Synopsis: Ever since police constable Kumaresan caught Perumal ‘vaathiyar’, tension hasn’t settled down amongst the security forces and bureaucrats. What comes next for Perumal is secondary, as the story delves into his journey of becoming a rebellion.
Review:
There was so much buzz around ‘Viduthalai-2’ once the release date was finally announced. Its predecessor offered a great cinematic experience and laid the foundation for its successor. The abrupt end of the climax left the audience antsy, making them eager to know more about its characters and see how the story ends. This even caused distress among some people, as they had a feeling that it might end up like the ‘Vada Chennai-2’ narrative – whether the sequel happening or not is a different thing, but, Viduthalai-2 must happen, period. But, you see, we can’t be too pushy to dictate a deadline for a creator. Things need to fall into place so that everything turns out well for the creator and what they envisioned. So, has Vetri pulled it off well this time ? Maybe in his perspective yes, but for the audience it’s a mixture of yes and no.
Viduthalai’s sequel has so many elements that can satisfy, feel refreshing, offer great ideas, and most importantly can question the state and authoritarianism. But it also has drawbacks which tell upon our overall experience. So, this review aims to discuss them in detail – the good and the bad parts of the film. So, let us begin the journey.
Strengths of Viduthalai-2
As any other Vetri’s film, Viduthalai-2 also doesn’t seem to hesitate in disclosing the police brutality and flaws within the bureaucracy. In its prequel, we witnessed what really happens in the police camps. We were all left speechless by how corrupt the system is and how it benefits by constantly inflicting violence against the depressed class. We witness more of this in Viduthalai-2, as the state uses the police force to suppress righteous or revolutionary ideas, helping them to maintain the status quo. What’s funny is that the bureaucrats in the film think that they can seal the victory by discharging Perumal ‘vaathiyar’(Vijay Sethupathi). What they don’t get is that ideologies can thrive without a leader or a rebellious figure. All these parts seem to resonate in a way with the lives of political prisoners, who fought for the rights of the oppressed; the parts try to pay respect to them, which is welcoming.
At some point, we tend to notice the performance of the artists rather than focusing on the political elements. It is mesmerising to see a large number of artists playing their roles authentically. No matter how much time each of them get, they all seem to perform at the highest level. Rajiv, in his role, brings out a typical ‘bureaucratic behaviour’ with some dose of subtle cunningness, and Chetan on the other hand, continues to maintain the ‘bad guy in khaki’ image – our hatred towards this character is as strong as a cup of black coffee.
There are two more things which make the film shine – Ilayaraja’s work and the portions of Perumal and Mahalakshmi (Manju Warrier). It’s a bit unfortunate to see the pair (Perumal and Maha) only in a few scenes. While there are some cliches in their relationship, one can’t deny that it feels refreshing. The places where Maha explains the reason behind her ‘bob-cut’ and later explains why she has chosen to grow her hair back, seem to deal with nuanced emotions. It’s also a pleasant sight to watch the ‘angry rebellion’ Perumal doing the household chores. Raja’s gentle touch here and there soothes our ears. The interesting part is that there are instances in the film where he has withdrawn from adding a background score, knowing such scenes might work well without them. So, it feels great that we don’t encounter any unnecessary jarring sound.
Weaknesses of Viduthalai-2
Having discussed the film’s goodness, it’s time to talk about the drawbacks. So, there are two major factors that seem to continuously bother – why there isn’t more screen time for Soori and why there can’t be an impactful screenplay instead of ‘preachy, punchy’ dialogues. Constable Kumarasen (Soori) didn’t just shoulder Viduthalai-1; he also set the overall tone of it. So, it is quite natural for us to see him having more scope. Although part 2 majorly focuses on Perumal’s rebellious journey, much of the narration is still handled by Kumarasen. This somehow gives us an impression of an incomplete dual tone. Wait! Whose shoes should we try to fit into – Perumal’s or Kumarasen’s ? This clash only causes confusion and distances us from the story.
While the dialogues in the film seem powerful, valid and relevant, there’s a point where they start to annoy us. Even during moments of enormous tension, Perumal continues his long lectures, which feel completely artificial. Nobody wants to sit through long dialogues without a compelling screenplay. In fact, a compelling screenplay comes before anything else. So, instead of driving it through the dialogues, had Vetri added more impactful scenes, we would have rejoiced Viduthalai’s sequel even more.
Despite Viduthalai-2 shining in certain areas, it seems to show little concern in offering a satisfying cinematic experience. The confusion in setting a proper narration and the idea of completely relying on the lengthy dialogues to engage the audience prevent it from succeeding as a complete package.
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