Indian 2 / Bharateeyudu 2: ‘Old’en Principles

Star Cast: Kamal Haasan, S. J. Surya, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh, Nedumudi Venu, Vivek, Kalidas Jayaram, Gulshan Grover, Samuthirakani, Bobby Simha, and Brahmanandam. Indian 2 Review
Music Composed by Anirudh
Cinematography by Ravi Varman 
Edited by A Sreekar Prasad
Directed by S Shankar 

Before we dive deep in, this one doesn’t contain any mythological references as Indian alias Senapathy, himself is a mythological figure – a patriotic warrior who never shies away from waging a war for his motherland. Finding uncontaminated water and a corrupt soldier – as his name denotes – is always difficult. A highly committed soldier can never be corrupt as he always finds a way to fight temptations. Hence, this Senapathy has become a mythological figure for all of us. Now, you do understand what sort of a fan, I am for the original film and it would never change ever as my religion is Indian and my belief is Indian. Now, let’s continue on our journey…

Heavy Spoiler Alert… 

First, let’s ask few questions and see where we land.

Why should I watch a Shankar film?

What makes his films special and unique?

Most importantly, what expectations should we have on him?

Did Shankar always showed signs of over-doing, over-stretching, and over-staying?

Lastly, Did Indian needed a comeback?

I will try to answer all those questions with the limited knowledge I have about filmmaking. Shankar film, for me, doesn’t mean a cluster of gigantic set pieces with several unique visuals. It means a unique mix of artistic sensibilities in a commercial film. This factor makes his films unique and distinctive. His characters are more reflective of our anger, our soul, our pain, and our happiness, in simple words our emotions are pushed to extreme levels. I watch his films for such characters and their unique antics that leave us wondering if we can also be that person in real life. A protagonist – who can be called “Aadarsha Kathanayakudu” or “Kavya Kathanayakudu” – “Noble Hero” or “Novelistic Hero”, a protagonist whom we admire, adore, and aspire to be but seems improbable, impractical, and too idealistic. At least for me, Shankar stands for creating such characters and placing them in extreme pressure situations that push them to act according to their principles or give up and become practical. In Shivaji [2007], the protagonist tries to be practical and then grows to become “Boss“. My expectations from a Shankar film, unfortunately, will never ever go below the mark of a character like “Chitti”. Yes, with all humility, I would want any Shankar film to at least have a “Chitti” kind of a protagonist while the bar could go as high as “Senapathy/ Indian thatha”.

Infact, I am not a big fan of Oke Okkadu / Mudhalvan [1999] song – Magadheera/ Mudhalvane, where he went all out to create huge sets for that one dream song. While I did enjoy watching those stunning and sweeping visuals, it just ends up being one song that tries to state the story from the heroine’s POV. Very creative and beautiful yet takes us out of the movie and then asks us to get into the emotion, once again. Shankar could accomplish it, expertly, in his hay days, he seems to have gotten carried away with that “image”. In the same film, he did not go overboard with Nelluru Nerajana / Kurukku Chiruththavale, Utti Meeda Koodu / Uppu Karuvadu songs. When he could create such magic with simple yet effective visuals why the grandiose, I always wondered. Well, he believes in delivering a 64-course meal to his audiences but when it comes to Shivaji, Robo/Enthiran, Boys, I – every song meant for him to go huge and create extensive, expensive set pieces for ‘visual experience’. Maybe that sense of going overboard took over him and gave him a free cash pot as Baahubali [2015] did unheard magic at the box office. But does it mean to spend lavishly for every ambitious story just for the scale?

