In 2004, Shimit Amin made a gritty film on an upright cop, Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar), who believed that criminals should be eliminated as soon as they are caught, thus sending a strong message out there. The film, produced by Ram Gopal Varma, was said to be largely inspired by the life of the then encounter specialist, Daya Nayak. This well-crafted and much appreciated film sided with the cop's debatable point of view. But then that was a decade ago, when the underworld was a looming threat and the encounter technique hadn't come under the scanner.

The tough and uncompromising policeman fearlessly locking horns with the mob has long been a movie staple. In 2004, 'Ab Tak Chappan' gave us the story of 'encounter specialist' Sadhu Mohan Agashe , based on real-life cop Daya Nayak, and it was a cracking film about crime and punishment. Nana Patekar reprises his role in the sequel, which leaves you wondering why it was made. Instead of creating an ensemble, with principal characters sharing the screen to keep up interest levels high, the film positions Patekar as the hero in mouldy Bollywood style.

The encounter specialist of Mumbai Crime Branch is back from oblivion to re-establish the rule of law in the maximum city. But there is a big glitch. He's been missing in action for a long time, and he's obviously lost his grip on the system. Remember the ending of Ab Tak Chhappan where Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) goes rogue and bumps off some top members of Mumbai's underworld because his battle was no more an impersonal one. Ab Tak Chhapan 2, and there are no surprises here, takes off from here and moves to a coastal village

In Bollywood, even though the film sequels have become a trend of sorts, there have been many films whose sequels have fared well as much as the original film itself. On the other hand, a few films' sequels have bombed miserably at the box-office. This week's release AB TAK CHHAPPAN 2, as the name suggests, is the sequel to 2004 film AB TAK CHHAPPAN. Will the sequel be as strong and powerful as the original? Let's find out.

Ex-encounter specialist, Sadhu Agashe is called back for a special case involving the Mumbai crime scene. After being nudged by the law and cases pending on his name, Sadhu's retirement is going by just fine as he finds happiness in fishing and rowing off in village waters along with his teenage son. Finding pleasures in his leisure time, Sadhu is approached by the Home Minister for re-taking his position as the encounter specialist and clean up the mess.

A countdown to a disaster from the moment it kicks off, Ab Tak Chhappan 2 has Nana Patekar back in a role that is right up his street. But for the film to work, it would have needed much more by way of a convincing script and at least a few believable characters. It has neither. Helmed by stunt director Aejaz Gulab, Ab Tak Chhappan 2 is an ambitious cartwheel gone horribly wrong. It is an ill-advised, rough-hewn sequel to what is widely, and rightly, regarded as one of Mumbai's better cop dramas.

There's an attractive unpredictability to Nana Patekar's contemplations on celluloid. It adds to his edge, calm and madness, or should I simply say -- range. A decade ago, when he played encounter specialist Sadhu Agashe in Shimit Amin's slick Ab Tak Chhappan for the first time, he realised this virtue to its fullest potential revealing a refined facet of his real, rough persona.

A decade has passed since we last saw encounter specialist Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar). We are shown that he has been enjoying a quite, retired life in Goa, going fishing, cutting coconuts and cooking. His idyllic lifestyle is broken when his adolescent son, his only surviving family, convinces him to pick up the gun again to restore order in the state. Little has changed in the city apart from a new state government which happily keeps all the legal woes he has amassed far away in their quest to have him rejoin the force.