Review – Vishwaroopam 2

Film:Vishwaroopam 2
Director:Kamal Haasan

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapooor, Anant Mahadevan and others

Music: Ghibran

Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam 2 begins exactly from where the first part ends. RAW agent Wisam Ahmed Kashmiri (Kamal Haasan) and his team are making their way back to England. The only other person apart from them on the flight is Wisam’s wife Dr Nirupama( Pooja Kumar).

During the flight, Wisam thinks about his past. We get to know that Wisam is an Indian Army trainer picked by the Indian government to enter its elite intelligence services, the RAW. Through his handler Jagannath ( Shekar Kapoor), the government creates a situation to give the impression that he has been dishonourably discharged from the Indian army for ungentlemanly conduct. The move facilitates his entry into RAW.

While to outsiders, the impression is that he had been thrown out of government service and that he is now a terrorist wanted by the Indian government, to those inside the government, he is a prized asset. The real plan is to make him a prized possession in neighbouring Pakistan which in turn will help him in his mission of infiltrating the terrorist network. The plan works like clockwork and Wisam becomes an espionage agent from having been an army professional. He wins the confidence of terrorists and gets himself promoted up the order in the terrorist network along with another Indian mole under his command.

We are again brought to present day happenings as the flight lands in the UK. Wisam, his handler Jagannath, Wisam’s wife Nirupama and his trainee Ashmitha (Andrea Jeremiah) are all received by an Indian contact who drives them to their destination. But halfway through the journey, assassins embark on the scene and an attempt is made on all their lives.

Wisam thwarts the attack and hits back, killing one of the assassins. From the clues left behind by the assassins, the team begins to track the terrorists’ next move.

One thing leads to another. Soon, they are in a position to guess what Omar’s (Rahul Bose) next destructive plan is.

They find out that Omar plans to make use of the over 1500 tonnes of explosives in the SS Richard Montgomery, a warship that was sunk off the Nore Sandbank, near Sheerness in England, during World War II. The ship’s explosives are lying unattended at the bottom of the sea. Omar’s treacherous plan is to trigger a blast using the explosives in the ship, the impact of which would be so phenomenal that it could cause giant waves which in turn could wreck havoc in London. The impact would be much more if the explosives go off at a time when the tide is setting in as the waves formed then could well drown London.

The team begins to work feverishly to stop the attack. But even as the team is busy planning their moves, the bad boys themselves are busy formulating their plans to beat Wasim Ahmed Kashimiri and co. Wasim learns that he does not only have to fight terrorists on the other side but also double-crossing agents claiming to work for the government.Does Wisam Ahmed Kashmiri manage to hunt down Omar, as was the objective stated in the first part? Vishwaroopam 2 gives you the answer…

Factually speaking, Vishwaroopam 2 is much better than Vishwaroopam 1. This is because the unexplained portions of part 1 get explained in part 2. This enables viewers to have a better understanding of the plot and the manner in which the story is progressing. The sequences are more orderly and the flow is a lot more uniform in Vishwaroopam 2. However, if one has to rate Vishwaroopam 2 just as a film and not as a sequel, it fails miserably to make the cut. In other words, both Vishwaroopam 1 and Vishwaroopam 2 fall short of expectations but among the two, Vishwaroopam 2 is better than Vishwaroopam 1.

One of the major problems with the film is its lack of credibility. Several sequences appear artificial or exaggerated. Take for instance, the code language that agents of RAW use with their handlers in the film. It is actually amusing. The conversation is made to appear like as if it is happening between two family members. However, the conversation suddenly has terms that no family members would use.

Next, this film, like some other Kamal Haasan films, is more about glorifying Kamal Haasan’s character than anything else. Ideally, it must have been about the efforts of a top class Indian Intelligence team that is trying to track and take out one of the world’s most notorious terrorist outfits. Instead, it ends up being a vehicle for singing praises of Kamal Haasan’s character Wisam. To substantiate this point, consider this fight sequence in which Ashmita defeats one of the terrorists in a hand-to-hand duel. After having defeated him, she tells the exhausted terrorist that she has been trained by Wisam and therefore has the potential to be able to kick any opponent out. Why couldn’t he let Ashmitha have her moment? Must that credit also go to Kamal Haasan?

Somehow, one gets the impression that the sequel is just a half-hearted attempt. In fact, it looks like the makers were in a hurry to conclude what they began and quickly finish with whatever they could.

Ironically, while important portions that need to be told in great detail are just skimmed past, the film has far too many sequences that are totally unneeded for the script. One such sequence is the introduction of Wisam’s mother (Waheeda Rahman) as an Alzheimer’s patient and her subsequent interaction with one of the terrorists, who treats her to sweetmeats. The melodrama that Kamal tries to bring in using this character simply does not work. It in fact, makes one feel annoyed.

Pooja Kumar as Dr Nirupama does a neat job for the most part. As the perplexed wife of a RAW agent, whose next move cannot be predicted, Pooja is impressive. One portion where she does an outstanding job is the sequence where Wisam has a conversation with a diplomat Iyer (Ananth Mahadevan). Wisam’s statements and retorts are nothing less than savage and he treats Iyer like a worm that needs to be squashed. Her husband’s no nonsense attitude makes Nirupama feel sorry for Iyer and she tries to make his statements less hurtful. This part is just too good in the film.

Next, the film is as much about religion as it is about terrorism and terrorists. In fact, the accent and the dialect of the Tamil used in the film, especially by those in the RAW, give the impression that the RAW is only run by Brahmins. It is hard not to take note of this fact. Be it Jagannath, Nirupama, Ashmitha, Iyer or the contact who recieves them the moment they land in UK, all of them speak a dialect that is unique to the Brahmin community. To be fair to Kamal Haasan, he does make the distinction clear that a person can be of any religion but what he cannot be is a traitor.

Kamal Haasan also seems to have forgotten that he has grown old and that everytime there is a close up, his face reminds audiences of his age.

Andrea Jeremiah as Ashmitha does a reasonably good job in the film. As the sly, flirtatious deputy to Wisam, she scores well. However, when it comes to action sequences, she struggles.

Rahul Bose plays his part to perfection but the scope of his character is limited by the manner in which the story is told. Shekhar Kapoor as Jagannath, Ananth Mahadevan as Iyer and Waheeda Rahman are all wasted. The skills of such talented artistes deserved to be put to much better use.

Ghibran’s score for the songs are mellifluous. His background score is also apt. Cinematography by Shamdat Sainudeen and Sanu John Varghese are reasonably good for the most part.

On the whole, Vishwaroopam 2 is just another run of the mill story. But it certainly is better than Vishwaroopam 1.