Viduthalai Part 2

Showcased what are the injustice done to the oppressed people.

How industrial revolution happened in tamilnadu and who are the backbone behind it. And people failed to recognise them and government who portrayed them as villain. And there is no end for revolution and revolutionist. For every time and then such revolution are being done and will be done by people who are at ground and working Acting by VJs is 10/10. Kishore and manju warrier are great balance to the story. Suri is us who watched this injustice and taken perfect decision that is required for this world. Kudos to Vetri in sculpturing this story.

Vetri Maaran's latest film is a big political statement, but it's a bit too complex, especially when compared to the straightforward Viduthalai Part 1. The story picks up from where the last movie left off, tackling themes of caste, politics, and revolution. The cinematography is striking, and Vijay Sethupathi delivers a standout performance, but the film feels cramped, like it's trying to fit too much into too little time. It might have been more effective as a TV series, with more room to flesh out the characters and the plot. Vetri Maaran's unique style peeks through occasionally, but it's often smothered by preachy dialogues. In the end, the film leaves us with a sense of unfulfilled potential.

While viduthalai-1 is classic elevated by Suri, viduthalai-2 is good but many parts look cliched and over reaching. Vijay sethupati has acted well as always but would not say brilliant. Gautam menon have same wooden expression as in umpteen films. He is miscast. Anurag kashyap still has the same cheeky expression of a paanwalah. Sethupathy and Anurag kashyap look too well fed for the radicals they were portraying. The guys portraying chief secretary, collector and SP are mere caricatures. The locations, photography brilliant. For his standards, expected much more from Vetrimaran. Still a good movie.

Viduthalai Part 2 is somewhat similar to 2003 Tamil Drama "Anbe Sivam" starring Kamal Hassan and Madhavan. Both of them are bases upon the Marxist ideology of equality and annihilation of oppressors. Yet both are completely different in a way that later one is slice-of-life comedy drama that has hint of violence while the former is cruel and brutal yet filled with raw emotion and political depth.

The second installment of 2023 version of Vetrimaaran's political crime drama is as gripping and thrilling as the first one. Part 1 was all about Soori's character Kumaresan, this part solely focuses on the rebellion leader Vaathiyar Perumal played by none other than Vijay Sethupathi. Isn't this enough to get everyone's attention!!!

Part 2 depicts the backstory behind the events that turned a school teacher into the leader of an extremist group. Perumal himself narrates his origin story to the policemen who are escorting him to a secure location after his arrest. Kumaresan is not completely out of picture though. Even after playing a significant role in the capturing of Perumal, he's still facing the moral dilemma, caught between his sense of duty and the brutal reality of the police force he's working for.

Background score from Ilaiyaraaja is spot on as it was in the earlier version along with brilliant visuals that make this an epic saga.

Viduthalai 2 is a rare instance of a Vetrimaaran film not hitting the anticipated highs. Sure, the efforts are evident in terms of writing and performance, but this is Vetrimaaran pulling off a Gautham Menon in terms of excessive voiceovers - it's always "tell" and not "show." The love story in Part 1 was one of its top redeeming qualities, but the Vijay Sethupathi - Manju Warrier romance is not as resonating. Maybe, both their wigs were too distracting for me. It gets better in the second half, however.

Ilaiyaraja's score is fantastic, especially adding more fervour to the action blocks. Vetri crafts the pre-intermission corn field set piece really well. Placing the blow horn-esque Viduthalai theme amid it was also a solid decision. Then again, the editing (as is the case in several Vetrimaaran films) is choppy. We can sense a matter-of-fact, information-dump nature to the proceedings with Rajiv Menon and company (offering some odd hilarity in the process), but an extra dose of melodrama (and preachiness) is added to the flashbacks.

I'm not sure if it's an editing flaw or because Vetri has the habit of rewriting dialogues at the time of dub, but the voiceovers at times tend to overlap with dialogue exchanges; that was jarring as hell. Technicalities aside, this is probably Vetri's most politically charged film to date, even when some loose threads don't really get anywhere. How you take to that can also affect your viewing experience. The film's concluding scene reinstates how good a writer Vetrimaaran is, and how great a performer Soori is.

Also, did CBFC really choose to blur out those gory scenes after an "A" certification? I don't get it. The same goes for cuss words.