{{short description|2019 Indian film by Gopi Puthran}} {{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox film | name = Mardaani 2 | image = Mardaani 2 Film poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Gopi Puthran | producer = Aditya Chopra | writer = Gopi Puthran | starring = {{ubl|Rani Mukerji|Vishal Jethwa}} | music = John Stewart Eduri | cinematography = Jishnu Bhattacharjee | editing = Monisha Baldawa | studio = Yash Raj Films | distributor = Yash Raj Films | released = {{film date|df=yes|2019|12|13|ref1=<ref name=":mr2">{{cite web |date=10 August 2019 |title=Confirmed: Rani Mukerji starrer 'Mardaani 2' to release on this date |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/100819/confirmed-rani-mukerji-starrer-mardaani-2-to-release-on-this-date.html |access-date=10 August 2019 |website=The Deccan Chronicle}}</ref>}} | runtime = 103 minutes<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/mardaani-2-2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210055136/https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/mardaani-2-2019 | url-status=dead | archive-date=10 December 2019 | title=Mardaani 2 (2019) | website=British Board of Film Classification | access-date=12 December 2019}}</ref> | language = Hindi | country = India | budget = <!--Note: Budget, across the world, is a film's COST OF PRODUCTION, and does not include print and advertising figures.-->{{INR}}27 crore<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/box-office-economics-rani-mukherji-starrer-mardaani-2-makes-approx-25-cr-profit-yash-raj-films/|title=Rani Mukherji starrer Mardaani 2 makes approx. 40 cr. in profit for Yash Raj Films|website=Bollywood Hungama|date=6 January 2020 |access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref> | gross = {{INR}}67.12 crore<ref name="bo">{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mardaani-2/box-office/#bh-movie-box-office|title=Mardaani 2 Box Office|website=Bollywood Hungama|date=13 December 2019 |access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref> }}
'''''Mardaani 2''''' ({{Translation|Manly 2}}) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film written and directed by Gopi Puthran. It is produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. A sequel to the 2014 film ''Mardaani'' and the second instalment in the ''Mardaani'' film series, it stars Rani Mukerji in the lead role and Vishal Jethwa in an important role. The narrative follows police officer Shivani Shivaji Roy's attempts to catch a 21-year-old rapist and murderer.
''Mardaani 2'' was theatrically released on 13 December 2019 and received positive reviews from critics, with praise towards its screenplay, direction and Jethwa's performance but criticism for its pacing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2019 |title=Mardaani 2 Movie Review: Rani Mukerji Is As Good As Ever In This Cop-On-A-Mission Thriller |url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/mardaani-2-movie-review-mardaani-2-movie-review-rani-mukerji-is-as-good-as-ever-in-this-taut-thrille-2148292 |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=NDTV |language=en}}</ref> The film was a moderate success at the box office, grossing {{INRConvert|67.12|c}} worldwide.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=13 December 2019 |title=Mardaani 2 Box Office Collection |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mardaani-2/box-office/ |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=Bollywood Hungama |language=en}}</ref> A sequel titled ''Mardaani 3'' was released on 30 January 2026.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2026-01-11 |title=‘Mardaani 3’: Rani Mukerji’s crime-thriller gets new release date |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/mardaani-3-rani-mukerjis-crime-thriller-gets-new-release-date/article70496993.ece |access-date=2026-01-11 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
==Plot== In Kota, Rajasthan, a 21-year-old psychopath named Sunny kidnaps a young outspoken woman named Latika. He brutally tortures, rapes, and then murders her. Shivani Shivaji Roy, who has cleared the UPSC Examination has been appointed as the new Superintendent of Police of Kota. She arrives at the crime scene and clashes with her misogynistic subordinate DSP Brij Shekhawat. The brutality of Latika's assault disturbs Shivani and makes her more determined to catch the killer.
Sunny, who has actually come to Kota from Meerut on a killing contract given by politician Govind Mishra a.k.a. Panditji, sees Shivani on TV when she publicly promises to find Latika's killer. He taunts Shivani by sneaking into her home and stealing her sari. He then dresses up as a woman, tricks a journalist named Kamal Parihar, and kills him; he also hires Pravin, a tea-seller near the police station, to kill Kamal's wife, Aabha Parihar, in a suicide blast, then takes Pravin's place as tea-seller to keep an eye on Shivani, introducing himself as a mute boy named Bajrang.
