Indian 2 was released worldwide on 12 July 2024 in standard andIMAX formats. The film was panned by critics and was compared unfavorably to the original, with critics highlighting the runtime, characterization, and the lack of emotional depth in the screenplay, while Kamal Haasan's performance received praise. The film grossed a total worldwide collection of₹150crores and became one of thehighest grossing Tamil films of 2024 by the end of its theatrical run. It was abox office disaster. Due to its length of over six hours, the film wassplit into two parts, although the latter part titled Indian 3 has not released as of 2026.
Chitra Aravindhan is an online media reporter who runs a YouTube channel in Chennai called "Barking Dogs" along with his three friends Aarthi, Thambesh, and Harish. He lives happily with his mother Chitra and father Varadharajan, who works at the Anti-Corruption and Vigilance Commission (ACVC). They focus on creating parodies and political satires, which garner themlakhs of views. However, when a young lady named Sunitha dies by suicide, the team discovers that corrupt officials caused her death. In response, they protest, demanding justice. The police arrest them, but they eventually get bailed out by Chitra's girlfriend, Disha. She lectures them that they cannot single-handedly change the country. Soon, they launch a campaign titled "Come Back Indian," believing that only Senapathy, alias Indian, can put an end to the corruption once and for all.
Nilesh, one of Chitra's friends, spots Senapathy inTaipei and discovers that he is running a martial arts school there, teachingVarma Kalai. Nilesh persuades him to return to Chennai, which he eventually does, by using his senior mentor's passport.CBI officers Pramod and Elango attempt to capture Senapathy upon his arrival in India but fail. Senapathy urges his followers and the public in a Facebook live to expose corrupt individuals in their respective states through peaceful means, inspired byGandhi's principles, while he will uphold the ideals ofSubhas Chandra Bose. He emphasises that people should prioritise addressing corruption at home before tackling external issues. Senapathy also emotionally reveals that he tearfully and mournfully killed his son, Chandrabose, alias Chandru,[d] as he too was a part of the corruption in the country and accepted bribes. Senapathy feels very guilty in killing his own son. This results in everyone getting motivated; Chitra and his friends then start monitoring their parents' activities to uncover any wrongdoing. Harish visits his uncle's motel and discovers they serve stale food to customers. Thambesh finds out that his brother-in-law, Nanjunda Moorthy, accepts bribes from customers, as does Aarthi's mother, Kanagalatha, who works as a sub-registrar. They report their findings to the ACVC, leading to their parents' arrest.
Meanwhile, Senapathy targets famous corrupt officials all over India who have embezzled lakhs of rupees from the government, includingMNC owner Amit Aggarwal andGujarati gold trader Darshan, and kills them using Varma Kalai. Pramod investigates it and plans to arrest Senapathy. Chitra follows Varadharajan, but finds no evidence of wrongdoing. However, Aarthi's father, Thangavel, reveals to Chitra that Sunitha was actually a victim of his own father's corruption, not the officer's. Initially skeptical, Chitra investigates and discovers the truth: Varadharajan had accepted bribes from the officer. Chitra reports this to the ACVC, leading to Varadharajan's arrest. Learning that Chitra is responsible for Varadharajan's arrest, Chitra's mother sends him out of the house. That day, Senapathy tells Chitra and his friends that they achieved a victory and he is going to meet them in person, and they get excited. The next day, when Chitra and his friends go to meet Senapathy, they learn that Chitra's mother committed suicide by hanging due to being overwhelmed by the public shame and ridicule as the wife of a corrupt officer. Chitra gets blamed for this and he is unable to see his mother, even to do the last rites for her, and Varadharajan disowns him. Devastated by the incident, Chitra leaves with his friends, and suddenly they meet Senapathy near the graveyard. Senapathy apologies for what all has happened to him, but Chitra blames Senapathy for his mother's death and for killing Chandru. He starts a campaign titled "Go Back Indian", which too becomes viral worldwide, leading Senapathy to earn the wrath of the local people, and Senapathy becomes heartbroken.
