Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive

Cast: Manish Paul, Sikander Kher, Piyush Mishra
Rated: 5.5/10
Is it anywhere near the original? Naa... Not a patch on it. Is it not at all funny? That’s not true either. Could it have been any better? Yes, much much better.
Tere Bin Laden 2 came riding on high expectations and, as expected, could not live up to them. But then no sequel ever does. And as far as TBL 2 goes, even the main character Osama is long dead and thrown into the sea. Hence, the central character is not so much Laden as it is David Do Something, an American Marine assigned the task of proving that Osama is actually dead. Sikander Kher as David is more than brilliant and holds the film together. Osama has few moments as does Manish Paul who plays the film’s director in the middle of all the drama, action, shooting and a fallen brigade of jihadis helmed by Piyush Mishra.
A lot happens in this film but much too quickly. It’s more than evident that the slapstick pace is introduced to hide the slimness of the wit and humour that punctuated the original all so well.
Personally, wishing that the satire was more pervasive and did not come in fits and starts as it does in this one. But yes, the person playing president Barack Obama is a riot, as is the jihadi leader, Piyush Mishra. 
Source: Sunday Pioneer, 28 Feb, 2016

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