‘Village Rockstars 2’ review: Rima Das proves lightning can strike twice

New Delhi: In contemporary Indian cinema, few voices capture the anguish and alchemy of rural survival quite like Rima Das.

With Village Rockstars 2, the auteur returns to the flood-bitten plains of Assam, proving that lightning can indeed strike twice in the same muddy field.

If the 2017 original was a euphoric, barefoot sprint through childhood fantasies, this luminous sequel is a melancholic exhale of coming of age.

The cardboard guitars have given way to real strings. Her Apu’s melody is now weighted down by the weight of adulthood, but Dhunu isn’t the tragic sister left behind to fade away.