Indian 2 Movie Review: Why this comeback, Senapathy?

A still from Indian 2

Indian 2
U/A: Action, drama
Dir: S Shankar
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Siddharth
Rating: 1.05/5

Indian 2 is the sequel to Kamal Haasan's 1996 film Indian. The movie starts with a group of YouTubers, led by Chitra Aravindhan (Siddharth), addressing corruption in the country through parody and spoof videos on their channel, Barking Dog. While they are happy with their videos going viral, protesting the suicide of a young girl due to a corrupt government official lands them in jail. Chitra's girlfriend Disha (Rakul Preet Singh) bails them out but cautions them about the repercussions of taking on an influential and powerful group. Believing that only Veerasekaran Senapathy, aka Indian (Haasan), can save the country from corruption, Chitra starts an online campaign with the hashtag #ComeBackIndian.

Meanwhile, the ageless vigilante Senapathy, who left the country after killing his corrupt son Chandru in Indian, continues delivering death penalties to baddies overseas. When not exacting justice on businessmen like Amit Agarwal (Gulshan Grover), Senapathy teaches martial arts to youngsters in Taiwan. Now that's a Mr Miyagi figure in the making. Predictably, he decides to return to new-age India and tackle the ever-increasing menace.

While the protagonist realises that things have changed over the years, director Shankar seems oblivious to the fact that his screenplay is exaggerated and outdated. The writing is superficial, the characters border on caricature, and the treatment feels dated. The lack of an emotional connection further adds to this disconnect. Like the production values, the villains are garish beyond words - whether it's the gold-obsessed Darshan Seth (Zakir Hussain) with a golden commode in his vault chamber, Kishan Singh (Piyush Mishra) practicing zero-gravity floating after investing in real estate on Mars, or Sakalakala Vallavan Sarguna Pandian (SJ Suryah) flaunting shimmery outfits and accessories in every frame.

Haasan reprises his iconic character of Senapathy with ease, as if it were just yesterday and not over 28 years since the first film's release. Siddharth almost makes up for a passable first half with a high-strung emotional sequence in the second half. Bobby Simha as CBI officer Pramod, along with the late actor Vivekanandan as his junior, justify their parts. Priya Bhavani Shankar, Singh, Rishikanth, and Jagan don't add much value to the storyline.

The action in the first edition had us hooked, but it is uninspiring in the sequel. Whether it's Senapathy riding a unicycle through the city and a metro or showcasing his ageing yet sinewy physique while beating baddies in the climax, the thrills are not thrilling enough.

Anirudh Ravichander's music doesn't captivate like AR Rahman's Telephone dhun mein hasne wali from the 1996 film, which remains memorable even after all these years.

For those who don't know, in 1996, Hassan suggested that Shankar plan a sequel, but the filmmaker declined due to a lack of story ideas. Following the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement in 2011, several people urged him to make a second instalment. After the first announcement in 2017, the film began production in January 2020. An accident on set and the pandemic halted production for over two years, with shooting resuming in May 2022. While one may see those multiple hurdles as indications to abort the sequel, the makers proceeded and even shot a third instalment. Based on the current proceedings, one shudders at the thought of the upcoming finale.