Pramod and Elango tries to arrest him but Senapathy escapes on a unicycle. During the chase, Senapathy gets attacked by a group of rowdies, but fights back with his Varma Kalai. However, after the fight, a mob (consisting of Thangavel, police, criminals, corrupt servants, people who believe he caused the death of Chitra's mother, and those who support #GoBackIndian) attacks Senapathy without listening to his pleas. Pramod and Elango eventually arrives, saves Senapathy and arrests him, but Senapathy uses Varma Kalai on Pramod to escape his capture, leaving Pramod having astroke. Upon admitting him to a hospital, the chief doctor informs Pramod's father, Krishnaswamy, a retired CBI officer who tried to capture Senapathy 28 years ago, that only Senapathy can save Pramod, as he can reverse the tissue and nerve damage that Varma Kalai inflicts on the victim. Without Senapathy, he would die within three hours. Krishnaswamy then takes the paralysed Pramod to the court where Senapathy is being convicted. Senapathy offers to rescue Pramod in exchange for his release, to which the judge reluctantly agrees. Senapathy then takes Pramod with him and leaves the court in an ambulance, promising that he will come back again.
During the production ofIndian (1996), its lead actorKamal Haasan asked the directorS. Shankar to make a sequel, but Shankar did not have a concrete story idea then.[12] In September 2011, Shankar said many people asked him to make a sequel followingAnna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade, andA. M. Rathnam, producer of the 1996 film, urged him to do so.[13] In May 2015, Ratnam confirmed that he and Shankar discussed making a sequel but doubted the project's viability as the director was busy with the production of2.0 (2018).[14] Despite delaying starting the sequel due to2.0, Shankar continued working on a story theme for it, under the tentative titleIndian 2. On 30 September 2017, Haasan, the host of thefirst season of the Tamilreality television showBigg Boss in Chennai, publicity announced the project during the season finale.[15] Haasan was confirmed as the lead actor, reprising his role, and prominent Telugu film producerDil Raju'sSri Venkateswara Creations was announced to fund the venture, thus marking his debut in Tamil.[16][17]
In October 2017, Raju backed out, reportedly due to increased production costs. Shortly thereafter,Allirajah Subaskaran, header ofLyca Productions, took over as the film's producer.[18][19][20] The project marks the reunion of Shankar with Haasan after a hiatus of 24 years. The director choseAnirudh Ravichander to score the music, marking their first collaboration,[21] rather than his regular collaboratorA. R. Rahman, who also scored music for its predecessor.[22] Anirudh's inclusion was confirmed in late December 2018.[23] cinematographerRavi Varman, editorA. Sreekar Prasad and production designerT. Muthuraj were hired to be a part of the film's technical crew.[24] Shankar collaborated withJeyamohan,Kabilan Vairamuthu and Lakshmi Saravanakumar to co-write the film's script and dialogues.[25][26]
Despite several proposed announcements of starting dates, the film's shoot was delayed throughout 2018 owing to Shankar's commitments with2.0, which also faced significant production delays. Haasan also decided to use the time to release his long-delayedVishwaroopam II (2018) and commit to his political career. In August 2018, Shankar and Haasan, announced that the film's shoot will commence that December,[27] The production house later publicly announced the project on 7 November, coinciding with Haasan's birthday, confirming its inclusion as the producers.[28][29] Muthuraj began working on the production design the same month,[30] as the film's shoot was scheduled to start in late that year; however the delay in its set work, made the team to postpone its shoot to early 2019.[31] Haasan would receive around₹1.5 billion (US$18 million) as renumeration for the film, the highest in his career.[32]
In December 2018,Kajal Aggarwal was announced as the lead actress.[33] For her role, Aggarwal learnt the basics of the Indian martial arts formKalaripayattu.[34] InitiallySivakarthikeyan was considered to playSiddharth's character in the film but declined the role due to his prior commitments.[35]Ajay Devgn agreed to play the antagonist in the film, but production delays meant that he could not commit.[36][37]Delhi Ganesh, who has frequently acted alongside Haasan, andRJ Balaji were signed to portray supporting roles.[38][39] However, Balaji opted out of the film in October 2019.[40]Nedumudi Venu was also set to reprise his role from the first film,[41] but died in October 2021 after postCOVID-19 complications.[42]
