Bharateeyudu 2: A bloated sequel which doesn’t have the emotional complexities of the 1996 blockbuster

Director S. Shankar does a better job in the second half when he touches upon the consequences of cleaning corruption in your home. The ostracization that Siddarth’s Chitra Aravindan faces does touch the viewer’s heart, but the movie doesn’t come across as a whole

  • Starcast: Kamal Haasan, Siddarth, Samuthirakani, Kalidas Jayaram, Bobby Simha, Rakul Preet Singh and others
  • Direction, dialogues, story and screenplay: S Shankar
  • Producers: Subaskaran Allirajah and Udhayanidhi Stalin
  • Production Companies: Lyca Productions and Red Giant movies
  • Running time: 3 hours
  • Music director: Anirudh Ravichander
  • Cinematography: Ravi Varman

The genre of vigilante movies owes a lot to Shankar. Many of his movies have tackled corruption and featured crusaders of different natures. For example, in Gentleman and Aparichitudu (Anniyan) in Tamil, the protagonists took extreme measures to wipe out the rot in the system. On the other hand, there was Mudhalvan, where a television presenter ended up becoming a Chief Minister. In Mudhalvan, it was about repairing the system while staying within it.

Coming to the 1996 movie Bharateeyudu, it was one of its kind for those times. Apart from Shankar’s typical vigilante tropes, the movie also had some solid emotional drama with the vastly different viewpoints between Senapathy and his son Chandru, both played by Kamal Haasan. The writing and direction had shades of nuance, with Chandru not being painted as an all-out villain.

After a long gap of 28 years, the sequel is here, and the typical elements of Shankar, like long-drawn speeches and rants on corruption, have clearly worn out. It is high time that he finds a new cinematic language while talking about the same issues.

Indian 1 and 2. Shankar needs to change his cinematic language while talking about the same issues.

Indian 2 begins with the introduction of Siddarth’s Chitra Aravindan and his three friends. They run a YouTube channel called ‘Barking Dogs’. This channel makes political satires using the comic strips of R.K. Laxman. They can be called digital media activists. The channel receives a lot of views, but there isn’t much of a ground impact. In this situation, Aravindan believes that only Senapathy, aka Indian Thatha, can clean the rotten system. They start a campaign with the name ‘Come Back Indian’. Aravindan firmly believes that Senapathy is alive even after all these years, and his hunch turns out to be true. In a Facebook Live video, Senapathy tells all the youngsters to focus on exposing the corrupt individuals within their families while he would wipe out corruption through extrajudicial methods. However, this two-way route comes with its own dire consequences that severely affect both Senapathy and Siddarth and his friends. Running parallel to this is the track of Bobby Simha, a CBI officer hot on the trail of Senapathy. He is the son of the inspector Krishnaswamy from the 1996 film, played by the late Nedumudi Venu.

Siddarth runs a YouTube channel Barking Dogs

The first half of Bharateeyudu 2 is a slog in more ways than one. The typical elements of Shankar are dialed up 100 notches. There are excessive dialogues on corruption, and the way Senapathy comes back to India appears very convoluted. The tweets of Come Back Indian trending so fast feel comical, to say the least. The rich businessmen that Senapathy kills seem to be an amalgamation of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. All of them are North Indians with a big appetite for wearing bling clothes. Senapathy uses different martial art techniques.

All of them come across as irritating caricatures rather than flesh-and-blood characters. The conversations of Kamal Haasan with these men play out way longer than needed and border on utter ridiculousness. For instance, a rich man gallops like a horse for a long distance after Senapathy strikes him. As audiences, you are completely unmoved because of the flat writing and staging.

However, Shankar does redeem himself in the second half, particularly in the scenes that showcase the aftereffects of Senapathy’s advice. Chitra Aravindan exposes his own father, resulting in severe discord with his mother, who eventually ends up committing suicide. Chitra Aravindan isn’t even allowed to perform the last rites, facing severe ostracization. Siddarth’s showdown with Kamal Haasan has some powerful dialogues where the character questions Senapathy on how his advice of first cleaning up corruption in your own house may look like a great idea but in reality has dire consequences. He further adds that what is the point of having a corrupt-free society when you don’t have a happy home. From being loved by youngsters, Senapathy goes to being the most hated. Senapathy also briefly faces public ire; they throw stones at him. This portion comes late in the second half but saves the movie from being a complete washout.

