Vishwaroopam 2

Even if you look at the story of the latest Mission Impossible movie, the ultimate agenda is diffusing a bomb that can cause a severe casualty. The reason why such movies work is mainly due to the convincing making and certain political subtexts that makes them something slightly edgier than a simple hero saving the day kind of films. In Vishwaroopam 2, there are many such political subtexts visible. And as we all know Kamal Haasan is a wonderful Craftsman who knows how to camouflage his ideas into the situations of a movie. While such insights are making it look compelling, there is a hastily made feel to Vishwaroopam 2.

So after the events in the first movie the team leaves to the UK and there they realize another fact that terrorists are planning another attack by using an old drowned ship. It’s not fair to look into the details of all that in the synopsis, so let me put it this way. How that operation eventually ends up in the face-off between Wizam and Omar is what the content of Vishwaroopam 2 dealing with.

I mentioned about the whole clichéd nature of the story structure of Mission Impossible in the beginning to justify my reason for not finding Vishwaroopam 2 tacky. We know the nature of the film from the first one itself and Wizam is more like an amalgamation of Hunt and Bond. So the question in my head was how the director in Kamal Haasan will make it look compelling. And thankfully it wasn’t a Vivegam. He is taking an effort to show the humane side of his characters within the framework of a “bomb story”. Through the recurring flashbacks and detours that aren’t severely distracting, Kamal uses a good chunk of Vishwaroopam 2 to show us the equation of Wizam Ahmed Kashmiri with Ashmita and Nirupama. He has also created this subplot that explores his childhood giving us an insight into the making of this Indian James Bond. Kamal Haasan has clarity about his perspectives and even when the flawed visual effects shots were bothering me, the engaging factor in that debate which was happening on screen kept me invested in it.

Unlike the first part, Vishwaroopam 2 has Mr. Kamal Haasan in the more stubborn version of the character and the man has impeccable grace in pulling it off. There are moments of vulnerability and romance which was also performed neatly by the actor-director. Andrea Jeremiah’s Ashmita is freer when compared to her agent outlook in the first one. Pooja Kumar’s character gets a nice trajectory from being that clueless person to becoming an understanding wife. Rahul Bose as the wounded Omar, Jaideep Ahlawat as Salim and Shekhar Kapoor as Jagannath reprises their roles from the first one. The wonderful Waheeda Rehman is there as Wizam’s mother.

Vishwaroopam 2 is a mix of highs and lows. Kamal’s level of detailing cannot be understood in just one view of the film and much like part 1 and Uthamavillain, you can definitely see more theories and interpretation after the DVD release of Vishwaroopam 2. The regressive side of the terrorist gets exposed when he mentions about hiding inside the Parda and in another scene, we get to see Andrea kicking the arse of the baddies after ripping off the Parda. Even in that build up scene towards the end, there is a dialogue about which God will save us. Mr. Haasan manages to add layers of sophistication and information to his plot elements and thus respects the intelligence of the viewer. The major flaw in the watching experience for me was the fact that I could kind of feel a sense of hastiness in the edits. The way the movie approaches the interval point and the way it even concludes have an abruptness which doesn’t go in sync with the kind of detailing Kamal Haasan gives to the other parts of the film. Some of the revelations in the climax are a bit too typical good hero characteristics which seem like Mr. Haasan’s attempt to transcend a good aura beyond the screen. We can easily distinguish between the works of Sanu John Varghese and Shamdat and Sanu’s work sort of stands tall. While watching the movie, Ghibran’s music wasn’t making an impact for me. The cuts have definitely saved the movie from being utterly clumsy in those visual effects shots we saw in the trailer and at the same time, the fast cuts at times don’t respect the continuity.

Some of the qualities the first part has been maintained in Vishwaroopam 2 neatly. And those qualities will keep you interested in the movie’s progress. The satisfaction I felt as a viewer at the end of Vishwaroopam 2 was less than what the first one gave. It should have been a bit tidier and edgier.

Rating: 3/5