Indian did need to make a comeback. And he did not too. Senapathy retires with a warning that he will always be around to kill corrupt people who pollute the system. If Shankar of 90’s thought about continuing Indian’s story, he would have made him a person always around, creating conspiracies around some popular murders or a unique Indian nation with “Indian Thatha” (Could have influenced by Gumnami Baba Conspiracy) always correcting the system. Or he might have stated that Indian Thatha, like Subash Chandra Bose, disappeared into thin air and the Indian social media team (Like Subhasbadi Janata in 50s for Bose) went in search of him, who resorted to living like a Taiwanese Varmam Kala – a Martial Arts trainer. They bring his memory back and he unleashes the second freedom movement for India against Corruption, which has now become an even bigger problem than he could ever imagine. If I could have been in his team, I would have suggested to him, with my little knowledge, to make Siddharth character – Chitra, the imposter of Indian and now, original Indian thatha in Taipei, who lost hope that even younger generation has started accepting “fruits of corruption”. He finds a hope to launch this huge movement again with his “old” yet empathetic principles. Alas, today’s Shankar is not even a shade of that 90’s person.

We can categorize Shankar as – Revolutionary in 90’s, Sustainably Unique in 2000’s, a Pale shadow of Shankar in 2010’s and he kickstarted 2020’s with a “Mock Shankar”. His ideals, and ideologies did not really go haywire, but his intentions in executing those ideas have. He is asking producers to spend a fortune on one scene and hence, he is trying to “make it all worth it” by stretching and over-stretching that scene. For example, the Gujarat Granite Smuggler killing scene. To showcase that someone is obsessed with gold and property so much, he went on to create an entire expensive set. To make that cost worthwhile, he prolonged the scene to an extent that we started feeling sad for ourselves for watching the film. Every murder reminds us of Aparichitudu rather than Indian. For me, Indian Thatha is not some superhero, but an old man in our neighborhood, who has great skills, and one day, he decided to correct the corrupt system. Maybe that essence cannot be retained? Or maybe it can be. Think once, after 28 years, nobody thinks Indian Thatha is alive. He comes back to India as government decided to shut his case or push it into limbo. When no one can identify him and think of him as just another old man like in first one, he makes the first big move and announces his mission.

Well, I repeat, I am writing all these ideas with the limited knowledge I have and each one makes better sense to me, at least, in “organically” bringing Indian Thatha back. Also, the opposing thought does strike me, “When we accepted a practical hero like “BOSS Shivaji” for fighting against Black Money & Corruption, do we still need an absolutely Novelistic & Fable hero – Indian Thatha?” My heart still longs for Indian Thatha and a better rider of Apocalypse for him. He is trying to bring an apocalyptic war against Corrupt & Corruption or the Greed within us. He does need better horse riders with him to take forward the message for the next generations. These “Barking Dogs” could only make noise but don’t have it in them to “bite”. Well, Indian Thatha did not think about consequences before killing his son, and here, each one wanted him to “Go Back” as in “Simon Go Back” for one active offense against their family.

Endure a few more seconds as you read this lengthy discourse. The Gandhian philosophy of the Freedom struggle centered around non-violence, while Subhash Chandra Bose advocated for violent eradication. Indian [1996] ultimately embraced Bose’s approach but skillfully blended it with Gandhian principles. Shankar, however, attempted to merge both ideologies in the sequel. In the Gandhian vein, he encouraged people to be “non-cooperative” with corrupt family members. Simultaneously, he drew inspiration from Bose, portraying the character “Indian Thatha” eliminating key figures. Despite their divergent methods, both leaders shared a common goal: a free and prosperous India. Shankar’s film hints at the 1806 Vellore Mutiny, connecting it to the broader Freedom Movement. Despite his ability to think ten times better than the average filmmaker, why does he persist in pursuing grand visuals instead of focusing solely on the story at hand? If he had critically examined this obsession, he might have retained the valor of his 90’s self and steered ‘Indian’ towards an exceptional path. A director, like a knowledgeable guide or an illustrious book, can lead us into the world of a character and that same director can also deflect us away from the illusion. For now, I choose to hold onto my tender age illusion of “Indian Thatha” an immortal, unwavering symbol of human grit. The grown-up “second perspective” deflected me into an abyss of delusion, suggesting that even Indian Thatha could be a mere mortal symbol of unrealistic buffoonery and “mock” superhero.

Theatrical Trailer:

Indian 2 Review, Indian 2 Telugu Review, Bharateeyudu 2 Review, Bharateeyudu 2 Telugu.