Friday, March 29

KGF Chapter 2 Movie Review: An engrossing saga illuminated by explosive narration


Title: KGF 2

Cast: Yash, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon and others

Director: Prashanth Neel

Run-Time: 168 Minutes

Rating: 3.5/5

If Delta, Delta Plus, Omicron and XE variants of Covid-19 were to infect Rocky Bhai, what will likely happen? We can think of only one plausible scenario: they will come together to emit encomiums for him. ‘Salaam, Rocky Bhai!’ they will start singing in the Chinese language. ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ never runs out of infectious panegyrics for its domineering male protagonist. He is hyper-masculine all the more because the whole world seems to love his merciless exploits. Even joyless people derive occasional bliss watching his swag. Even the Prime Minister of India is told about how he rose to superstardom on the streets of Bombay in an oddly animated manner by a CBI heavyweight! 

Rocky Bhai (Yash) is convinced that KGF is his turf. He has built an empire by mining gold, and has enriched himself millions of times through money laundering. When he opens his mouth, he oozes the language of war. Even a boardroom meeting with his partners feels like an edgy get-together of bloodcurdling rivals. 

By now, you know well what all ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ was all about. So, you are already sold on the phenomenon called Rocky. You also buy into the mystique around Adheera (Sanjay Dutt), the super-villain who doesn’t always behave like a super-villain (and that’s one consequential negative we can think of). 

Raveena Tandon as Ramika Sen, the Prime Minister of India, has got national interest in mind. When she locks horns with Rocky, who believes that he is the CEO of India (man, the scene between the two is a dynamite!), mayhem is only to be expected. Director Neel’s genius lies in making this track work like a missile.

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The performances are smashing. Yash gets to speak more, his characterization seeps into the universe of the entire film. That’s what makes us buy into the extreme violence and killings. Anbariv’s action choreography is mind-blowing. Despite not-so-perfect VFX, Bhuvan Gowda’s cinematography accentuates the film. The period drama (from the late 1970s to the early 1980s) gets royal hat-tip from Ravi Basrur’s background music. He doesn’t dramatize the BGM for anybody and anything except to do fan service for Rocky Bhai. 

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‘KGF 2’ is not without cliches and lazy ideas. Adheera making no use of a golden opportunity to assassinate Yash is an outdated idea that this film refashions to some gentle effect. A political Chanakya like Ramika Sen not being aware of how much Rocky has infiltrated the power networks is another loose end. Reena (Srinidhi Shetty as Rocky’s girlfriend) is abducted but Rocky embarks on a one-man battle even when faced with the biggest crisis. The Messiah syndrome is another tried and tested idea. But then, this film’s strength lies in not sentimentalizing cliches and refusing to narrate convenient segments without communicating heft.

The film doubles down on Dheera-fying Rocky Bhai, time and again. Rocky running away to Dubai doesn’t make for good optics but he lies low for strategic reasons. Everyone, including the slaves, are greatly invested in the legend. We are invested in the aesthetics of ‘KGF 2’. Perhaps, that’s why its minor flaws don’t matter. 

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