'Bharateeyudu 2' is directed by Shankar as a sequel to his 1996 movie 'Bharateeyudu'. Produced by Subaskaran Allirajah and Udhayanidhi Stalin of Lyca Productions and Red Giant Movies, respectively, the film was released today.
Story:
Senapathy (Kamal Haasan) is pushing 100 in Japan, having run away from India after scaring the corrupt way back in 1996. In the present, he comes back to India following a viral online trend that seeks his help to reduce (if not eliminate) corruption in India. Once in the country, Senapathy starts executing the assassinations of individuals who have plundered the country.
Meanwhile, he finds logistical and moral support from millions of youngsters led by a star YouTuber named Chitra Aravindhan (Siddharth). Just as everything looks normal, a tragedy strikes Chitra, changing the course of the anti-corruption mission.
Performances:
Kamal Haasan was in top-tier form in Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Vikram'. In the recent 'Kalki 2898 AD', he played a short yet nuclear-grade antagonist. In 'Indian 2', he should have looked like a colossus, given the stature of the fictional character, Senapathy. A poverty of imagination leaves his character unworthy of a serious performance. The prosthetics-heavy make-up and the caricaturish get-ups he dons leave the audience baffled.
Chitra Aravindhan could have been an actual female. Had a star heroine like Nayanthara been cast for the part, the impact might have been great. Siddharth makes the character look artificially emotive.
Priya Bhavani Shankar doesn't look vulnerable. Rakul Preet Singh is wasted in a three-scene role as Chitra's unhappy girlfriend. Bobby Simha of 'Waltair Veerayya' fame should have been played by someone like SJ Suryah. The negative characters, most of them filthy rich, are casting disasters.
Technical Departments:
Background score: No highs from Anirudh Ravichander.
Songs: Hard to commit anything to memory. They are so messy.
Cinematography: Will go down as one of Ravi Varman's laziest works.
Editing: Sreekar Prasad was challenged by a never-ended, haphazard mess.
Action choreography: So many talents, so few bones to break.
Sound design: Did this film have a design in the first place?
Merits:
1. The storyline is functional. Just that it shouldn't have been so draggy.
2. The idea of showing the corruption of bureaucrats and officials as a major issue may not be new but it is also a fact that Shankar
is one of the few filmmakers in India who is genuinely sad about this sorry state of affairs.
3. The pre-climax and climax episodes.
Demerits:
1. The idea of social media becoming a device that propels the story is so meh and inferior. On top of it, the staging of the whole virality phenomenon is so indie film-like in 'Indian 2'.
2. We don't feel the emotions of any character affected by corruption. We don't feel for any character who is guilty that someone they know is corrupt. We don't feel excited about any killing executed by the vigilante.
3. Some films are predictable story-wise. But 'Indian 2' is predictable at the level of the genre itself. The film is predictable because we know Shankar's style already. It is like watching a Puri Jagannadh movie unfold exactly the way we think it will.
4. The action scenes lack any force.
5. Vigilantes are supposed to have a sense of mystique about them something that is missing in Senapathy, about whom we already know a lot. At 100, he is agile and might as well do gymnastics. Is he a super-hero just because he knows Varma Kalai?
6. Having watched films like Chiranjeevi's 'Tagore' and last year's 'Jawan' already, we see no novelty in a vigilante eliminating the corrupt.
Vox Verdict:
'Bharateeyudu 2' is boring. Its aesthetics are ridiculous. Its creativity is sputtering. Its production values are low-end.
Rating: 1.5/5