Vidyut Jammwal said he was approached to act in the film but declined due to scheduling conflicts.[43]Rakul Preet Singh also joined the film to star opposite the character played by Siddharth.[44]Aishwarya Rajesh initially agreed to act in the film, but opted out due to call sheet issues;[45][46] she was replaced byPriya Bhavani Shankar.[47][48]Vivek confirmed that he will be a part of the project,[49] collaborating with Haasan for the first time,[50] where he plays the role of a CBI officer in the film.[51] It was considered to be one of his posthumous films following his death in April 2021.[52] In March 2023, British actor Benedict Garrett confirmed being a part of the cast,[53] whileKalidas Jayaram also joined the cast in a prominent role during production in Taiwan in April 2023.[54]S. J. Suryah officially confirmed his participation in the film in September 2023.[55] The film also marked the posthumous appearances ofManobala andG. Marimuthu following their respective deaths in May and September 2023.[56][57]
During a press meet prior to release of the film, Shankar gave credit and acknowledgement to prominent Chinese martial artistLü Zijian by indicating that Zijian is the source of inspiration he took when committing to direct the sequel part, where he developed a mindset to portray Senapathy as a martial arts expert even at the age of 106 highlighting the longevity of Zijian's calibre. Shankar was reportedly quoted saying "There is a martial arts master in China. His name is Lu Zijian. At the age of 120, he is performing martial arts. He is flying, kicking, and doing all the stuff." Shankar made such statements when queried and questioned about how Kamal Haasan's Senapathy character in the film could perform such action packed sequences even at an age of 106.[58]
Principal photography began on 18 January 2019.[59][60] A week-long shoot was held at a memorial home nearGovernment General Hospital inChennai, before the team also shot scenes at a nearby film studio.[61] However the film was again delayed after the makers had trouble with the created sets.[31][62] The shoot was pushed further owing to theIndian general election in May 2019,[63] where Haasan's political party participated.[64] Throughout the development process in 2018 and early 2019, the makers regularly denied media reports that the film had been shelved.[65] Later, the shooting was resumed in May 2019, post elections.[66] Owing to the long break between the schedules, cinematographer Ravi Varman also left the project after becoming committed toMani Ratnam'sPonniyin Selvan: I,[67][68] and was subsequently replaced byR. Rathnavelu who previously worked with Shankar inEnthiran (2010).[69][70]
The second schedule began on 12 August 2019, atMGR Film City in Chennai,[71] with scenes featuring Rakul Preet Singh being shot.[72][73] Siddharth and Priya Bhavani Shankar too joined the sets on 16 August,[74] and later Haasan too joined the sets on mid-September, where his portions being filmed.[75] Haasan and team, later moved to a city hotel inT. Nagar, to proceed the shoot further.[76] By 12 September, the second schedule which took place in Chennai had been completed.[77] On 19 September, the team went toRajahmundry, shoot the film's sequences featuring Haasan.[78] Later on 23 October, Haasan and his team went toBhopal to shoot the film at its third schedule.[79]
On 25 October 2019, it was reported that a massive political rally along with a fight sequence,[80] involving Haasan and 2000 junior artistes was shot in Bhopal at the cost of₹40crore (equivalent to₹50 crore or US$5.9 million in 2023).[81][82] On 30 October 2019, it was reported that the makers head toGwalior for a 12-day long shoot schedule,[83] which was completed within seven days.[84] Post the completion, the actor went to Chennai, to attend a felicitation ceremony for his 60 years in Tamil cinema,[85] followed by a surgery on 22 November to remove an implant that was performed after he met with an accident in 2016.[86] Scenes without featuring Haasan were canned, to complete major portions of the film, and planned to shoot his portions, after his recovery.[87] On 21 January 2020, it was reported that Haasan will shoot for the film post his recovery, and it will take place at the EVP Film City, Chennai which will last for 35 days.[88][89] It was reported that the film's team will change the location from China to Italy, due to fear of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[90]
