Kesari Chapter 2 REVIEW: Akshay Kumar, Ananya Panday, R Madhavan Led Engaging Courtroom Drama Hits The Mark And This Is The Final Verdict

Film:
Kesari Chapter 2

Director: Karan Singh Tyagi

Writers: Karan Singh Tyagi, Amritpal Singh Bindra and Sumit Saxena (Dialogues)

Cast: Akshay Kumar, R Madhavanm Ananya Panday, Simon Paisley Day, Regina Cassandra, Alexx O’Nell, Amit Sial, Steven Hartley

Platform: In Theatres

Runtime: 135 minutes (2 hours, 15 minutes)

Kesari Chapter 2 Review:

In 2019, Akshay Kumar make sure the audience were left with goosebumps when he brought the story of the Battle of Saragarhi to live in Kesari, and now, with Kesari Chapter 2, he’s re-ignites the patriotic flame in every moviegoer. Based on ‘The Case That Shook The Empire’ by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, Karan Singh Tyagi’s just-released historical courtroom drama that tell untold story of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, checks all the boxes needed to not only make it leave an impact but also earn the film praise at the box office and award shows. This film – which is centred on the story of a man who shook the foundations of the British empire, holds nothing back when it comes to telling the truth of what happened on April 13, 1919 and its aftermath.

On April 13, 1919, a group of protesters assemble at the Jallianwalla Bagh in Amritsar to peacefully protest against the Rowlatt Act. As the crowd grows on the now-bloody Baisakhi, General Reginald Dyer (Simon Paisley Day) reaches the location with his armed troops and opens fire on all present, irrespective of their age or gender. This leads to the deaths of thousands. While the press is silenced and fed a Crown-approved narrative, the British government puts together the Viceroy’s Council – with Sir C Sankaran Nair (Akshay Kumar) as the only Indian representative, to appease the agitated Indian citizens.

While he believes in the British justice system, his investigation and a chance encounter with a young revolutionary boy, Pargat Singh (Krish Rao), change his views on British rule in India. His trust in the British justice system further diminishes when he talks to a law student, Dilreet Gill (Ananya Panday) following an unfortunate incident. What follows is the two joining forces to go to Court and sue General Dyer for genocide. Here enters Neville McKinley (R Madhavan) as Dyer’s defence lawyer. What happens when these lawyers – with a past, clash in court forms the rest of the film. Read our Kesari Chapter 2 review to know whether the film is worth a watch.

What Works

The gripping narrative makes sure you are engrossed from the first frame till the end credits roll by. From the raw depiction of the brutality Indian faced on April 13, 1919 to the representation of the many evils the British rule subjected its subjects to during their rules will leave you with goosebumps. Kumar’s commanding performance as Nair, Panday’s (surprising) emotional portrayal of Gill, Madhavan’s coldness as Neville and Day’s devil-is-real enactment of General Dyer are some of the biggest pluses of the film.

Technical Analysis

Direction

Despite Karan Singh Tyagi using a back-and-forth narrative in a couple of scenes, the film is easy to follow. In fact, the back-and-forth story telling makes the film have a greater impact. The direction is uncomplicated and straight to the point without any unnecessary ruffles and feathers.

Writing & Screenplay

Based on Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat’s The Case That Shook The Empire, Kesari Chapter 2’s screenplay – written by Karan Singh Tyagi and Amritpal Singh Bindra, is engaging and maintains a decent pace filled with dramatic moments that will either give you goosebumps or leave you clapping over the most recent win. The riveting dialogues – written by Sumit Saxena, make sure each act had the complete attention of it viewers. Despite the climax being predictable – if you know your history the end won’t surprise you, it still packs a punch.

Music

While Shaswat Sachdev’s background score is very captivating, the film as such has only 2 songs – O Shera – Teer Te Taj and Kithe Gaya Tu Saaiyaan. We wish these was something more from the music department that could take the experience notches higher.

Kesari Chapter 2 Acting

Akshay Kumar delivers a stupendous performance and will likely win loads of praise (if not awards too) for his portrayal of C Sankaran Nair. His character arc from being a slave to the Crown who wins every case for them to taking them down and shaking the very foundation of the British Rule in India, is immersive and impressive. From the manner in which he carries himself to his dialogue delivery, Akki is formidable.

Ananya Panday has. proved. her. worth. Right from her first interaction with C Sankaran Nair at the railway station, we see a more refined Ananya and get a glimmer of her improved craft. R Madhavan enters the narrative much later but still manages to dominate some scenes in the second half. Despite the lesser screentime, he manages to show shades different shades of Nevilled and why he has become who is.

Regena Cassandrra as Nair’s wife Parvathy is underutalised – her character lacks in bringing the emotions one would expect from it. Simon Paisley Day plays his part of the cold, mentally unstable (watch the film you will know why) Genetal to perfection. Day steals the show with his villainous act and deserves a round of applause for it. Krish Rao has a small but important part that leaves a huge impact. He manages to hold his own in front of Kumar too. Amit Sial as Tirath Singh also delivers a commendable performance. Steven Hartley as Judge McArdie, Mark Bennington as Michael O’Dwyer, Alexx O’Nell as Lord Chelmsford and Alexandra Moloney as Martha Stevens also do justice to their roles.

Conclusion

“Court mein sahi aur galat nahi, haar aur jeet ki hoti hai” – while these words said by Akshay Kumar’s C Sankaran Nair do a 180, the fact is the film has hit the nail when it comes to engaging the audience and leaving them with a re-ignited flame of patriotism. This courtroom drama – that tells the untold story of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, should be watched in theatres – and that’s our verdict.

Hope our Kesari Chapter 2 review helps you in deciding to watch the film in theatres.

Do watch the trailer of Kesari Chapter 2 here:

Also Read: Jaat REVIEW: Sunny Deol Brings Earthquake In Randeep Hooda Aka ‘Ranatunga’s Lanka’; An Epic Clash To Fight For Justice

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.