Indian 2 (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Senapathy, an ex-freedom fighter turned vigilante who fights against corruption. Senapathy returns to the country to aid a young man who has been exposing corrupt politicians in the country through videos on the internet.

My Take – For a career spanning more than six decades, the legendary “Universal Star” Kamal Haasan has indeed donned many memorable roles, both front and behind the camera.

And while it might not be easy to pick one out of the largely stacked list, his role as Veerasekaran Senapathy, an ageing freedom fighter turned vigilante who used his Varma Kalai martial art skills to fight against corruption, in the S. Shankar (Robot, Anniyan, Nayak) written and directed Indian (1996) continues to remain a fan-favorite. A performance which he even garnered Haasan the much coveted National Film Award for Best Actor.

Twenty eight years later, as corruption continues to be still as rife as ever, Indian is back, looking remarkably preserved for all the time that’s passed, to rescue the meek and the poor, and to declare war against the rich and the powerful. Unfortunately, the sequel disappoints in every aspect.

Despite its ambitious scope and stellar cast, the long in the making film struggles to reach its full potential due to writer-director Shankar‘s outdated narrative style and a screenplay that fails to sustain engagement. But most tragically, shows almost no understanding of the soul and strength of the first film and its protagonist.

For a film that aims to be political, this is surprisingly one of the most politically incorrect films to have been released in a while. It is neither progressive nor revolutionary as it still carries the ideals of the 90s.

Without a doubt, Kamal Haasan‘s reprisal of the iconic role is nothing short of fantastic, delivering a powerful performance that anchors the film’s watch ability, however, the writing makes the iconic character look like a mere caricature. Simply told, the second installment, which no one asked for, is arguably the director’s weakest film yet.

Set in contemporary India, the story follows Chitra Aravindhan (Siddharth), who along with his friends – Aarthi (Priya Bhavani Shankar), Thambesh (Jagan) and Harish (Rishikanth), runs a YouTube channel called ‘Barking Dogs,’ which focuses on parodies and political satire. Despite facing regular dissuasion from his girlfriend, Disha (Rakul Preet Singh), about how he alone cannot change a system that has been running for long, Chitra often finds himself in trouble for standing up for the right.

But when a tragedy occurs, the group realizes that their videos, despite receiving millions of views, has little impact on the audience, the team starts a social campaign called ‘Come Back Indian.’ Hoping to garner the attention of Veerasekaran Senapathy (Kamal Hassan), who has been off grid for 28 years, believing only his presence and actions can put an end to the various evils happening in the country.

Unknown to then, Senapathy, who for all this years has been living in Taipei, practicing and teaching Varma Kalai, has been monitoring the campaign, and believing it to be the right time, decides to return to India. But while he resumes punishing both corrupt and powerful individuals in violent ways, Senapathy urges his young followers to start cleaning the system of the country by cleaning their own homes first of corruption and wrongdoings. A decision which astoundingly backfires.

Like most of his ventures, director Shankar once again employs all modern techniques to create a stylized world of vigilantes and vendetta. Technically, the sequel dazzles with grand visuals, meticulous production design, and seamless VFX, crafted to perfection by cinematographers Ravi Varman and R. Rathnavelu, Editor Sreekar Prasad, and production designer T. Muthuraj. The ‘Calendar song’ featuring Gulshan Grover and Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Tebow being a perfect example.

Even Anirudh‘s emotive music adds layers of depth, complementing AR Rahman‘s timeless themes from the original, evoking nostalgia and continuity. Sadly, the film is not bound by an effective script. Right from the start, the story wanders here and there, trying too hard to be modern and Pan-Indian.

While the film commences with grandeur and promise, the first half is marred by unnecessarily prolonged sequences that test audience patience without significantly advancing the plot. Though the second half, sees marginally improvement, it falls short of delivering a resounding impact or emotional resonance, leaving critical questions unanswered and character development under-explored.

Almost all the serious scenes are pretty laughable due to their absurdity. The action and chase sequences are unnecessarily stretched, to prove the same point over and over that Senapathy is awesome. Even the manner of Senapathy’s executions in this film is laughably childish, with each kill gimmickier than the next.

Script wise, Senapathy’s character is irrelevant and unwanted, but what’s more bad is the direction, the ideas of executing the wrongdoers scream cringe and outdated, executed terribly on the screen. While the previous film flourished with the idea that a 70-year-old freedom fighter who struggles with health issues has once again taken arms for his country, here, the veteran martial arts expert in his 100s, fights like a superhero, rides a unicycle, and creates six pack abs at will.

That’s an unfortunate switch of a man whose foremost attraction is his sharp intelligence and his unshakeable ideological conviction, personal losses be damned. He’s flawed, but attractively so—but this film shows no interest in his personality, satisfied instead to exploit Senapathy for silly attempts at entertainment, like having him mimic a cat

Also, the decision to split the narrative into two parts further diminishes its impact, functioning more as a bridge between the original and an anticipated sequel rather than standing independently.

Performances wise, Kamal Haasan reprises the role of Senapathy with ease and finesse, anchoring the film with his commanding presence and nuanced performance. Proving that loads of makeup and prosthesis cannot detract from his giving a solid turn. Siddharth too shines brightly and makes for charismatic presence on screen.

In supporting roles, late actor Nedumudi Venu, Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Rishikanth, and Jagan are effective. Bobby Simha and late actor Vivekh, are decent. Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Gulshan Grover add little to the narrative in minor roles. On the whole, ‘Indian 2‘ is a shoddy vigilante sequel that is marred by a disjointed and unwarranted screenplay.