Siddarth’s showdown with Kamal Haasan

Mention must also be made of the few scenes between Siddarth and Samuthirakani. The emotional scene where Samuthirakani’s character asks his son why he did this, and the subsequent dialogues make a powerful impact. Siddarth scores as an actor, particularly in these scenes.

As Senapathy, Kamal Haasan makes the viewers believe in the superhero qualities of his role. Yes, the role doesn’t pack the same emotional resonance as it did in 1996, but to Kamal Haasan’s credit, he does sell the big speeches.

The music of Bharateeyudu 2 is nowhere close to the first one; however, the background score by Anirudh Ravichander is impactful in a few scenes. The action sequences are way too prolonged and quickly become tedious. Shankar’s eye for grandeur does make the movie a visual feast, but the storyteller Shankar is absent for the most part.

Kalki 2898 AD: A gutsy attempt at mixing dystopian world with Mahabharata

Nag Ashwin proves his capability as a versatile director, the movie works best when it focuses on Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan

  • Starcast: Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Saswata Chatterjee, Pashupathy, Anna Ben and others
  • Special appearances: Mrunal Thakur, Dulquer Salman, S.S Rajamouli, Vijay Devarakonda, Ramgopal Varma etc.
  • Story, direction, screenplay and dialogues: Nag Ashwin
  • Additional screenplay: Rutham Samar
  • Additional dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra and B.S Saewagna Kumar
  • Producer: C. Ashwini Dutt
  • Production Company: Vijayanthi movies
  • Cinematography: Djordge Stojilijkovic
  • Music: Santhosh Narayan
  • Genre: Science fiction
  • Running time: 3 hours and 1 minute

The track record of Indian cinema with science fiction/futuristic worlds is pretty abysmal. A major reason for it is the necessity of masala elements where the hero has to do romance, comedy and action while saving the world. Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish movies though not seamless did a good job in mixing Hollywood tropes with Indian Masala. Ayan Mukherjee’s Bramhastra was high on visuals, but a weakly written love story coupled with erratic characterizations made the movie just about an average watch. Last year Vikas Bahl made an attempt at directing a movie set in a futuristic world where the society is divided into two and poverty is at an extremely high level. Ganapath ended up being more about Tiger Shroff’s somersaults and was roundly rejected by the audiences.

Now you have Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD also set in a futuristic world. The two-film old director has already created a niche for himself with Yevade Subramanyam and the biopic Mahanati on the legendary actress Savitri. Mahanati in particular is a challenging movie given that it is based on a very beloved actress who is admired by many, but he did complete justice to her life. With Kalki 2898 AD the director has pushed himself even more and let his imagination fly high. For example, he makes you believe that there would be a future where women would have zero autonomy over their bodies and the need for capitalistic gains will wipe out cities. In spite of obvious similarities to Dune and the Mad Max films Nag Ashwin delivers an impressive concoction of sci fi elements with mythology. But the women characters are a major weak spot, and the random love story of Prabhas with Disha Patani is a major speed breaker.

Kalki 2898 AD moves along multiple timelines starting from the Kurukshetra war. Amitabh Bachchan is Ashwatthama who is cursed with immortality by lord Krishna. On the other hand, there is the dystopian landscape of Kashi, the world’s last city. However, it is in complete shambles. The mighty Ganges is in a parched state and food is naturally scarce. There is a towering structure called Complex governed by Yaskin played by Kamal Haasan. He rules the place with an iron fist. Inside the Complex there are many fertile women who have been put on an experiment. Deepika Padukone’s SUM-80 alias Sumathi is an employee who is supposed to make sure that these fertile women get sufficient food and medicine. But there is a twist here; Sumathi who has been considered infertile for ages is now five months pregnant. Then you have Shambala a place for refugees from different faiths and cultures. They are putting their lives at stake for a better future.

Bhairava (Prabhas) wants to escape from the dreariness of Kashi and get into the Complex. He has AL car Bujji (with a fun voiceover by Keerty Suresh). There is a constant banter between them which gradually develops into a strong bond. Bhairava is a selfish man who is unaware of his destiny. As the story progresses Bhairava’s life gets intermingled with Ashwatthama, Sumathi and the people of Shambala.

For a movie like this a seamless blend of special effects and cinematography is very necessary and Kalki 2898 AD scores full marks in this department. The high-octane action sequences between Amitabh Bachchan and Prabhas in particular is a major highlight. Thankfully Nag Ashwin doesn’t show Bhairava as invincible, on more than one occasion we see him getting hurt. These scenes are also sprinkled with humour that bring a smile. Nitin Zihani Choudary’s production design also deserves a particular mention in how he creates an imaginary landscape that immerses the audiences.

