Indian 2 review: Vigilante drama lacks Shankar's punch, but Kamal scores
'Indian 2' disappoints as the film lacks a strong screenplay, and there's no emotional connect with vigilante Senapathy (played by Kamal Haasan) like we did in the first film
Director Shankar and Kamal Haasan, the epic combo that delivered one of Tamil cinema’s major pan-India mega blockbusters with Indian (1996) is back with the sequel Indian 2 after 28 years.
As the first part is a widely celebrated cinematic marvel, expectations are high for the sequel as well. The question is whether Shankar and Kamal could pull off the same magic in round 2.
Indian 2 opens with a group of naive youngsters (Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Jegan, and Rishikanth), who run a YouTube channel, Barking Dogs, to expose and mock the country’s corrupt systems. They are the voice of the famous RK Laxman’s cartoon hero, the Common Man, who questions all the injustices around them. But, after all their efforts crashed, they created the hashtag #ComeBackIndian on all social media platforms.
Their voices reach where they should and old man vigilante, Senapathy, who is in Taipei, immediately agrees (as if he had been waiting) to return to India to clean up the muck.
The Kamal factor
Kamal Hassan has given a solid performance in the film. When the screenplay falters, the veteran, who has done more than 230 films, holds up Indian 2 single-handedly on his broad shoulders. He also pulls off many risky stunts in the climax.
The seasoned actor is able to elevate the emotionally-charged scenes and the gallery-pleasing mass action sequences as well and proves once again why he is the best in the business! More than Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, who has a meaty part in the film leaves a mark with his performance.
The rest of the cast
Just as the father and son angle in Indian (1996) had an emotional impact, here Siddharth and his mom’s angle hit the mark. It’s good to see the late talented actors like Nedumudi Venu and Vivek brought to life on the big screen again. While there is an ensemble of actors in the film including Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Bobby Simha, SJ Suryah, and Renuka, they don’t have much scope to score big in this Kamal-helmed film.
Technically, Ravi Varman’s visuals are on par with international standards.
The grandeur in the production design is clearly visible and the action choreography is impactful. Anirudh’s songs are good although it does not match AR Rahman’s work in the first part. The young composer’s background score is just passable and not as powerful as his previous works.
Screenplay fails
What didn’t work in Indian 2 is that the screenplay lacks any high moments. The various corrupt incidents that happen in multiple states and how Senapathy kills each one of them using different Varma kalai (handguns) gives a documentary feel to the film. Though director Shankar tries to imbue these scenes with thrills to appeal to the masses, it just doesn’t work.
Shankar's idea of showing grandeur with pompous sets seems outdated. He also shows the corrupt villains more or less like caricatures so they don't come across as menacing baddies. So, it is all a cakewalk for a senior like Senapathy to simply flex his fingers to finish off the villains.
After a point, all these Varma Kalai portions used to bump off the bad guys become monotonous and tedious and not as novel as they were in the first part.
No emotional connect
Generally, Shankar ensures that the audiences emotionally connect with his core story but in Indian 2, he touches too many topics and that too on a very surface level without going into the details, which is the biggest drawback of the film. The one emotionally-charged sequence featuring Siddharth and his family only comes in the latter part of the second half of the film. We were all fans of Indian (1996), a grand commercial entertainer showcasing Senapathy’s valour, his phenomenal heroism, sacrifices, etc.
In Indian 2, however, Senapathy doesn't have an emotional backdrop and we cannot connect with his journey. Only during the climax portion, Senapathy gets some brilliantly executed action sequences to showcase the superheroic image of the vigilante. To conclude, Indian 2 is more like a backstory to the grand finale – Indian 3. As a standalone film, Indian 2 is just a passable vigilante drama without many high moments. The emotionally impactful sequences are few as well leaving the viewer highly dissatisfied.
Interestingly, the second part ends with the trailer for the third installment, which seems more impressive with a flashback of Senapathy's dad ( Young Kamal). Maybe Shankar will up his game in step with the times and redeem himself in Indian 3.