When Shivani brings in Lahanya, a child from the slums who had witnessed the blast, Sunny kills him. Following the media uproar over the failure of the police to catch the murderer, Shivani is set to be transferred from Kota. As the new investigating officer will take charge after two days, Shivani, along with her fellow officers, decides to catch Sunny within that time. She makes peace with Shekhawat since his network of informers is very strong in the city, and he leads them to his contact, who reveals that the real mastermind behind Kamal Parihar's murder is a youth politician named Viplav Beniwal. Shivani arrests Beniwal's right-hand man Kunwar and tortures him into revealing Sunny's whereabouts. After Sunny kidnaps another outspoken woman, the police track him down. They discover his victim already raped and tortured, but barely alive, and manage to save her.
Sunny, posing as Bajrang, gets a lift from Shivani. Before he can strangle her, Shivani stops him, having realised that Bajrang is Sunny. The two fight but Sunny escapes. The police finds a video of Sunny taken by a bystander, and Shivani has it made viral across social media. Sunny kidnaps Panditji's granddaughter Priyanka for avenging his disrepute and threatens to kill her unless Shivani apologises to him in a video made public. Shivani and the police barely manage to save Priyanka when another blast happens in the same spot. Shivani is running out of time to catch Sunny and bring him to justice.
The following day, which is Diwali, Shivani attends a live TV show on a news channel where she is questioned by Amit Sharma, the host, shadowing women's capabilities on grounds conventionally acquired by men. Shivani shuts him down by talking about the reality of what a woman has to go through. When Amit claims that just because of the female superintendent, murder cases are escalating drastically, Shivani answers with wit, which is watched live by Shekhawat and his daughter. Shekhawat realises his misogyny and mends his ways, agreeing to help Shivani. Shivani discovers that Sunny's next target is a politician, Sunanda. That night, amidst the Diwali celebrations, Shivani and her team search for Sunny. She discovers him in the house of a local couple, having taken their daughter and Sunanda hostage. Shivani is knocked unconscious and tied up.
When she wakes up, Sunny is strangling Sunanda; to distract him, Shivani talks about Sunny's mother and his past, which she learned from his father, who is imprisoned in Meerut. When Sunny was a child, his father had tried to murder his mother, who had been an outspoken woman. Out of fear, Sunny's mother tried hiding behind a terrace, but Sunny told his father where she was; his father then killed her. The guilt and trauma of his mother's death has since caused Sunny to become unhinged and take that anger out on other similarly strong, confident women by raping and murdering them.
Shivani signals Sunanda and the other hostage to toss nearby buckets of paint onto Sunny, as he is asthmatic. She then gains the upper hand, beating Sunny with his own belt. She kicks him outside and continues thrashing him as the neighbourhood gathers to watch. However, Shivani then hands over the belt to Sunanda, who goes on beating Sunny. Right behind Shivani, the camera focuses on a Goddess Durga painting, highlighting the hypocrisy of the Indian society.
