Bharateeyudu 2 Movie Review: Unbearably Boring Songs
Screens have opened for Shankar’s highly awaited sequel to 1996’s “Bharateeyudu,” “Bharateeyudu 2,” which stars Kamal Haasan.
Chitra Aravind (Siddharth) and her pals run the “Barking Dogs” YouTube channel. Aravind and his colleagues begin the #ComeBackIndian campaign following a girl’s suicide as a result of a corrupt official’s demands for a bribe in order to secure a teaching position. Restoring Senapathy (Kamal Haasan) and rooting out corruption are their primary objectives.
The exiled Senapathy left India in 1996 and is now based in Taipei. The Indian or Senapathy school of thought advocates rooting out corruption within one’s own family before moving on to more prominent individuals.
A plethora of problems arise as Aravind and this group respond to Senpathy’s call and begin their mission.
With or without success in his most recent assignment, Senapathy will have to return after a while.
Kamal Haasan’s acting chops were on full display in the original film, where he played the roles of Senapathy, a veteran freedom fighter, and his son. Kamal reprises his role as Senapathy in this sequel, although this time he’s a hundred years old.
Despite Kamal Haasan’s versatility, his performances never rise beyond the norm, failing to showcase his outstanding acting chops.
In the second half, Siddharth gets a larger part and really shines in a scene with his parents.
Unsurprisingly, Bobby Simha plays the role of a stereotypical CBI agent. Brahmanandam and SJ Suryah both have cameos in the movie.
The performance by Samuthirakani is commendable. Since their characters don’t play a major role in the plot, Rakul Preet Singh and Priya Bhavani Shankar’s roles are more akin to cameos.
The songs and the film’s outstanding technical features are two of the most noticeable features that substantially contribute to Shankar’s work. When it comes to these two areas, the film bombs, especially with Anirudh Ravichander’s unbearably boring songs.
Demi-Leigh Tebow performs a solo, full-length song in the beginning of the film. The song doesn’t have anything special, even though the music video was really lavish.
Ravi Varman’s cinematography follows the usual formula. The production company, Lyca Productions, has, nevertheless, poured a lot of money into the complex production design.
Sreekara Prasad’s editing and conversation are completely unsatisfactory.
Analysis
With its fantastic plot, Shankar’s direction, Kamal Haasan’s superb performance as Senapathy, and Rahman’s mesmerising musical composition, “Bharateeyudu” won over the hearts of Indian audiences upon its 1996 release. Filmgoers in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi were overjoyed when they saw the release. It was a fascinating and original film in every way.
The last three decades have been formative for India’s film industry. As visual effects have progressed substantially across all languages and themes of vigilante justice have become routine, audiences are no longer impressed by such elaborate costumes worn by actors. Shankar seems stuck in the past, despite being the trailblazer in bringing these aspects to mainstream Indian cinema.
The plot and script he wrote for “Bharateeyudu 2” look so dated now. One of Shankar’s strongest suits is his ability to craft memorable tunes and tell stories that move listeners to tears. In contrast, he demonstrates zero of these traits in “Bharateeyudu 2.” There are a lot of dull parts in the three-hour sequel.
The opening minutes are interesting since they establish the plot, but the scenes that follow until the climax are really boring. The two hours of running time are mostly devoted to Senapathy’s assassination of three prominent businessmen. It seems like Senapathy is trying to pull off the same stunt he did in the 1996 version, where he hid from the cops using his “Marmam” technique and a variety of disguises.
The so-called action sequences, in which Kamal Haasan, among other things, makes a metro train reverse its direction and then rides away on a motorbike with only one wheel, are boring to watch. In his previous films, Shankar has shown off amazing action scenes.
Modern Tamil films often feature heroes who start movements through YouTube and other social media. Shankar has also used this strategy. Thus, this narrative approach was equally unoriginal.
Corruption in India has not gone away since the 1990s, but today’s young and viewers don’t identify with the usual patterns of bribery in public institutions. Nowadays, everyone does it.
Shankar seems confused about how to make the modern audience identify with Senapathy’s role. At the end of the film, there’s a teaser for “Bharateeyudu 3,” in which Kamal Haasan becomes all warrior-like and discloses the history of his romance with Kajal’s character. There is absolutely nothing thrill in this episode because Shankar seems to have rescheduled the film’s big events for the third section.
Whether you’re a viewer from the 90s who loved Shankar’s original “Bharateeyudu” or someone from the present day, the odds of you enjoying “Bharateeyudu 2” are low. There isn’t a captivating plot or enjoyable storyline in the picture. The acting and wardrobe choices of Kamal Haasan are underwhelming, and the way Shankar handles this tired plot is unremarkable.
Movie: Bharateeyudu 2
ibomma Rating: 2/5
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh, S. J. Suryah, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Bobby Simha and others
Story: Shankar
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
DOP: Ravi Varman
Editor: A. Sreekar Prasad
Production Designer: Muthuraj
Action stunts: Anal Arasu
Producer: Subaskaran
Written and Directed by: S.Shankar
Release Date: July 12, 2024
