Aparichit taught us that sinners will be punished. Bhavesh Joshi Superhero taught us that the onus of change lies on us. Gabbar Is Back taught us that the key to progress is carrying out our duties honestly. Shivaji: The Boss taught us that a single person can also change a system. Jawan taught us that the oppressed can band together to teach the corrupt a lesson. Indian 2 tries to tell us all of the above, but actually leaves us with nothing.
Directed by S Shankar (Naayak, Enthiran, I, 2.0), produced by Lyca Productions and starring Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Rakul Preet Singh and Bobby Simha, Indian 2 is a sequel to the 1996 Indian. The first part, also directed by Shankar, is the story of a veteran freedom fighter who kills the corrupt in his country using the ancient Indian (martial arts) technique Varma Kalai.
The concept of vigilante justice will never go out of fashion. Like its prequel, Indian 2 aims for this low hanging fruit but misses it entirely. There is neither the satisfaction of seeing evil people being brought to justice, nor the satisfaction of seeing evil people being brought to justice (you read it right, no error there).
There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s begin.
Indian 2 starts off by showing us people urinating in public, garbage littered on streets, laxing government workers who aren’t paid enough, the miserable struggling and the vulnerable ending their lives. Against this backdrop is a zealous group of four friends led by Chitra (Siddharth) who expose the corrupt system using their digital channel Barking Dogs. But they realise they cannot clean up the system alone, so call for Senapathy aka Indian, who fled the country years ago and is presumed dead. And….you guessed it right. He does return. But things don’t go the way the audience (the ones who awaited Indian’s return as well as the ones watching the film) wants them to. Indian asks them to clean up their own homes by holding their dear ones accountable, which evidently puts them off.
While it is satisfying to watch someone else punish the wrongdoers, we are wary about educating our close ones. Instead of exploring this ethical dilemma, the film (like its characters) puts the entire burden on Haasan to deliver action, humour, swag and justice. And just like Indian, Haasan can only do so much. The first half is passable as fun if you and your friends enjoy some physics-defying action and ridiculously hilarious Hindi dubs with a splatter of Marathi, Bhojpuri and Awadhi. But then on, the film dives into absurdity.
Even while the script relies solely on Haasan to shoulder this sequel, it ironically does not let this lead character drive the story. The screenplay meanders between Chitra and his family, his friends, the police and the wealthy, all of whom lack motive. Apart from the zig-zagging plot, what makes it difficult to focus is the unnecessary background music and sound effects. What justifies a full blown song with bikini-clad women that comes out of nowhere and adds nothing to the story, except to tell you that there is a way to sexualise every object – ice cubes, alcohol bottles, and even the poor guitar? Phew.
While Siddharth may know that the film is a lost cause, it doesn’t dampen his earnestness in playing Chitra, who will fight wrong come what may. But he, like most other characters in the film, turns out to be fickle. Characters in this film are easily influenced to start or end a protest, kill, support, love and hate. Indian too lacks the gray area that often characterises vigilante heroes, but Haasan fabulously portrays empathy, kindness and poise which only comes with seeing years of corruption and cleaning up the system.
In this tediously long three-hour stretch, there is something to salvage. Director Shankar has used a few short animated segments within the film, mostly for the content created by Chitra and his friends on Barking Dogs. While it is not as skillful as the animated segments of Amar Singh Chamkila, the experiment deserves a pat on the back.
Massive infrastructure, elaborate fight and chase sequences, and huge sets have been brought to life with impeccable visual effects. Multiple VFX studios have worked on this big-scale pan-India film – Surpreeze, Mango Post, PhantomFX, yFX, RedchilliesVFX, Bot VFX, Identical Brains, MetaVFX, TimeFX, Unifi Media, StageUnreal, MaadFam Studios, Fractal Picture, Knack Studios, Ajax Media Tech and more.
Films like Indian 2 do not diminish the necessity of movies that highlight injustice and inequality. But let’s just say that a montage of chest-beating women, teary-eyed children and unemployed youth will not get sympathy anymore, thanks to TV news desensitising citizens. These same tropes beg for the dire need of finding ways of narrating the regular stories differently. Because as you leave theatres and see popcorn strewn on seats and beverages spilled on carpets, commute alongside uncivilised people in public transport and get exhausted with honkers and rule breakers, it can be safely said that from Aparichit to Indian 2, vigilante justice films have made no difference.
Indian 2 released on 12 July and is now playing in theatres.