Indian 2 Movie Review

28 years after the masterpiece hit our shores, the combo of Kamal Haasan and Shankar are back for Indian 2, a sequel that comes with the same characters and the following up of Senapathy’s story. The film had a lot going both for and against it prior to the release, and now, let’s see if it held up.

For starters, Indian 2 is far away in comparison with the first part, as it has a lot of things coming to the fore with Kamal Haasan’s character being the puppeteer here. If you are walking into the film expecting an equal or a better film than the first part, I bet you haven’t judged the promos properly. Indian 2 is a film that does not get too emotional or thwacking in terms of its content, and is happy to steer through in a basic form without any great shakes. The film starts off well with a socially charged intent, but unfortunately, it starts to dip down after Kamal Haasan’s entry. The first half is average with scenes involving Kamal taking the back seat, and there is nothing much to cheer about in terms of director Shankar’s work. The fact that he is missing Sujatha and AR Rahman here is clear, and the film moves ahead at a decent pace without any memorable moments. But Indian 2 manages to salvage some of its glory in the second half, where the angle involving Siddharth and his family acts best, and the climax action sequence manages to give us some excitement, along with the glimpse of Indian 3 which looks all the more promising.

In a sequel of a film which was ruled by Kamal Haasan, it is quite disappointing to see that his scenes feel the most long drawn-out and are not relatable in today’s world. Shankar’s epic world of anti-corruption and anti-system films were a pleaser back in time, but now, they feel outdated and preachy, and the main reason is the lack of goosebumps moments and strong dialogues which were a peach in his previous films. The director’s knack to deliver big scale and grandeur are intact, but what’s missing here is the way in which he used to make the audience root for his characters. The film actually has some good ideas in the forefront, but they are lost in-between the events that he puts forward.

Siddharth is one of the cast who has a solid role, and the actor has done justice to his part by bringing in a fine performance. The supporting cast in Priya Bhavani Shankar, Simha, Jegan and the others could have been way better.

Shankar’s decision to go ahead with Anirudh instead of AR Rahman is also not a good one, as the film suffers in terms of its music. The cinematography by Ravi Varman is excellent though.

On the whole, Indian 2 feels like a bridge between Indian 1 and 3, and while it is not that bad, it could have been way better and that’s missing here. Nevertheless, a decent watch for those who like Shankar’s brand of cinema and the visual brilliance that he has always been able to bring on screen.

Indian 2 Movie Review Rating: 3/5