Star Cast: Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar

Director: S. Shankar

What’s Good: The style, the technical dazzle, the story’s essence and the graphic description of consequences of corruption for both the corrupt and the victims

What’s Bad: The endless pre-climax chase that stretches credibility

Loo Break: The pre-climax chase of course!

Watch or Not?: One-time, as they say, except for Kamal Haasan fans who will want multiple visits

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 180 Minutes

User Rating:

Billed as “Hindustani” or “Indian”, Veerasekaran Senapathy, 28 years ago, is still alive and kicking (in far-off Taipei) practising and teaching Varma Kalai. This Tamil traditional art combines massage, alternative medicine, traditional Yoga and martial arts. He is summoned by a group of Indian social media vigilantes who have named themselves “Barking Dogs” (who don’t bite in theory!) who are furious about the various evils happening in the state. They make the hashtag #ComeBackIndian go viral globally and he responds. Though he is located far away, the cops come to know he is coming back, and a trap is laid right at the airport. But the old man is too smart for them of course—and continues to be so at every step in the long 180-minute film.

Senapathy (“Universal Star” Kamal Haasan, of course!) recommends that each and every honest young Indian (he says on social media that people over 40 need not hark at what he says, for really unknown reasons!) start cleaning the system of the country by cleaning their own homes first of corruption and wrongdoings. Later, this almost tilts the scales against him.

Indian 2 Movie Review: Script Analysis

Writer-director S. Shankar spins a super-entertaining cocktail, 1990s fashion, of vigilantes and their thankless jobs of cleaning up society. The Barking Dogs comprise of Chithra Aravindan (Siddharth, named after his mother for a reason), Aarthi (Priya Bhavani Shankar), Thambesh (Jagan) and Harish (Rishi). While the “Barking Dogs” can just use technical razzmatazz to make people realize what and who are evil, Senapathy, when he reaches India, begins to dole out exemplary punishments to major offenders across the nation, like Krishna Mohan (Delhi Ganesh) in Chennai, Darshanbhai (Zakir Hussain) in Gujarat and Kishan Singh (Piyush Mishra) in Punjab.

Meanwhile, the four friends from the Barking Dogs group have their skeletons in the family cupboards and set about correcting their family members or getting them booked by law. In the process, their families break up, and the four are disowned. Soon, they turn against Senapathy, but he is unfazed.

In Part 1, ace cop Krishnaswamy (Nedumudi Venu) had tried his best to arrest Senapathy but failed. This time, he has retired, and his place is taken by his son Pramod (Bobby Simha with a dubbed voice—is it Prabhas?), who dreams of fulfilling his father’s ambition. The interactions between the dogged cop and Senapathy come up at intervals and are quite thrilling even if predictable in outcome. It is only in their final chase that the script completely loses its logic. But the twist of the hard bargain that Senapathy drives with Krishnaswamy for Pramod’s life makes for a nice finish.

Indian 2 Movie Review: Star Performance

Kamal Haasan proves that loads of makeup and prosthesis cannot detract from his giving a solid performance. His eyes and his excellent modulation of tone carry the day and his command over Gujarati and Punjabi is incredible. He gets good support from the smaller artistes. Those who shine include S. J. Suryah as Sarguna Pandian, Bobby Simha as Pramod and Vivek as Elango, but the best performance comes from veteran Samuthirakani as Chithra’s father.

As for the four youngsters, they are very good too, especially Siddharth as Chithra, Priya Bhavani Shankar as Aarthi and Jagan as Thambesh. Rakul Preet Singh is almost in an extended (!) blink-and-miss appearance while the major ‘baddies’ come across as comic more than villainous for reasons that have to be watched in the film.

Indian 2 Movie Review: Direction, Music

S. Shankar uses all the modern techniques like Motion Capture apart from animation, besides CGI and all else, to create a stylized world of vigilantes and vendetta, and his visuals are indeed graphic in detail. The shooting of the “Calendar song” featuring Gulshan Grover and Demi-Leigh Tebow is magnificent indeed. As far as drama is concerned, he excels, especially in the sequences following Chithra’s mother’s death. But there are many other emotional moments, too.

Anirudh Ravichander’s music is all about sound, and the melody is only occasionally catchy. But his background score is superlative.

Indian 2 Movie Review: The Last Word

Kamal Haasan fans will obviously go berserk over this film. But if you are one of those for whom entertainment means a classic Indian movie with action, drama and emotions, you will enjoy it too as a one-time watch with a sequel (said to have been shot simultaneously) to come.

Three stars!