Review of “Kaalidas 2”

Bharath’s Kaalidas 2 is a stand-alone sequel to the hit 2019 film by the same director, Sri Senthil. Bharath plays the lead role opposite Bhavani Sre. 90s actress Sangitha Madhavan Nair plays an important supporting role with Prakash Raj, Kishore and Suresh Chandra Menon playing guest roles. The rest of the cast includes Ajay Karthi, Abarnath, Anand Nag, T.M. Karthik and Singam Jayavel.

Kaalidas 2 is a tense thriller that begins with the gruesome killing of three people, followed by a series of tragedies at an apartment block. Inspector Kaalidas (Bharath) is called in to investigate a missing child, but soon finds himself handicapped with DSP Vaishnavi (Bhavani Sre) whose opinionated stances and refusal to cooperate with Kaalidas makes his job increasingly frustrating.

As events spiral towards an unexpected climax, Inspector Kaalidas must deal with the annoyingly smug Advocate Natraj (Prakash Raj), uncooperative witnesses and an equally uncooperative police department in his search to solve the growing mysteries surrounding the events at the apartment block.

While the sequel does not have the crispness or the freshness of the original, it is a well-constructed thriller that has solid writing and realistic characterisation as its foundation. The controlled writing ensures sustained suspense and keeps the audience guessing up to and beyond the last the frame.

Bharath handles his role well, particularly in the scenes where wordless emoting is involved. If the character of DSP Vaishnavi was meant to be annoying, Bhavani Sre must be credited for doing an excellent job. The character has few redeeming qualities, allowing the audience to sit wholly on the side of Kaalidas throughout the movie.

Sangitha Madhavan Nair, in her comeback role to Tamil cinema, does a splendid job and, like all good actresses, has truly matured in her ability to live her character.

Ajay Karthi in the role of Stephen plays a multi-layered character with deep conviction.

Prakash Raj and Kishore prove yet again that the screen time of a role has nothing to do with the impact of the role if played by a talented artiste. Both characters are splendidly etched out and brilliantly acted.

The music by Sam CS forms a major contributing factor to the impact of the film, particularly with his background score.

Cinematography by Suresh Bala shows an eagerness to experiment with angls, framing and lighting, providing some breath-taking shots at regular intervals throughout the film.

Sri Senthil has done a good job of this sequel although not quite squaring up to the original. However, those who have not seen the original, this stand-alone sequel would keep them entertained, enthralled and engaged throughout its duration.

Kaalidas 2 scores 8 points out of 10.