Hate Story 2 is a tale of vengeance, pure and simple. Unfortunately, its sheer simplicity lends more to cliche than brilliance. This movie-sequel to Hate Story is yet another erotic thriller with a few steamy scenes and a very, very weak storyline.

The film opens on the life of Sonika (Surveen Chawla), who is the mistress of an influential politician, Mandar Mhatre (Sushant Singh). Mandar, a sadist, believes he owns Sonika and inflicts sexual and psychological torture on her. Sonika's last resort is to find peace is her photography classes. Even though she has been warned about being “owned”, our heroine falls in love with her classmate, Akshay (Jay Bhanusali) and the two elope far from the watchful eyes of Mandar and his henchmen.

A scene from movie, "Hate Story 2". – Courtesy Photo

Their idyllic world is soon destroyed when Mandar finds them. Without giving away too much, death, revenge torture and being buried alive are just a few of the highlights that follow. The plot is also full of implausibility and gaping loopholes. Sonika’s utter dependence and total surrender to Mandar is poorly established, as is her later 'supernatural' ability to fight him off.

Some of the scenes are reminiscent of Frank Darabont's Buried Alive and Quentin Terantino’s Kill Bill, but unfortunately, the plot is a huge let down, and the end of the film is asinine. This is probably the reason why item numbers like 'Pink Lips', which featured Sunny Leone had to be shoved in the film. Overall though, the music is quite forgettable, with the exception of "Aaj Tum Pe Pyar Aya Hai", sung by the new sensation, Arjeet Singh.

There are erotic thrills aplenty however, for the many who will be watching this flic for that reason alone.

A scene from movie, "Hate Story 2". – Courtesy Photo

As a protagonist, Surveen Chawla fails to impress. She enthrals with her sultriness and her powerful acting skills are apparent in some scenes, but missing in most - reasons unknown.

The antagonist, Sushant Singh also delivers an average performance. It almost seems that he played the role half-heartedly knowing that it would be a forgettable film.

As for Jay Bhanuli, the guy can act, but is in a dire need of a haircut. Apart from the lead characters, Neha Kaul, who plays the oppressed wife of Mandar; and his henchmen have done a tad better job than others.

A scene from movie, "Hate Story 2". – Courtesy Photo

The final word

A few erotic thrills, and no more. Pass.

Translated by Zoya Anwer

With a run time of two hours and 10 minutes, Hate Story 2 is Produced by Vikram Bhat and Bhashan Kumar; Directed by Vishaal Panday;Written by Madhuri Benerji. The film was released on July 18 in India and on September 5 across Pakistan.

Starring Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Jay Bhanusali, Neha Kaul and Siddharth Kher.