Dinesh Kamath's column on Bollywood movie 'Race 2' that was published in Newsband

Race 2 is an upcoming Bollywood action thriller film directed by Abbas-Mustan and produced under the Tips Music Films banner and is the first major release of the year. It is the sequel to the 2008 hit film, Race, and stars an ensemble cast that includes Anil Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan reprising their roles as Robert D'Costa and Ranveer Singh from the previous film while Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ameesha Patel are new additions to the cast. Bipasha Basu reprises her role of Sonia in a special appearance. The film is produced by Ramesh S. Taurani, Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur, written by Shiraz Ahmed, with story by Shiraz Ahmed, music by Pritam, background score by Salim-Sulaiman, cinematography     by Ravi Yadav and editing by Hussain Burmawala.  Race 2 is scheduled to release on 25th January 2013.

The story of Race 2 is set in the lush locales of exotic Europe, with a backdrop of gambling and Casinos.

Race 2 is a fast paced thriller that takes the legacy of Race 1 forward, with high octane action, combined with thrills and twists that have a roller coaster effect, and edge of the seat excitement.

The film has an interesting story. A cold fury seeps in Ranveer’s heart after the death of his lover and partner in crime, Sonia. In Race 2, we are exposed to Ranveer’s multi faceted personality and his determination to avenge Sonia’s killer. We are also reintroduced to RD and his new assistant Cherry who support him in his endeavors. In his attempt to track Sonia’s killer, he meets Armaan and his fiancé Omisha along with Aleena. Armaan Mallick heads the Indian mafia in Turkey; and with his partner Aleena they run the shrewdest criminal outfit in the country. Ranveer treads through a world of ruthlessness depending only on his wits to accomplish his goal. He is shown in a world where betrayal lurks at every corner, where loyalties change every minute and where love is just a four-letter word. Set in the exotic locales of Turkey, the narrative takes unexpected twists and turns and moves at breakneck speed to keep you at the edge of your seat.

The film has Anil Kapoor as Robert D'Costa (RD), Saif Ali Khan as Ranveer Singh, John Abraham as Armaan Malik, Deepika Padukone as Elena, Jacqueline Fernandez as Omisha, Ameesha Patel as Cherry, Rajesh Khattar as Vikram Thapar, Bipasha Basu as Sonia (Cameo Appearance), Johny Lever and Atif Aslam as Himself (Song Appearance).

Pritam is in charge of music in Race 2. The lyricists are Prashant Ingole, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Gourav Bansal, Kholgade and Mayur Puri. The film has songs like Party On My Mind sung by KK, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Shefali Alvares, Be Intehaan by Atif Aslam and Sunidhi Chauhan, Lat Lag Gayee by Benny Dayal and Shalmali, Allah Duhai Hai by Atif Aslam, Vishal Dadlani, Anushka Manchanda, Ritu Pathak and Michie One, Party On My Mind (Remix) by KK, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Shefali Alvares, Be Intehaan (Remix) by Atif Aslam and Sunidhi Chauhan, Allah Duhai (Remix) by Atif Aslam, Vishal Dadlani, Anushka Manchanda, Ritu Pathak and Michie One and Be Intehaan (Unplugged) by Rahul Vaidya.         

IBN Live gave the soundtrack four stars of five saying, "Race 2's soundtrack is racy to the core. In a nutshell, the album is bound to be a hit. Let's just hope the movie is as good as the soundtrack is!" Shresht Poddar, of Score Magazine, gave the album three out of five stars saying, "Personally, as a standalone album with no biases, it is enjoyable but it could have done with better lyrics. The tracks are foot-tapping and they would appeal to the masses. But if you compare it to Race, the album undoubtedly falls flat." Goku, of IndiBeats! included the album in the 'average' category commenting that "No doubt Pritam has worked on the album well, there is a fair deal of DJing done, but something is amiss and hence the album is worth a hear, nothing more."

Thus Race 2 is an interesting film. Do watch it when it gets released on 25 January 2013.