Yash's 'KGF Chapter 2' movie review: Rocky bhai's machismo thrills throughout

Director Prashant Neel's magnum opus sequel of 'KGF Chapter 1' is all set to fight it out at the box office with Thalapathy Vijay's 'Beast'.

Indeed, the two movies have similarities and the most obvious being the heroes who can withstand the onslaught of an army alone.

With rocking star Yash in the lead, the second KGF franchise can be credited with the achievement of giving Kannada cinema a pan-India recognition.

Though critics had torn apart the first part of the film in reviews for poor editing and lack of substance, its box office performance had proven that director Neel's choices connected well with his audience.

'Chapter 2' is all about elevating the mass appeal achieved by the first part to the next level.

The plot is rather simple, Garuda is dead and Rocky (Yash) now has to face the challenges posed by the people who sent him to KGF, Adheera (Sanjay Dutt) and a powerful politician Ramika Sen (played by Raveena Tandon).

If Ramachandra Raju as Garuda seemed to be a strong villain in the first part, then you should see Sanjay Dutt in the second one. It might seem far stretched to portray him as a Viking-style warrior, but he pulls it off easily.

There is a tale about Adheera's sword and the blood it has seen in the past, but in the movie, it doesn't get to see much blood as Rocky has to divide his time between other enemies as well.

The character of Ramika Sen is clearly modelled after Indira Gandhi and the fabulous Raveena Tandon fits into the role perfectly, commanding the respect a prime minister deserves.

Ravi Basrur's music and background score was one factor that took the first part to people's hearts and chapter 2 also does the same magic. The 'Toofan' song gives a quick recap of the events from 'KGF Chapter 1'.

If the previous story was narrated by a journalist Anand (Anand Nag), this time his son Vijayendra (Prakash Raj) continues the task.

Also, similar to the first part, a lot of time is spent by Yash praising his own character and other characters are also allotted much time to hail Rocky's valour. While mothers and children are comfortable sharing time with Rocky bhai, others shudder in fear.

It is said that human life is not valued much in India because of the huge population, in 'KGF Chapter 2,' this is literally true as there are always more people to die. Just when you think that all the people supporting Yash in different cities of India have been killed, it is revealed that he had a reserve army of people in all those cities who would again rise to kill his enemies.

Yes, different cities in India. The scale of the movie is huge and it is not the story of a local gangster, but in Rocky's own words a “monster” who “owns India” or maybe even the world.

Rocky's love for Reena (Srinidhi Shetty) was revealed in the first part and you would have thought she too had the same feeling for him. But in the beginning of the movie itself, she is brought to 'Naraachi' as a captive and kept as an “entertainment” for Rocky. What happens next is somewhat like the way Raavan keeps Sita in 'Ramayana.' He treats her like queen and waits for her approval to marry. Unlike in Ramayana, Reena falls for Rocky after coming to know about his past and the reason for his never-ending greed for gold.

The stunts in 'KGF' were the best part of it, however, a chase sequence could have been portrayed better without the blackout pattern in editing. It had all the potential to be made like a 'Fast and Furious' chase scene. Cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda's frames are worth the big screen and though largely grey and black, the colours come into play when Rocky's swag needs it.

There is a lot of violence and also lots and lots of whistle-worthy moments in the film. If you love watching action thrillers with mass dialogues, this movie is for you. There is also a hint of a third chapter. So watch out for that as well.