One-Line Review: Senapathy turns into a joker in Indian 2, the meaningless second installment of a classic.
Indian 2 Youtube Trailer
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Sidharth, etc.
Release Date: July 12, 2024
Director: Shankar
This film shows no interest in his personality, satisfied instead to exploit Senapathy for silly attempts at entertainment, like having him mimic a cat.
~ New Indian Express
Introduction
Hoping to rid their country of corruption, a group of youngsters orchestrates the return of the iconic freedom fighter, Senapathy, also known as “Indian”.
Our rating for Indian 2 is 0/10.
Summary
A group of friends—Chitra, Aarthi, Thambesh, and Harish—fight corruption with their YouTube channel, using an animated character to mock societal problems. Their work takes a serious turn when they learn that corrupt officials caused a young girl’s suicide, leaving them feeling angry and helpless.
Chitra then remembers “Indian,” a legendary vigilante who was a nightmare to corrupt officers. Hoping he’s still alive, the friends start a social media movement with the hashtag #ComeBackIndian.
Their plan succeeds, and the vigilante, Senapathy, returns to India. He begins to hunt down corrupt officials while also inspiring young people to expose corruption within their own families. However, when the friends suffer a personal loss due to his actions, they turn against him. This forces Senapathy to leave the country, leaving his mission to clean up India unfinished.
Review
Indian 2 may be the most senseless, strange, and disappointing film of 2024 so far. One has to wonder how director Shankar created a movie with almost no memorable scenes.
The film’s opening, which highlights various issues in India, is tolerable. However, the plot quickly becomes unbelievable. The initial scene where the main character, Chitra, simply assumes the long-lost vigilante Senapathy must still be alive is laughable. The subsequent social media campaign by the youngsters to make #ComeBackIndian trend globally is even more ridiculous, and the song that follows is unbearable.
Any hope that the movie might pick up pace with Kamal Haasan’s entry as Senapathy is quickly lost, as the film turns into a disturbing spoof. Kamal Haasan bears little resemblance to the iconic character from the first film; instead, he looks like an elderly man poorly imitating him.
Once in India, Senapathy begins his mission, but his methods are bizarre. In the original Indian, Senapathy’s use of Varma Kalai (the “marmam”) was an iconic and deadly martial art. In Indian 2, this technique is turned into a joke. Instead of killing or paralyzing his victims, this version of Senapathy transforms them into individuals who act like galloping horses or other strange creatures until they die.
Within 30 minutes, you will likely find yourself hoping the movie improves, but it only gets worse. Indian 2 is a big-budget film that not only fails to do justice to the iconic original character but drags his legacy through the mud. If anything, the filmmakers should compensate the audience for the trauma of watching it.
Tail End: Surprisingly, the only good part of Indian 2 is the post-credits trailer for Indian 3. The scenes from the pre-independence era look mind-blowing. Unfortunately, any excitement is immediately crushed by the memory of the circus we just witnessed, leaving zero hope for the third film.
Conclusion
Indian 2? Avoid it and take a walk in a park instead.
