Movie Review: Bichagadu 2

Vijay Antony’s Bichagadu (Pichaikkaran) released as a small dubbed film in 2016 but went onto create several records at theatres. Seven years after the blockbuster, the makers return with the popular franchise. Let’s see whether Bichagadu 2 lives up to its predecessor or not and the hype surrounding the film. Here is our review.

Story

Vijay Gurumurthy (Vijay Antony) a multi-millionaire billionaire is facing danger from his close aides for his wealth. Vijay is eliminated and his brain is replaced with the brain of Satya (Vijay), a beggar who walked out of jail. Satya is searching for his sister Rani who went missing 20 years ago. A Sadhu tells him he would find his sister Rani if he does good to the poor.Satya decides to do good for all the beggars and poor in the country with Vijay’s wealth. He calls this mission ‘Anti Bikili’. What are the obstacles Satya comes across and how does he overcome them? Will Satya be successful in his mission? Will he find his sister? The film has these answers.

Performances

Vijay Antony plays dual roles as Vijay Gurumurthy and Satya. He effortlessly gets under the skin of Satya’s role, a beggar, which is crucial for the film. He shines in the role and dominates the film. Kavya Thapar as Hema is good in her part though it doesn’t give much scope for her to shine. Dev Gill, Hareesh Peradi and John Vijay are the baddies in the first half who live up to their characters. Radha Ravi is the Chief Minister. He becomes the antagonist in the latter half and aids the film. Mohan Raman, who was seen as Audi car owner in Bichagadu, got the role of public prosecutor this time. He sticks to his role. YG Mahendran plays a loyalist to the Boss Vijay and he is alright. Yogi Babu’s character as a beggar is fine. He adds some humour to this serious film. The child actors as Satya Anna and Rani Papa act well and score points. There are so many characters in the film who have only limited screen time. It is only Vijay Antony who single-handedly runs the show.

Technicalities

As a lead actor, director and music director Vijay steered the film entirely. The writing of Bichagadu is a bit confusing owing to too many turns. The drive of the film could have been better. Direction is decent. The scale of the film has got bigger and shot well. Cinematography and background music has worked. The item song could have been avoided.

Thumbs Up

Vijay Antony
Story & Sister Sentiment
Anti Bikili Theme & Elevation Scenes

Thumbs Down

Too Many Turns
Lengthy Flashback
Weak Courtroom Scenes

Analysis

The story of Bichagadu has got a great scope to take the film to the next level. In addition to the story, the film’s scale has been enhanced. However, the inadequate writing and incomprehensive script holds back the film. The flashback episode of Satya is very lengthy. While brother-sister sentiment is key for the film, the makers seem to have overdone it and spent vast time in it. This is a bit boring. The item song in the first half is not impressive. It could have been better without it.

The Anti Bikili concept is a theme to play to the galleries. It worked here and there. The mass episodes are made to whistle audiences. The pre-interval sequence where the hero beats the goons got thumbs up. So is the  boardroom scene where he beats the goons sent by the CM. The conflict between Satya and the CM in the second half could have been better. Throughout the film the writing is confusing as the film’s drive takes too many turns. The writing is underwhelming.

But Bichagadu 2 has several layers. The film revolves around political corruption, the corporate politics, the rich vs the poor class war, and the legal tussle. Amidst all this, the story of Satya takes backstep. The hero doesn’t put effort into searching for his sister though he has got wealth and power. Barring these cinematic liberties and the unconvincing courtroom scenes towards the end, Bichagadu 2 works in portions.

It is bigger than Bichagadu, but certainly not better than the first part. Having said this, the film may get good openings due to the popular franchise, but how the film fares depends on its content.

Verdict: Lost To Bichagadu 1

Rating: 2.5/5