On 19 February 2020, during the shooting of the film, a crane carrying a heavy flash light fell on the sets,[92] resulting in the deaths of three crew members,[93] including an assistant director and leaving ten more injured.[94] Haasan, Shankar and Aggarwal had narrow escapes.[95][96] A case was filed against Lyca Productions, along with three other persons by the Chennai police in connection with the accident on 21 February;[97] The crane operator Rajan who absconded post the incident, was arrested and booked under three sections, the same day.[98] Later Haasan and Shankar were summoned by the CBI, to investigate the accident during the sets.[99][100]
On 26 February 2020, a week after the incident, Haasan wrote a letter to Lyca Productions regarding to conduct a safety audit for the prevention of any unfortunate events.[101] The very same day, Subaskaran released a statement on Twitter, stating the shoot was held completely under the supervision of Haasan and Shankar.[102][103] On 28 February 2020, Shankar announced that a donation of₹1crore (equivalent to₹1.2 crore or US$140,000 in 2023) will be given to the family of the deceased.[104] Following the accident, the team planned to shift the shooting location from EVP Film City to Binny Mills.[105]
Filming was further delayed to the COVID-19 restrictions that came into effect during March 2020.[106][107] Haasan planned to resume shooting in January 2021,[108][109] after hosting thefourth season ofBigg Boss.[110] In September 2020, Haasan also signedLokesh Kanagaraj'sVikram during the intermediate timeline,[111] and Shankar also felt disappointed with the production house for not taking a call on the resumption of the shoot.[112] According toThe Times of India, a spokesperson from the production team told that:
"Shankar and his team were hoping that they would resume the shoot once the government allows film shoots with a larger crew. But now, the production house wants to bring down the cost further to make up for the losses as a result of the lockdown. But Shankar, who has already brought down the budget from `400 crore to ` 220 crore after their first disagreement, feels it would be very hard to make the film as he has envisioned with further budget cuts. So, the production house decided to play the waiting game and stayed mum on the resumption of the project. Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan has committed to Lokesh Kanagaraj's film. He was hoping to start that film after wrapping up work onIndian 2, and did not start production work on Lokesh's film. But after seeing the current deadlock, he did a photo shoot with celebrity photographer Venket Ram at AVM Studio a couple of days ago. This has made Shankar realise that he might lose precious time if he keeps sitting idle, waiting for the producers ofIndian 2 to take a call on resumption of the shoot. So, he has dashed off a letter to them, asking them to provide him with their plans for the project, and allowing him to work on another film if they intend to delay things even further."[113]
The report also claimed they had been told that Shankar had completed around 60% cent of the film's portions, including the intermission sequence, and "Even though Kamal is now focusing on Lokesh's project, he is also keen on wrapping up this film because he feels the film will give a major boost to his political image in the upcoming state elections, and wants it to release at least by summer 2021."[113] However the company's COO, P. Kannan, denied it as a baseless rumour and stated that they did not get any kind of such information from the director. He added, "The film requires a huge crew of 500-600 people on the set, so the planning is going on. We are in the process of deciding how to move forward with the shoot, and in fact, we met Kamal Haasan yesterday to discuss this. We are hoping to resume the shoot soon."[113]
In January 2021, due to the2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, the crew planned to resume the shoot without Haasan in February, with the other cast and the director advised to keep themselves available for the shoot, while Haasan's portions would be filmed post-elections.[114] That same month, Rathnavelu also opted out of the film citing schedule conflicts.[115][116] Aggarwal, in March 2021, stated that the reason for the delay was that most of the crew members are from the United States, they are unable to travel and work in India due toCOVID-19 travel restrictions.[117]
