We present a multiwavelength analysis of the highly bipolar object Hen 2-57 based on new optical spectroscopy from the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), complemented by archival imaging, and long-term time-series photometry from OGLE and NEOWISE. The nebula exhibits a pronounced hourglass morphology with a symmetry axis at a position angle of $110\pm 5^{\circ }$ and an average lobe opening angle of $\sim 53^{\circ }$. We also identify pronounced north--south brightness asymmetry, with the southern parts of lobes consistently brighter. The spectral energy distribution shows a strong mid-infrared excess that cannot be reproduced by a single-temperature blackbody, indicating the presence of a dense circumstellar dust structure, likely in the form of a disc or torus, analogous to that observed in M 2-9. Optical spectroscopy reveals a complex kinematic structure in which the central core is redshifted relative to both the eastern ($55\pm 4\ \mathrm{km\, s^{-1}}$) and western ($46\pm 3\ \mathrm{km\, s^{-1}}$) lobes. While standard diagnostic diagrams place the extended lobes in the planetary nebula regime, emission-line diagnostics of the central core are consistent with those of symbiotic stars. The same region also exhibits a steep Balmer decrement, indicative of significant internal dust extinction. Long-term OGLE photometry shows no evidence for coherent stellar pulsations, whereas NEOWISE photometry reveals a gradual mid-infrared fading of $\sim$0.25 mag between 2010 and 2024. Together, these properties support a scenario in which Hen 2-57 hosts a dust-enshrouded D-type symbiotic central engine actively shaping the surrounding bipolar nebula, making it a close analogue of M 2-9.