Production: 2D Entertainment Cast: Vijaykumar Direction: Vijaykumar Screenplay: Vijaykumar Story: Vijaykumar Music: Govind Vasantha Background score: Govind Vasantha Cinematography: Praveen Kumar N Dialogues: Vijaykumar Editing: Linu M Distribution: Sakthi Film Factory
Uriyadi 2 is not exactly a sequel to the gritty, sensationally effective earlier film, which was also written and directed by Vijay Kumar. Yes, there are similarities — for instance, the seething social anger, reflected in the well-timed use of Bharathiyar verses. (If Part 1 ended with Agni kunjondru kanden, this one comes to a close with Naan veezhven endru ninaithaayo…) Here, too, we get flash-forwards (though, unlike in the earlier film, they come across more as a stylistic choice than something crucial to the narrative) Once again, unscrupulous small-time politicians form parties based on caste and lust after more power. And there’s the occasional reminder of why the earlier film was so impressive. I especially liked the unfussy “introduction” of the heroine (Vismaya) in a scene where an astrologer predicts she will have a love marriage. The staging relegates the heroine to the background. The emphasis is on her father, who is not happy with this news.
Despite this “heroism”, Uriyadi 2 isn’t quite a “hero movie”. Vijay Kumar comes across as an angry filmmaker, and also a political one. We see the protagonist framed beside images of Lenin and Che Guevara. A song is an ode to the “thozha”, and when Lenin Vijay runs his hands over a bloodstain, it spreads like sweat across his face. The screen takes its cue from this colour, and instead of a fade to black, it’s a fade to a blazing red. Which makes me think that the character’s name (combining a Communist leader’s name with the director’s own name) is no accident. It may be too early to tell, but like the blue of Pa Ranjith, we may be seeing, with this filmmaker, an interest in red and black — the latter is seen in the flags of dissent being waved in a protest against a gas-leaking factory.
The crux, here, is a combination of the Sterlite and Bhopal tragedies. The factory’s owner wants to branch out into copper, and, meanwhile, the air ends up being polluted with Methyl Isocyanate. This is a BIG issue, and the gallery-playing is bigger, too. Uriyadi 2 is far more melodramatic. The romance angle (set to a beautiful Govind Vasantha waltz) is longer than needed. And the tragedies — the death of a friend, the effects of the gas leak on the local populace — are milked to the maximum. Even the lines are bigger, with more “mass” appeal. Sample this one: “We have apps that constantly update us on cricket scores. How about one that tells us about the quality of air we breathe?” A valid point. But as delivered, it comes across less like a plea, more like a message.
How much you enjoy Uriyadi 2 will depend on how much weight you give to ideology as opposed to the filmmaking. Uriyadi was subtle. Here, the director makes his points with a sledgehammer. The more emphatic the message, the more I tend to resist the manipulation. But I’m relieved to report that Vijay Kumar is still a solid filmmaker. Forget the overly flashy bits, like the camera (Praveen Kumar N) mimicking the POV of a man writhing on a factory floor in agony. The pre-interval stretch is the real deal. It starts small. It’s about an attack on the hero and his friend, and the set-up is superb, almost like dance choreography. This, then, segues to a chase, and just when we think we are going to get a hero-strikes-back moment, the scale changes. It becomes… bigger. The scene builds and builds, but it’s no longer about two men.
If Uriyadi was an action thriller, Uriyadi 2 feels more like a disaster movie — at least for two-thirds of its running time. We get the build-up to the disaster in the first act; the second act involves the actual disaster; and the third, narrates the aftermath. Vijay Kumar makes the first two acts compelling. In the first, he introduces the various characters and their relationships, including the romance, which is suitably kept short and sweet. The socio-political aspects, like how caste comes into play, are nicely detailed, with hard-hitting dialogues. And he presents the actual disaster in harrowing fashion. Unlike in other films, even the protagonist is clueless about stopping it and is helpless when it comes to saving his people. All that he can do is stay cooped up with a few other factory workers inside the plant while the chemical wreaks havoc on the people in the locality. The tone of this film is more melodramatic, but that sits well with the story. It also helps that Govind Vasantha’s score is somewhat grungy and lends some edge.
It is in the third act that Uriyadi 2 feels like a lesser film than the first one. Part of the reason is because in the first film, the conflict, despite revolving around caste, and the tragedy were more or less personal, so the actions of the protagonist were entirely satisfying. But here, both the conflict and the tragedy are not only on a personal scale; and they also come loaded with practical questions about the future. And it is in the addressing of this issue that the film feels a little underwhelming. Perhaps Vijay Kumar realises this, too — that collective justice, in today’s socio-political climate, cannot become reality. And that is why, in the end, he makes Lenin resort to a form of revenge that is more or less personal and not very convincing.
KollywoodMix Rating 4/5.