Later in February 2021, Shankar officially announced his debut directorial in Telugu,RC15 (later titled asGame Changer) withRam Charan,[118] and also planned for theHindi remake ofAnniyan, withRanveer Singh, which was later shelved.[119] In April 2021, Lyca Productions submitted a suit against Shankar to restrain directing any other film before his commitments with the film.[120] However, Shankar denied Lyca's allegations and also argued that the production house cannot prevent him from making other films.[121] The court ordered Shankar and Lyca Productions to settle this issue amicably,[122] but negotiations failed,[123] with Shankar blaming Haasan and Lyca for the delay.[124][125] In June 2021, theMadras High Court denied the producer's appeal to stop Shankar directing other films.[126][127] Filming was further planned to be resumed in December 2021,[128] but pushed back further due to Haasan and Shankar's other commitments.[129]
In May 2022, during the promotions ofVikram, Haasan indicated the plans of resuming the film, once Shankar completesGame Changer.[citation needed] Following the success ofVikram, plans to reviveIndian 2 were being initiated,[130][131] and during June 2022,Udhayanidhi Stalin ofRed Giant Movies confirmed he had discussions with Subaskaran and that filming would resume soon, though he did not say whether he would be co-producing or distributing the film.[132] On 24 August 2022, Red Giant Movies came on board as the co-producers,[133] and a preliminary schedule featuring Simha and other artists were filmed.[10][11] Ravi Varman, who earlier left the project, returned to handle cinematography.[134][135] During the same time, Shankar announced that he will be filming it simultaneously withGame Changer.[136] Haasan and Aggarwal joined the film's shooting, that was held atTirupati on 21 September.[137][138] Both the artists performed theKalaripayattu andVarma kalai art forms, under the guidance of Dr. A. K. Prakasan Gurukkal, the founder of the spiritual art form.[139][140] In November 2022, a minor schedule took place in Chennai with other supporting characters after Haasan was unavailable due to his commitments on hosting thesixth season ofBigg Boss.[141]
In February 2023, a month-long schedule was held at the Adityaram Studios in Chennai, where filming would be held for a single stretch and was considered to be the longest schedule.[142] In this schedule, several night shoots took place.[143] After the schedule wrap, the team planned for filming an action sequence set in train atSouth Africa.[144] On 1 April 2023, the team moved to Taiwan for filming a major sequence,[145] and thereafter, went toJohannesburg for filming the aforementioned train sequence on 12 April 2023.[146][147] Although being planned as a 12-day schedule, it was filmed within six days.[148] On 10 May 2023, Shankar filmed a major schedule in Chennai, which was completed on 31 May.[149][150] On 19 June 2023, a sequence was supposed to be filmed at theChennai International Airport but was interrupted claiming that the crew did not obtain proper permission from the officials.[151]
After a four-month break, in November 2023, filming for the concurrent schedule began inVijayawada.[152] The crew had shot few sequences at the Alankar Center atGandhinagar with the presence of 8000 extras for four days,[153] and moved toVisakhapatnam for a 10-day schedule.[154] Shortly afterwards, the team moved to Chennai for filming the remaining sequences and in late-December 2023, the team wrapped the schedule except for filming two songs.[155] In early January 2024, it was announced that the production for the film has been completed.[156] However,Ananda Vikatan reported that filming for few songs were pending which would be shot in India before the2024 Indian general election.[157] The following month, it was reported that filming was nearing conclusion.[158] A song was filmed for 10 days during early-March 2024 at the housing boards in Chennai painted with silhouettes of Senapathy and featured Siddharth and Priya Bhavani Shankar.[159][160] On 25 March, Haasan announced that the production of the film has been completed.[91]
