“Tu Tha, Ab Nahi“
Teaser Overview
There are two kinds of people: one – who are hardcore fans and get happy with anything. Two – who are hard to impress because they want things to get better each time. And its a constant War between the two. I’m a mix of both. This War 2 teaser review will be a balance of both perspectives. So read it with an open mind.
Hrithik as Kabir
We all love Hrithik Roshan – his style, his dance, his action, his charm. Bang Bang and Fighter being a few examples. But Kabir is different. I’m pretty sure everyone feels that, and that is why War has such cult following and the hype for War 2 is on another level.
Kabir looks as stylish as ever! Even without a dialogue I was in awe of him. At one point he looks kind of crazzzzy! Wo Luthra ne ‘Shaitaan’ wali baat kahi this na, uski ek jhalak keh lo?
Jr NTR as Veerendra Raghunath?
I’m not sure about the name, udti udti khabar ayi thi ki Jr NTR ka naam War 2 mein Veerendra Raghunath hai. Can be wrong. He seems like a RAW agent to me. SPOILER ALERT!! Ignore the next sentence if you can. NTR says, “India’s best soldier, RAW ka best agent. TU THA, AB NAHI.” IS he implying that HE is the best RAW agent now? Coz Kabir is officially not RAW anymore. Is it that NTR is in RAW but operates in a rogue manner, and Kabir is considered gaddar? Like they did it with Kabir vs Khalid in part one? Iss dialogue se laga. I may be wrong.
I did not like his look. Thoda aur ya toh stylish hota ya menacing. I like his acting. But look thoda aur accha ho sakta tha. What do you think?
Teaser Cut
Aaahh.. sabse controversial part har review ka!
So I like the length, short tha. But fir bhi thodi better choices leni chahiye thi. Jaise last wala part pata hai one on one fight hogi film ke end ki. Just like War ka first part. Thodi si choices aisi karni chahiye ki EXACT na pata chale audience ko. Wo theatre mein maza nahi ata hai dekhte hue you know ab kya ane wala hai. Hindi toh sab review karta hu almost but Hollywood trailers I’m avoiding, for the films I know I’m gonna surely watch. And believe me experience bahaut accha hota hai.
I loved the opening. jo teaser mein NTR ka first fight scene hai wahi film mein uska intro hoga. Japan mein sword fight Hrithik ka opening sequence hoga. Itni intelligent toh ho hi gayi hai audience. I like ki baki characters and plot ka nahi dikhaya kuch. Bas action sequences and style.
Font and title cards were very similar to Pathaan. Aisa laga usi mein changes kar diye ho, fresh create karne ki koshish nahi ki.
Fan Service
It looks quite clear that the focus of the teaser was to entice fans. Style-style-style, star-star-star. If I was a new audience, there was nothing much for me. Sequel and Universe factor definitely gives an edge, but if it was a fresh film, it needed to do more. Films humesha neutrals ki wajah se badi collection karti hai, sirf fans ki wajah se nahi. But these days marketing materials are made only fr the fans.
You may say, War ka bhi aisa hi tha and it went viral, people lost their minds. Well, they will lose their minds this time too. I’m not saying it was bad. I’m saying it was nice, but kind of template based. But post-pandemic things have changed. So the same things that work pre-pandemic, may not work today.
VFX.. or YFX
Well, the vfx does not look good. You can easily figure out that the backgrounds and subjects are not blending in many shots. I remember Pathaan mein bhi aisa hi tha teaser and trailer mein. Lekin movie mein aisa feel nahi hua tha. It was way better. Tiger 3 ka trailer se hi accha tha, but it was also closer to the release. So I think for War 2, they will be working on it and by the time it releases, we will get a solid product.
Action Set Pieces
Well, I always say that this is India and thoda sa over the top hum accept karke chalte hain. Hollywood mein bhi over the top jate hain, but fark ye hai na, ki wo fir bhi bahaut hadd take usko believable bana dete hain. India mein na for granted le lete hain audience ko. Ki hero hai toh udega hi, hero hai toh superhuman strength se peetega hi, superhero size jump marega hi, etc. I fear isme bhi hoga.
See the complaint is not because I hate any star of film. The complaint is only because I want to see better. Recently saw Mission Impossible: The Final Reconing, before that The Reacher series, and before that something else. I only difference I notice everytime is the conviction to make it as realistic as possible, while maintaining the heroism and style. Sid sometimes goes overboard without realizing this. Ayan Mukerji did well with the car sequence in Brahmastra interval block. I hope isme bhi maintain kiya ho waisa approach.
What I Would Have Done
A teaser I feel, should not be the first asset for such a big film. If I was in Yrf marketing, I would have done an announcement for sure. They shot for 150 days over a period of 18 months. 1 din ka shoot chahiye tha, bas 1 din ka. I understand Ayan might be busy and stuff but that is why you need a marketing guy from the start. 1 day shoot leading to an announcement video would have been worth more than 2 years of PR articles by media.
Second step would have been motion posters of characters. The opening dialogue on NTR is quite solid. Imagine it in a motion poster, when you see it for the first time on 20 May 2024, 11AM? Yes, talking about last year.. I believe in long term marketing.
The idea would be to build a narrative, an imagination into the minds of the audience, curiosity about the plot, and a realization of the level of threat, before dropping the teaser. Even if it was the exact same teaser, the build up of a narrative would have increased the excitement many times.
I had a full plan of War 2 marketing from April till release date. But sadly wo chance nahi mila. Each of the things was focused on making people excited about the film, even the neutrals. I think from the pov of an artist, the producer and audience. I observe what people like, I get happy when they get happy with a post of mine. I know what asset will excite them and why. But there’s only a limited number of things I can do from the outside. Koi baat nahi, some other time maybe.
But one thing is for sure. With Coolie also being part of a loved Universe, and them considering a proper release in Hindi this time, it surely can make a dent in the collections of War 2. Dent does not mean loss. Dent means, agar ₹1000 Cr kar sakti thi toh ab ₹800 Cr hi karegi. Yrf really needs to go out of the box this time. Only fans will not help. Opps that sounds wrong :p
Author: Ishan Jain
Cast – Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, Kiara Advani and others.
Director – Ayan Mukerji
Release – 14 August 2025
Producer – Yash Raj Films
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