maintained herself terrifically (she was the face music video siren of the late 1990s, over 25 years ago!) and gives a good account of herself as actor too.

At 15 minutes, the film is a decent watch, though the first Ouch was way funnier, hard-hitting and therefore interesting. The writing here is too realistic and relatable, but maybe that is why that extra punch is missing. Nevertheless, I would recommend it for a relaxed, tangy home viewing.

Rating: ***

Royal Stag Barrel Select presents Friday Storytellers’ & Neeraj Pandey’s Ouch 2 Produced by: Shital Bhatia  Directed and written by: Vaibhav Mutha  Starring: Sharman Joshi, Shefali Zariwala & Nidhi Bisht