Director Nag Ashwin also deserves distinction marks for how he integrates the Kurukshetra episode in the film. The emotional turmoil of Ashwatthama and his quest for repentance strikes a chord. Amitabh Bachchan delivers a stellar act overshadowing Prabhas on occasions.

Prabhas as Bhairava has a role that comes with different shades. There is humor, and he also comes across as not so likeable. Prabhas does complete justice to both. His interactions with Keerty Suresh’s Bujji add a lot to the movie.

Kamal Haasan as the evil Yaskin has a brief role but he sends down a chill with his intimidating act.

Santhosh Narayanan’s music lacks good songs but he more than compensates it with a powerful background score.

Kalki 2898 AD has many cameos from actors and directors. Out of these Ramgopal Varma and S.S Rajamouli are fun to watch. There is a Baahubali reference where Prabhas jokingly says about how he gave 5 years to that project, it definitely raises a chuckle. Among others Mrunal Thakur is impressive in her brief role.

A big flaw of Kalki 2898 AD are the two female leads. Disha Patani is only used for glamour and one completely out of place song. Deepika Padukone on the other hand plays a pregnant woman mirroring her real life. She is mostly required to look petrified, and the expressions irritate after a point.

The movie’s runtime could have been crisper with lesser cameos. For example, Dulquer Salman and Avasarala Srinivas don’t add anything significant with their presence.

A caution: Too many good directors going into the dystopian landscape is something that the industry should be careful about.

Vikram: A Masala Treat For The Fans Of Kamal, Fahadh And Vijay

The biggest victory of Lokesh Kangaraj’s Vikram is how he balances the three immensely talented actors. The script has been written in such a way that all three get their moments to shine. In essence, Vikram is a stylish action drama. The first twenty-to thirty minutes of the film are a bit of slog with the overload of the information but as you go along the film starts getting better. Vikram is not as engaging as Karthik’s Kaithi which also belonged to the same genre, but it definitely fares better than the director’s last film Master.

The films begins off the supposed death of Karnan (Kamal Hassan).  Karnan is the father of the martyred cop Prapachan (Kalidas Jayaram) We learn that a series of such killings has been happening, the people responsible for this are a group of masked men. This group calls it their war against the system. To stop these killings, the police chief brings in a black cops team. The head of this team is Amar (Fahadh Fasil). Amar starts digging into the past of Karnan. Vijay Sethupati plays a fearsome drug lord called Santhanam. Santhanam is searching for a shipment that would make him a king pin. Meanwhile, Amar is getting more and more puzzled by the many versions that he hears about Karnan. Was Karnan an alcoholic father grieving over the loss of his son, a womanizer or something more than that? But the bigger question is whether he is really dead.

The most intriguing part of Vikram is the investigation scenes of Amar and his team. These portions keep you hooked as you yourself are also trying to figure out who the actual Karnan is. There isn’t a lot of Kamal Hassan in this part but his presence can still be amply felt, both as an actor and also as a character.

The action part before the interval has a solid twist that makes you look forward for the second half. Post interval the plot becomes more straight faced. Just like Kaithi here too you have a bunch of cops holding against an army of gangsters.

The subplot of Karnan and Prapanchan’s baby gives the second half some emotional undercurrent. These portions are pretty good. Kalidas Jayaram has a small role but the actor does a good job nevertheless.

As I earlier said all the three actors get their moments to shine. Kamal Hassan packs a punch in both the action and the emotional bits. His scenes with the little grandson give some heat touching moments. Fahadh Faasil sails through his role with his usual aplomb. He shines the brightest in the first half. Vijay Sethupati’s Santhanam is an extension of what he did in Master but the actor still makes an impact with his villainous turn. His interactions with the family members raise some chuckle worthy moments.

What pulls down Vikram significantly are the overdose of action. There is no denying that they have been solidly choreographed, but these scenes come too frequently from the middle of the second half.

Also the suspense factor is no longer there once the identity of Karanan is revealed. The film becomes more generic after this in terms of treatment. As a result the film starts feeling very prolonged. The editing department is another minus for Vikram. At least thirty minutes of the film could have been easily chopped off. Because of the excessive length the impact of Surya’s cameo lessens down.

It also doesn’t help that the supporting characters with the exception of Kalidas are mostly gap fillers.  

In a nutshell, watch Vikram if you are a fan of the three actors. But be prepared for all the bloodshed.