In June 2021, Seema Tabassum, Haasan's make-up artist claimed that the film consisted of usingprosthetic makeups for Haasan and Aggarwal.[161] Haasan's friend and makeup artistMichael Westmore, who previously worked in the predecessor, provided inputs for the makeup and design during their meeting in United States in August 2022.[162][163] Margaux Lancaster also joined the film's crew, post-completion of the Taiwan schedule in April 2023.[164] The production team members claimed that the prosthetic makeup takes around four to five hours, hence Haasan would come to the sets at 5:00 a.m. ahead of the shooting at 9:00 am. The crew had to be fast while shooting his portions as it would be really difficult for Haasan to shoot with the prosthetics due to the increase in temperature, and after filming those sequences it takes around two hours to remove the prosthetics.[165]Legacy Effects designed prosthetic makeup and animatronics, with Vance Hartwell andPattanam Rasheed as the makeup artists. Haasan's costume designerAmritha Ram worked on the film, with Pallavi Singh, Gavin Miguel, Rocky and S. B. Satheesan.[166][167]
The editing of the film began in May 2020, afterTamil Nadu government permitted resumption of post-production works of Tamil films that were interrupted due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and were instructed to follow the necessary safety regulations.[168] The team decided to edit most of the available footage that was completed before the prolonged delay of the film's shoot.[169] Due to Vivek and Venu's deaths before production could be completed, Shankar decided to use visual effects to complete their remaining scenes.[170] Vivek's scenes were completed withKovai Babu being the body double and his face digitally morphed to resemble Vivek.[171]
Full-fledged post-production works began during July 2023. Shankar collaborated withLola Visual Effects, known for their work in severalAmerican films, to showcase younger looks of Haasan throughde-aging technology,[172][173] and work on the visual effects began at the studio lot ofParamount Pictures.[173]V. Srinivas Mohan joined the film as thevisual effects supervisor.[174] In October 2023, Haasan started dubbing for his portions in the film held at the Le Magic Lantern Studio in Chennai.[175][176] and the very same month the production company tweeted that they had received a copy of the first edit for the film.[177]
In January 2024, sources from the production team claimed that the final edit had been locked and the post-production team was working on thedigital intermediate,colour grading,previsualisation, computer graphics and several aspects, without making any amendments from the cut. Nearly four reels of the edit had been sent for thesound design andsound effects. Although the team intended to complete the film prior to the tentative April 2024 release, the producers wanted to announce the date only after being assured from all the post-production units.[178]
AlthoughIndian 2 was conceived as a single film during production, in June 2023 Udhayanidhi stated that they had discussed plans for a sequel.[179] The following month, it was reported that the film would besplit into two-parts, as the final footage for the film was over six hours long; the latter titledIndian 3, was being shot simultaneously.[180] In October 2023,Ananda Vikatan said around 80% of the footage had been shot forIndian 3, and only 25 days were needed to complete it.[181] On 24 March 2024, Haasan confirmed the third instalment in the franchise; he stated thatIndian 3 was shot alongsideIndian 2.[182] At the launch of the trailer ofIndian 2, Shankar stated that the split was done because he was impressed with all that was shot and cutting the film to a shorter length would affect its quality. Aggarwal's portions were later confirmed to only feature inIndian 3.[183] In July 2024, it was reported thatIndian 3 was undergoing reshoots in response to the negative reviews of its predecessor.[184]
Thesoundtrack album and background score are composed byAnirudh Ravichander, who is working with Shankar for the first time.[185] He replaces Shankar's frequent collaboratorA. R. Rahman, who scored the 1996 film.[186] This will mark the second collaboration of Anirudh with Haasan, afterVikram.[187] After the offer came his way in November 2017, Anirudh started composing for the songs during December 2017, and it took a year to complete the album. He remarked that the delay in the release of2.0 gave him more time to work on the film's songs.[citation needed]
In November 2023, it was announced that the audio rights for the film were acquired bySony Music India.[188] The album was officially released on 1 June 2024, which coincided with a promotional event held atJawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium inChennai, with the presence of the film's cast and crew and all the other celebrities.[189]