==Cast== {{Cast listing|*Rani Mukerji as SP Shivani Shivaji Roy IPS, Rajasthan Police *Vishal Jethwa as Shiv "Sunny" Prasad Yadav *Jisshu Sengupta as Dr. Bikram Roy, Shivani's husband *Shruti Bapna as Inspector Bharti Angare *Rajesh Sharma as Amit Kumar *Prasanna Ketkar as Panditji *Anurag Sharma as Journalist Kamal Parihar *Vikram Singh Chauhan as Inspector Anup Singhal *Deepika Amin as Dr. Harni Kapur *Sunny Hinduja as Viplav Beniwal *Avneet Kaur as Meera, Shivani's niece *Sumit Nijhawan as DSP Shekhawat *Garima Jain as News Reporter *Anchal Sahu as Brij's daughter *Virti Vaghani as Priyanka, Panditji's daughter *Pariva Pranati as Aabha Parihar *Tejasvi Singh Ahlawat as Latika Aggarwal *Richa Meena as Sunanda Choudhary *Ravi Kothari as SP Vijay *K. C. Shankar as Inspector General of Police}}
==Production==
=== Development === On 10 December 2018, Yash Raj Films announced that a sequel to ''Mardaani'' titled ''Mardaani 2'' would be written and directed by Gopi Puthran, the writer of ''Mardaani''.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news |date=10 December 2018 |title=Rani Mukerji's next is 'Mardaani 2' |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/rani-mukerjis-next-is-mardaani-2/article25708474.ece |access-date=28 March 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref><ref name="ht">{{cite web |date=27 March 2019 |title=Mardaani 2 first look: Rani Mukerji returns as Bollywood's most intense cop. See pic |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/mardaani-2-first-look-rani-mukerji-returns-as-bollywood-s-most-intense-cop-see-pic/story-oDYJrIRSZ4Gd3S2VMylrfL.html |access-date=27 March 2019 |website=Hindustan Times}}</ref> Rani Mukerji was confirmed to be reprising her role.<ref name="NDTV">{{cite news |last1=Goyal |first1=Divya |date=10 December 2018 |title=Mardaani 2 Is Rani Mukerji's Next Film After Hichki |url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/mardaani-2-is-rani-mukerjis-next-film-after-hichki-1960195 |access-date=27 March 2019 |work=NDTV}}</ref> Vikram Singh Chauhan and Shruti Bapna were cast in pivotal roles.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |date=3 April 2019 |title=Vikram Singh Chauhan joins the cast of Rani Mukerji's 'Mardaani 2'! |url=https://www.abplive.in/television/mardaani-2-after-shruti-bapna-vikram-singh-chaudhan-joins-the-cast-of-rani-mukerjis-film-956701 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404192732/https://www.abplive.in/television/mardaani-2-after-shruti-bapna-vikram-singh-chaudhan-joins-the-cast-of-rani-mukerjis-film-956701 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |access-date=4 April 2019 |website=ABP Live}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |date=29 March 2019 |title='Yeh Hai Mohabbatein' fame Shruti Bapna bags role in Rani Mukerji's 'Mardaani 2' |url=https://www.abplive.in/television/mardaani-2-yeh-hai-mohabbatein-fame-tv-actress-shruti-bapna-bags-role-in-rani-mukerjis-film-952723 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404163549/https://www.abplive.in/television/mardaani-2-yeh-hai-mohabbatein-fame-tv-actress-shruti-bapna-bags-role-in-rani-mukerjis-film-952723 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |access-date=4 April 2019 |website=ABP Live}}</ref> Vishal Jethwa was cast as the antagonist, marking his feature film debut.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-17 |title=EXCLUSIVE-Mardaani 2's Vishal Jethwa: Sunny was so dark, couldn't recognise myself when I looked in the mirror |url=https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/exclusives/exclusive-mardaani-2s-vishal-jethwa-sunny-was-so-dark-couldnt-recognise-myself-when-i-looked-mirror |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=PINKVILLA |language=en}}</ref>
===Filming===
Principal photography began on 27 March 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-27 |title=Rani Mukerji starts shooting for Mardaani 2, see first look |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rani-mukerji-mardaani-2-first-look-photo-5644865/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> The film was extensively filmed in Kota and Jaipur, Rajasthan.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=2019-04-24 |title=Mardaani 2: Rani Mukerji set for an action-packed schedule in Rajasthan |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/mardaani-2-rani-mukerji-set-action-packed-schedule-rajasthan/ |access-date=2019-04-24 |website=Bollywood Hungama |language=en}}</ref> Filming was wrapped on 29 May 2019.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 May 2019 |title=Mardaani 2: Rani Mukerji bonds with crew as she wraps up Rajasthan schedule, see picture |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood-mardaani-2-rani-mukerji-bonds-with-crew-as-she-wraps-up-rajasthan-schedule-see-picture-523307/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530042412/https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood-mardaani-2-rani-mukerji-bonds-with-crew-as-she-wraps-up-rajasthan-schedule-see-picture-523307/ |archive-date=30 May 2019 |access-date=30 May 2019 |website=India TV News}}</ref>
==Reception==
