Indian 2 (2024)
| Movie | : | Indian 2 |
| Director | : | S. Shankar |
| Starring | : | Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh, SJ Suryah, Bobby Simha, Vivek, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Gulshan Grover And More. |
| Genres | : | Action, Adventure, Drama |
| Editing | : | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Rating | : | 9.1/10 |
| Release Date | : | 12 July 2024 |
Synopsis
The movie Indian 2 begins with Chitram Aravindhan and his team exposing city corruption through the Barking Dogs YouTube channel, which lands them in trouble. What is the nature of this trouble, and why do they call back Senapathi from Taipei?
Indian 2 2024 Tamil Movie Critique
Plus Points (+)
After a 28-year wait, director S. Shankar returns with another action-drama film featuring Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, and other prominent actors in leading roles, while comedy king Brahmanandam appears in a supporting role.
A common problem in the film industry is when a sequel is released four to five years after the first part, causing audiences to forget the original story. However, in Indian 2, director S. Shankar provides a proper recap, allowing audiences who might have forgotten the first film, released in 1996, to recall the story.
The first half of the film is slow and revolves around Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Jagan, and Rakul Preet Singh, as well as the #ComebackIndian social media campaign. The second half becomes more engaging for fans of social dramas, as the hero exposes corrupt politicians through his social media handles like Facebook and YouTube.
Director S. Shankar, known for social dramas and science fiction films such as Shivaji the Boss, Aparichit, and Robot, returns with the sequel to Indian (or Hindustani), a film from the golden era of Tamil cinema in 1996.
The movie conveys a social message: "Don't give bribes, don't take bribes, and report illegal activities to government bodies." There’s a particularly striking scene where the hero encourages the younger generation to expose hidden black money and illegal activities on social media.
Indian 2 feels like a blend of Shivaji: The Boss, Aparichit, Prathinidhi 2, and the Bollywood film Satyamev Jayate 2. These films deal with themes of injustice, crime, and correction. Additionally, I appreciate the filmmakers’ intention to glorify the Sanskrit language, as seen when Senapathi hypnotizes a cruise ship crew member by reciting a Sanskrit shloka.
Kamal Haasan, following a solid performance in Kalki 2898 AD, appears as Senapathi, an Indian martial arts teacher hiding in Taipei. He makes his on-screen appearance after 30 minutes, and while his performance is decent, he has limited scope due to the cliched script. In the second half, he delivers the film’s central message on dealing with corrupt politicians and corrupt neighbors.
Samuthirakani performs well despite limited screen time, and Siddharth delivers a good performance as a YouTuber exposing corruption. Rakul Preet Singh, as Siddharth’s girlfriend, also gives a decent performance.
Minus Points (-)
While making a sequel to Indian or Hindustani is a good idea, the cliched story and repetitive dramatic scenes, especially in the second half, may irritate audiences.
The story of Indian 2 looks promising on paper, but the lack of strong execution leads the film into a tedious category, reminiscent of Robot 2.0 from five years ago.
The screenplay is weak in several areas, particularly in the second half. Additionally, Anirudh’s music fails to elevate the film. From my perspective, reducing the film’s length and focusing more on makeup and editing would have improved the overall quality.
Technical Aspects
Shankar is a prominent director in the Tamil film industry who has delivered back-to-back blockbuster movies, as mentioned above. However, the audience has had mixed reviews about Indian 2. As discussed above, if Director Shankar were to incorporate something new instead of relying on a cliched story, it would benefit both the audience and the makers.
As we know, music is the soul of every movie. When considering the best music composers in the Tamil film industry, Anirudh's name comes to the top. Anirudh is a very talented individual, but this time his performance is only decent. On the other hand, the cinematography by Ravi Varman is adequate, and the editing is done by A. Sreekar Prasad.