The film's final trailer was released on 25 June 2024. It received unfavourable response from viewers, with particular criticism towards Haasan's makeup, Shankar's direction and the writing; some noted the absence of deceased writerSujatha, whose contributions to the 1996 were instrumental in its success. Viewers also questioned the title character's seemingly flawless agility and reflexes, despite him evidently being over 100 years old.[190][191]
Indian 2 was released worldwide on 12 July 2024 in standard andIMAX formats.[citation needed] In April 2023,Udhayanidhi Stalin stated that they were currently planning on releasing the film in theatres during summer (April–June 2024), as it featured extensive visual effects and needed to be completed within the end of 2023.[179][192] A year later, on 6 April 2024, the production houses officially announced that the film would theatrically release worldwide that June.[193][194] However, after a month, the film was revealed to have been postponed to 12 July, due to a few unfinished post-production works and the makers not wanting to compromise on the quality.[195][196]Indian 2 was the first Indian film to be released in the4DX format in Saudi Arabia.[197]
Sree Gokulam Movies bought the film's distribution rights forKerala,[198] and Romeo Pictures did so forKarnataka.[199]Pen Marudhar acquired theNorth India distribution rights.[200] In Malaysia, the distribution rights were acquired by 3 Dot Movies.[201]
In July 2023, it was announced that the film's digital streaming rights were purchased byNetflix for a price of₹200 crore (US$24 million).[202][203] The satellite rights were acquired byKalaignar TV.[204]
Indian 2 received negative reviews from critics.[205] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 15% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10.[206]
Sakshi Verma ofIndia TV gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The movie struggles to be real and dramatic, even while it tries to deliver sincere sentiments. But not the actors or technicians, it's the director that fails us. Shankar uses outdated writing structures, the movie feels uninspired and stale. M. Suganth ofThe Times of India gave 2/5 stars and wrote "The problem withIndian 2 is that it is filled with writing that lacks nuance and characters who are caricatures. Even in terms of scenes, all the visual excesses that Shankar throws at them – grand sets, visual effects, and frames filled with people – hardly touch us as there's no emotional connect."[207]
B. V. S. Prakash ofDeccan Chronicle gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Director Shankar used Senapathy to trigger the consciousness of youngsters and motivate them to fight corruption but falters in execution since four people is a bit too much since it sidelines Senapathy feats."[208] Anusha Sundar ofOTTPlay gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Indian 2 is a film that has Shankar's stamp visually all over. Kamal Haasan may not have gotten a glorious comeback as he did inVikram (2022), but the actor tries to save the film as much as possible. But alas, there is only so much an actor can do."[209] Janani K ofIndia Today gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Indian 2 is weak in every aspect. Underneath the mess, there lies ONE interesting idea. But, by then, the film comes to an end – much to the relief of everyone. Performance-wise, Kamal Haasan speaks Hindi, according to the demography, but has been dubbed in Tamil, which is off-putting."[210]
Shubhra Gupta ofThe Indian Express gave 1/5 stars and wrote "Indian 2 is nothing but a three hour time suck, where I was bored out of my wits. The end credits tell us that there's going to be a third part. Help."[211] Latha Srinivasan ofHindustan Times wrote "Indian 2 desperately tries to combine the old and the new, to present to us a story that'll be appealing to the younger audience. Kamal Haasan says he's fighting for India's second Independence in the film. But the audience is left fighting to figure out what's good in this misfire of a film."[212] Gopinath Rajendran ofThe Hindu wrote "More than #ComeBackIndian, we hopeIndian 3 will be a comeback for the veteran filmmaker [Shankar] and the legendary actor [Kamal Haasan]."[213]