=== Box office === The film collected {{INR}}3.80 crore on its opening day. In the next two days, it earned nett {{INR}}6.55 crore and {{INR}}7.80 crore respectively. It grossed ₹67.12 in worldwide areas, consisting of ₹56.63 crore (Indian gross) and ₹10.49 crore (overseas gross).<ref name=":1" />
=== Critical response === {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|50|6.3|14|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mardaani 2 {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mardaani_2 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en}}</ref>
''Times of India'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars describing Mukerji as "the force behind this gritty drama".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mardaani 2 Movie Review : Rani is the force behind this gritty drama |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mardaani-2/movie-review/72498042.cms |access-date=2025-01-02 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> ''Hindustan Times'' said that "Rani Mukerji steals the show in a soul-stirring and well timed thriller".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-12-13 |title=Mardaani 2 review: Rani Mukerji steals the show in soul-stirring thriller |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/mardaani-2-movie-review-rani-mukerji-steals-the-show-in-soul-stirring-and-well-timed-thriller/story-vbL9dv84kg9JHL3vjyP5eO.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722083208/https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/mardaani-2-movie-review-rani-mukerji-steals-the-show-in-soul-stirring-and-well-timed-thriller/story-vbL9dv84kg9JHL3vjyP5eO.html |archive-date=22 July 2024 |access-date=2025-01-02 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us |url-status=live }}</ref> ''NDTV'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars calling Mukerji as <nowiki>''</nowiki>Good As Ever In This Cop-On-A Mission Thriller.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mardaani 2 Movie Review: Rani Mukerji Is As Good As Ever In This Cop-On-A-Mission Thriller |url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/mardaani-2-movie-review-mardaani-2-movie-review-rani-mukerji-is-as-good-as-ever-in-this-taut-thrille-2148292 |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=www.ndtv.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Bollywood Hungama'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars praising the screenplay and performances of Mukerji and Jethwa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hungama |first=Bollywood |date=2019-12-13 |title=Mardaani 2 Movie Review: MARDAANI 2 is a gripping thriller that boasts of an exciting script and bravura performances by Rani Mukerji and Vishal Jethwa. |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mardaani-2/critic-review/mardaani-2-movie-review/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |language=en}}</ref> ''India Today'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars praising Puthren's direction and Jethwa's performance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-13 |title=Mardaani 2 Movie Review: Rani Mukerji gets the perfect nemesis in Vishal Jethwa |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/mardaani-2-movie-review-rani-mukerji-gets-the-perfect-nemesis-in-vishal-jethwa-1627983-2019-12-13 |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>
==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Award ! Date of ceremony ! Category ! Recipient(s) ! Result ! class="unsortable"| {{nowrap|{{Abbr|Ref.|References}}}} |- |rowspan="3"|Filmfare Awards |rowspan="3"|15 February 2020 |Best Actress |Rani Mukherjee |{{nom}} |rowspan="3"|<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/nominations-for-the-65th-filmfare-awards-are-out/articleshow/73881320.cms |title=Nominations for the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020 are out! – Times of India |website=The Times of India|last1=Dubey |first1=Rachana }}</ref> |- |Best Male Debut |Vishal Jethwa |{{nom}} |- |Best Debut Director |Gopi Puthran |{{nom}} |- | rowspan="2" |Zee Cine Awards | rowspan="2" |28 March 2020 | Best Actress |Rani Mukherjee |{{nom}} |rowspan="2"|<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zee5.com/tvshows/details/zee-cine-awards-2020-march-22-2020/0-6-2524/zee-cine-awards-2020-march-22-2020/0-1-349301 |title=Zee Cine Awards 2020 |website=Zee5.com}}</ref> |- |Best Male Debut |Vishal Jethwa |{{won}} |}
==Sequel== {{Main|Mardaani 3}} A sequel titled ''Mardaani 3'' directed by Abhiraj Minawala was released on 30 January 2026.<ref name=":2" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb title|tt5668770}} *[https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/mardaani-2/ Mardaani 2] on Bollywood Hungama
Category:2019 Hindi-language films Category:2019 Indian films Category:2010s feminist films Category:2019 films Category:2019 action thriller films Category:Fictional portrayals of police departments in India Category:Films about women in India Category:Films set in Rajasthan Category:Films shot in Jaipur Category:Films shot in Rajasthan Category:Fictional portrayals of the Rajasthan Police Category:Indian action thriller films Category:Indian feminist films Category:Indian sequel films Category:Kota, Rajasthan Category:Rajasthan Police Category:Yash Raj Films films