This is the year the sleeper hit film Vadh left people reeling. By contrast, director Jaspal Singh Sandhu finally gives a new look with Vadh 2. Its "spiritual sequel" effectively devises the destruction of the "sequel curse." The film will be seen in theaters on February 6, 2026. Whereas the original focused more on a retired couple’s desperate self-defense, Vadh 2 sets the stage at the desolate Shivpuri District Jail.
The Characters: Sanjay Mishra is Shambhunath Mishra a worn out prison guard approaching retirement and who makes his living selling vegetables in small-time. Neena Gupta is Manju Singh, a philosophical prisoner serving 28 years' imprisonment for a double murder at the institution.
The Teardown and Collapse of Their Silent Relationship: This peaceful, two-way street is cut short at the entry of a filthy young criminal, Keshav (Akkshay Dogra the son of a strongman politician) into an inner-world jail. When he disappears mysteriously from the prison cell and appears to be gone and gone to meet with the help of a solitary confinement officer, Singh (the Ateet Singh) soon decides to put a lid on the ruses that have become a daily struggle behind the inmates’ thoughts, it also sets their quiet bond down before the rest of the world's eyes as they prepare to try and find Keshav for the final showdown.
Performances: Stallwarts at Their Best. Sanjay Mishra delivers a performance of stunning restraint. Whether he is bargaining with a corrupt colleague or spending a solitary second with Manju through a hole in the wall of the prison, a life’s work of grief and pain stretches from his eyes. Neena Gupta plays a similarly grand role as a stoic Manju. She gives a ghostly grace to her role, challenging anyone who might try to draw a distinction between a "murderer," and simply another performing a "vadh" (the killing of evil).
The chemistry between them has always been the pulse of the film, not tamed by a rush or a feeling poignant, deeply human. Technical Brilliance. Instead of playing an all-encompassing, Drishyam-type job, director Jaspal Singh Sandhu crafts a gritty, atmospheric procedural.
- Writing: Sandhu and Neha Shitole write the script so tightly, planting early seeds of details leading to a jaw-dropping final twist.
- Cinematography: Sapan Naruka’s lens depicts the "suffocating vigor" of the prison, set against the liberating scenic shots to come of the climax.
- Score: Advait Nemlekar’s background score helps build the tension without ever becoming oppressive.
The Verdict
Vadh 2 is not simply a crime thriller; it is a meditation on justice versus legality. The land-based drama forces the viewers to decide whether law of the land is always the same as what is right. Through some stellar performances and gut-punch of an ending, this is surely one of the best thrillers of 2026.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