Reviewing the dubbed Hindi version, Devash Sharma ofFilmfare gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "It's Kamal's film all the way and his screen presence and acting chops make you forget the haphazard screenplay. Siddharth too is in fine form as a young man with a conscience who wants to do the right thing but is unsure of his actions afterwards. Rakul Preet Singh plays the supportive girlfriend to a T and perhaps would have a better arc in the sequel."[214] Titas Chowdhury ofNews18 gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Hindustani 2 is a great attempt but it loses itself in its own ambitions. Known for taking risks, S Shankar chooses to stay in his comfort zone with this film."[215] Nandini Ramnath ofScroll.in wrote "The aim is to be "pan-Indian". The result is a bloated, brutish film that rejects non-violent solutions to corruption ("elections do not represent change but an exchange). Senapathy's tactics didn't failed the first time round. The success rate is even lower in the sequel."[216]
Reviewing the dubbed Telugu version, Banda Kalyan ofSamayam gave 2.5/5 and wrote "TechnicallyIndian2 is good. Shankar used the technical team well. The visuals, however, feel grander. Shankar's mark appears on the songs. But those songs do not seem to work to listen and watch again. are not visible AR Rahman's music forBharateeyudu will remain forever."[217]
In response to the negative reviews, particularly criticism towards the three hours lengthy runtime, 20 minutes of the runtime was removed on the second day of the film's release and began screening in theatres on the third day, leaving the final runtime as 2 hours and 40 minutes.[4]
Indian 2 grossed₹50 crore (US$5.9 million) on its opening day, which was the highest first day gross for a Tamil film in 2024, with over₹25 crore (US$3.0 million) from India.[218] The film became the second highest opening day gross for both Haasan and Shankar, behindVikram (2022) and2.0 (2018).[219] The film faced a 29 percent drop on its second day with its two-day domestic gross at₹42 crore (US$5.0 million).[220] Even still, the movie was a box office disaster yealding only around ₹150 crores worldwide on a ₹250 crore budget.
On 9 July 2024, a case was reportedly filed against the makers seeking a ban on the film. Aasan Rajendran, avarma kalai practitioner, claimed that he trained Haasan for the first film, and mentioned in his complaint that his techniques were used in the sequel too. He also mentioned that he had not given permission.[221]
Although being a single film during production, in June 2023 Udhayanidhi stated that they had discussed plans for a sequel.[179] The following month, it was reported that the film would besplit into two-parts, as the final footage for the film was over six hours long; the latter titledIndian 3, was beingshot simultaneously.[citation needed] In October 2023,Ananda Vikatan said around 80% of the footage had been shot forIndian 3, and only 25 days were needed to complete it.[181] On 24 March 2024, Haasan confirmed the third installment in the franchise; he stated thatIndian 3 was shot alongsideIndian 2.[182] In May, Haasan said they were aiming to releaseIndian 3 in January 2025, six months after the release of the predecessor.[222] At the launch of the trailer ofIndian 2, Shankar stated that the split was done because he was impressed with all that was shot and cutting the film to a shorter length would affect its quality.[1] A glimpse ofIndian 3 was shown by the makers as a mid-credit scene inIndian 2.[223]
^Before the film's release,S. Shankar stated that the film's duration would be approximately 200 minutes (equivalent to 3 hours and 20 minutes) including the intermission pause, which then, excluding the pause, would be 185 minutes (3 hours and 5 minutes).[1] However, according to theCentral Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the duration was 180.04 minutes (3 hours and 4 seconds),[2] but theBritish Board of Film Classification (BBFC) stated the duration was 178.38 minutes (2 hours, 58 minutes and 38 seconds).[3] On the third day after the film's release, however, 20 minutes was removed, leaving the final runtime as 160 minutes (2 hours and 40 minutes).[4]
^The South First,[5] andIndia Today,[6] reported that the film was made on a budget of₹250 crore, whileThe Times of India reported that it was₹300 crore,[7] andBusiness Today,[8] andNews18 reported it was₹1.5 billion[9]
^Although Rathnavelu shot the film's preliminary portions, he was not credited in the promotional material
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