Viduthalai Part 2 movie review: Vijay Sethupathi powers Vetrimaaran’s sprawling revolutionary saga that needed more balance

We have often seen films about why someone decided to become a cop or a bureaucrat and try to change the system and catch the ‘bad guy.’ However, with Viduthalai, Vetrimaaran points out that the system knows to crush its dissidents. The entire state’s might goes into deciding who the ‘bad guy’ is for its own sustenance. While this is certainly an overarching theme of the film, Viduthalai 2 is essentially about the tumultuous life of Vaathiyaar, who learns, unlearns, learns, unlearns, and learns some more as he tries to make sense of the constantly evolving society that is increasingly apathetic.

Vijay Sethupathi plays Perumaal Vaathiyaar in Viduthalai Part 2.

This process of learning and unlearning takes up so much of Viduthalai 2’s runtime that it feels less organic and more preachy. They say everything we do in life is revolution, and Vetrimaaran moulds Vaathiyaar in such a way that there is hardly a moment where he gets to sit down, take a breath, and actually reflect. He is often shown moving from one conflict to another, with the scale getting bigger and bigger. After his capture by the E-company, the cops shift his base to a forest, and it is in this journey that he narrates his own journey to the squad accompanying him. A journey that changed one fine day when he is witness to a casteist oppressor showing the might of the system against a wronged community. And these portions, featuring a terrific Ken Karunaas and a rousing Ilaiyaraaja score to boot, is one of the highlights of the film. It also shows how Viduthalai 2 becomes something much bigger when the focus is not just on Vaathiyaar. However, it also becomes all over the place, and is more tell than show.

Since it is through the questions of the young police squad that he gives insights about his own life, there is a non-linear narrative that comes up, which unfortunately, leaves us with more questions. Then, there is the concept of the unreliable narrator that finds its way, which might seem like it answers everything, but doesn’t do enough to take away the confusion. But what is very clear is that Viduthalai is a tale of a revolution that takes different colours as it evolves with time. And this tale unfolds through Vaathiyaar even if Part 1 made you follow the story of Kumaresan (Soori). Simply put, Viduthalai is Vaathiyaar.

Vetrimaaran does a rather interesting thing by overlapping the voiceovers of Kumaresan, Vaathiyaar, and actual dialogues in the film. However, this idea overstays its welcome, especially due to Vetrimaaran’s disdain for lip-sync. With dialogues clearly being added in the dubbing studio, one remains at an arm’s length from the lines simply because it is distracting. What makes it even more unsettling is that Viduthalai 2 is a rather verbose film. There is a lot of talk about the need for unionising, creating a balance in the overwhelming power imbalance, and of course, societal ills masquerading as culture and tradition. But these are fleeting in a film that needed more focus. For instance, when Vaathiyar gets married to Mahalakshmi (Manju Warrier), they are advised about what it takes to have a happy marriage. And looking at them throughout the film, we understand that the happiness is definitely there. However, this hardly gets translated as an emotion, because both the characters are saddled with scenes that are either dialogue-heavy or generic. Also, the overwhelming focus on Vaathiyaar sidelines Mahalakshmi, who is quite the firebrand. It is not to say that this relationship or its development is not poignant, it is just that it isn’t poignant enough.

Vijay Sethupathi, Manju Warrier play revolutionaries and a romantic couple in
Viduthalai 2.

What Vetrimaaran gets absolutely right is the characters that inhabit the world of Vaathiyaar when he is in police custody. The menacing Raghavender (a terrific Chethan) is elevated by his unpredictability. The same holds good for Kumaresan and other junior cops who are on this journey to understand that the world is not often binary. However, the strain in stretching a singular idea beyond the point of elasticity is seen in these scenes. The narrative is peppered with multiple detours, including ones involving Chief Secretary Subramaniyan (Rajiv Menon), Minister Ilavarasu (Ilavarasu), and the Collector (Saravana Subbiah). There is also one involving political discourse and the cameo of Anurag Kashyap. While some add a sardonic undercurrent of humour or makes us understand how the voices of dissent are brave despite knowing the consequences, some others just feel repetitive. Now, the idea isn’t the problem, but the repetition of it. This takes away the focus from what really Viduthalai 2 is all about.

Honestly, Viduthalai 2 is a mostly grim film that drives home the weight of a decision, and the weight of choosing a path. It is a decision that Vetrimaaran also took when he decided to make this movie into a two-parter. Now, there can be endless debates on whether this was warranted in the first place, but this is the film, or rather films that we got, and well… there is a sense of dilution that pervades the film, especially in the character of Kumaresan. He is more of a bystander in the movie, and it is on the impact of the first part that we are convinced by his actions in the second.

Also, another point of comparison between the two films is how the institutional violence is not as pronounced as it was in Part 1, Viduthalai 2 opts to use razor sharp dialogues to deliver the same impact. The nonchalance of the system is as appalling as the blatant refusal of the same system to rescue the oppressed, and aid their rehabilitation. It also touches upon the usage of violence in such revolutionary acts, and does the unenviable job of building a narrative that questions the need for innocent deaths, not just in the hands of the system, but also Vaathiyaar and Co. But the movie never forgets to point out that the core reason for any of this to happen is simple systemic apathy. In today’s context, it gets more scary because this is commonplace.

Vijay Sethupathi surrounded by cops lead by Gautham Vasudev in a scene from Viduthalai 2

If the first part started off with a bang, the second part ends with one. Both scenes encapsulate the ideas of revolution, the need for political awareness, and how, at the end of the day, it is all about how far the system is forced to go to maintain its upper hand. Both are long-drawn set-pieces that required the best from every department, including the performances, cinematography by Velraj, the light and sound design, and the top-notch writing. Vetrimaaran ensures that the final act is structured like a controlled demolition. There is the constant tension, the nameless deaths, a labyrinth-like maze where silence and Ilaiyaraaja take care of the rest. Seeing the police and ‘Makkal padai’ (People’s army) indulge in a shoot out, you are reminded of the futility of it all. “Who is fighting against whom for what?” asks Soori. It is responded with a straight forward, “We don’t know. Just shoot.” This is the perfect way of summing up the film about people fighting for a cause, and people fighting because they have been asked to.

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The film doesn’t mince words in its political stance, and raises an important and loud voice about the need for educating, organising and agitating. It is wonderful how Vaathiyaar’s ideologies goes through various layers of self-introspection, and it also poses a few pertinent questions to any organized group. Will rigidity sound the death knell for any revolution? How do we decide on the right means of revolution? Can anyone actually become a leader? Why does the system always support the oppression? Should we really stay away from the system? Even if these five questions find their way into various points of the narrative, Viduthalai 2 isn’t interested in giving straightforward and realistic answers. It simply says… Think. And isn’t that just the toughest thing to do?

Viduthalai Part 2 Movie Review: Vijay Sethupathi, Soori, Chethan, Manju Warrier
Viduthalai Part 2 Movie Director: Vetrimaaran
Viduthalai Part 2 Movie Rating: 3 stars