Joubone Amoni Kore 2 (2026) Movie Review: An Underwhelming Sequel that Betrayed its Own Legacy

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In 1998, Ashok Kumar Bishaya’s “Joubone Amoni Kore” became a defining moment in the history of Assamese cinema, as it successfully brought audiences back to the theatres after a prolonged period of box-office drought. When viewed today, the film may not stand up to contemporary standards. Still, in the late nineties, “Joubone Amoni Kore” offered a successful Bollywood-style romantic drama with song-and-dance sequences that felt fresh at the time. The themes included college life, die-hard lovers, parental opposition, and class hierarchies in the modern urban society. The love was allegedly pure, and the villains were obvious. If friends were loyal, then the parents were strict. And with good songs and music, the audiences were being emotionally blackmailed into the story.

Moreover, back then, it was unlike anything the audiences had seen before. Therefore, busloads of people came from villages to watch the love story of Ankur (Ankur Kumar Bishaya) and Puja (Barnali Pujari) as they defied all odds to make their love story successful. But such freshness or the feel-good escapist fantasies of cinema are clearly missing from its direct sequel, “Joubone Amoni Kore 2,” which was released on January 2, 2026.

The sequel picks up with the same characters, but a few years after the first film had ended. Ankur and Puja are now married and have a grown-up child, but they are living separately. Ankur lives with his mother in the village, while Puja lives with her parents in the city. Their son, Rishi, lives with Puja. Meanwhile, Annie’s love story did not have a happy ending, and she is now single and the head of the educational institution where Rishi studies.

A still from Joubone Amoni Kore 2 (2026)

As the film focuses on the life of Rishi and his uber cool college friends, it ditches its old themes and instead focuses on the ills of contemporary society, like drugs, misuse of social media, etc. This is the worst part about “Joubone Amoni Kore 2” as it purposefully moved away from the key themes that defined its first part and became a new film altogether.

A sequel, direct or spiritual, is best enjoyed if it maintains some strong thematic connection to the original. Like, for example, both “Koi… Mil Gaya” (2003) and “Krrish” (2006) are about the exploration of human potential and the responsibility that comes with extraordinary abilities. More appropriately, both “Love Aaj Kal” (2009) and “Love Aaj Kal” (2020) explored love across time and within changing societal and cultural contexts. In that regard, “Joubone Amoni Kore 2” should have been about the challenges of modern romance and the timeless nature of love.

But a love story is the least of concern in “Joubone Amoni Kore 2.” It is more about how Ankur and Puja will come back into terms with each other and how Rishi (Bhargab Gogoi) will find a complete home and closure. And this is when the film takes a break from its focus on the drug supply plot, which is something that we have already seen in Kishor Tahbildar’s “Protishroti” (2024) starring Prastuti Parasar. The bits of college life aesthetics shown in the film are also similar to Tridip Lahon’s “Bandhu” (2022). If scenes from both films were intercut and presented together, it would be difficult to tell which scene belonged to which film.

Rishi is now a rebel who is much affected by his parents’ separation and occasionally resorts to drugs. But his life changes when the intellectual and demure Dubori (Puja Deka) enters his life. While Rishi behaves like an emotionally unavailable and broken Sandeep Reddy Vanga hero, Dubori responds with a “I can fix him” approach. And then begins their love story. But their love story is probably the simplest in the movie, as there is no real opposition or conflict other than themselves. Likewise, it just gets solved over the course of a song.

If one thinks about it, “Joubone Amoni Kore” (1998) didn’t deserve a sequel at all with the same story. That story had enough juice for one film only. And yet here we are forcefully continuing the same story. Just as the story fails to hold any interest in the sequel, so does the music. Apart from “Rohedoi Rosoki,” the rest of the songs are forgotten as soon as the film is over. On the other hand, “Joubone Amoni Kore” (1998) had songs that are popular even today.

Towards the end, the film also turns into a show reel of how much the original characters have aged since 1998, with many of them appearing in the climax scene of the sequel. Probably the most confused character in “Joubone Amoni Kore 2” (2026) was Pranjal Saikia’s Dipu. The way he sings and jumps has no connection to the gravity of the character he portrayed in the first film. And the way he sings “Kak Bulilu Kune,” it almost feels as though actor Pranjal Saikia has confused Dipu with Moina from “Kokadeuta Nati Aru Hati” (1983). And the way Dipu concerns himself over his grandson in “Joubone Amoni Kore” 2—could it be read as a nod to his upcoming role in “Kokadeuta Nati Aru Hati 2” (2026)?

Beyond this, there is little else to write about the film, except that the production quality of “Joubone Amoni Kore 2” is painfully substandard—so much so that it can easily be compared to a television serial. The story is also predictable with stereotypical villains and the false defeat of the hero, where Rishi gets tied up in a tree by the goons– like father, like son. The audience will also roll their eyes until their brains hurt at the lengths to which the film goes to maximise the drama in the climax.

With dialogues like – ‘Bukur Pora Uluwa Tejot Ki First Aid Logabo?’ (What first aid can stop the bleeding of my heart?) and ‘Xadharon Botah Jakot Sila Khon Fotar Dore Tumalukor Prem Fati Jabo Pare Kintu Mur Prem Kagozor Sila Nohoi’ (Your love story must be so weak that it tears apart like a kite in an ordinary wind, but mine is no paper kite) – the film tries to attack the tear glands of the audience, but it has very little impact.