Prashanth Neel’s K.G.F: Chapter 2 opens almost immediately after the first film left off. Anand Inalagi (Anant Nag) has suffered a stroke and leaves the telling of his book K.G.F. incomplete. However, when his son Vijayendra (Prakash Raj) arrives at the hospital, he is tasked with telling journalists how Rocky (Yash)’s story ended. After killing Garuda (Ramachandra Raju) and taking control of the Kolar Gold Fields, Suryavardhan’s brother, Adheera (Sanjay Dutt), is looking to kill Rocky and take over K.G.F. But the Prime Minister of India, Ramika Sen (Raveena Tandon), is looking to destroy the fields and hunt Rocky in the process.
Those who haven’t seen K.G.F. Chapter 1 will indeed be lost, as the movie takes no time in thwarting us into the second chapter of the story. In every conceivable way, it is a “Part 2” and catered explicitly to those who loved Chapter 1. But, to an extent, those who have seen the first film could also lose themselves inside a frenetically-paced plot that never stops moving. It isn’t as discombobulating as the horrid first installment, whose editing single-handedly ruins any ounce of emotional momentum and catharsis during action sequences. Still, it does get clunky from time to time. Tight fight sequences have the same problem as the original; there are way too many cuts for the human eye to process, and therefore render these sequences almost incomprehensible.
However, it’s a good thing that Neel and editor Ujwal Kulkarni have toned down hyperkinetic cuts during quiet scenes, giving us reasonable amounts of time to breathe in between the film’s mind-melting madness. Because of this stylistic choice, the second installment is a much more enjoyable watch. It is a significant step above its predecessor, not only stylistically but also from a story-wise perspective.
The intricate drama, which shifts back and forth through three different time periods, feels less rushed and always makes sense whenever the film cuts back to another period than Rocky’s story. There was much exposition in the first movie, too much delivered at such a fast time that it was hard for us to catch our breath. It almost seems as if the film wanted to throw in as much maximalist power on the screen before developing its plot. In Chapter 2, Rocky’s motivations are clear, Adheera is a highly menacing antagonistic figure, and the Prime Ministerial subplot is enticing. Raveena Tandon is a skillful actress and portrays Prime Minister Sen brilliantly, deftly balancing a slew of solid emotions during scenes in which she has to confront Rocky head-on.
And as the anti-hero of the film, Yash is spectacular. He was the best part of Chapter 1 and solidified Chapter 2 as a must-see. Sure, in the first film, Rocky was badass as hell but had no emotional core to solidify that much machismo. Instead, he was the perfect archetypal male character who would kill all of the bad guys in his way with a single touch (it seemed) and get the girl in the process.
Chapter 2 not only gives us more insatiably jaw-dropping moments with Rocky but finally develops the character as not a mere badass crime lord who lights his cigarette with a heated machine gun’s nozzle (all things considered, this is exceptionally cool even if smoking kills), but as a vulnerable human, just like us, who hides inside a kickass persona to avoid a confrontation with his past. Rocky is more than a cool archetype of the alpha male, but a tortured soul who will be morally challenged in more ways than one. Yes, he’s hilarious at times and made the entire theater laugh out loud. However, Yash is more enjoyable when Rocky faces moral and physical dilemmas during the film’s thrilling climax, whose duel between him and Adheera is breathtaking.
Sure, Adheera is an insanely caricatured villain, who never seems to die, even if Rocky defeats him more than once, and has an entire goddamn army of Kalashnikov wielding soldiers kill all of Adheera’s guards…except the antagonist when bullets fly all over. It’s ridiculous, but it develops the character’s menacing demeanor in a less predictable way than if the film followed the usual beats with the villain. The hero does get defeated by the villain early on. Still, he comes back stronger than ever and can have the upper hand in every subsequent confrontation, making Rocky an even bigger menace than Adheera. That type of moral dilemma-fueled drama makes K.G.F. Chapter 2 such a thrill to watch because the movie doesn’t have a clear-cut vision of who its heroes are.
Rocky isn’t a hero, but since he has to confront a world ridden by greed and corruption, he comes out as the lesser evil of the movie. Of course, everyone’s in it for themselves, but Rocky is the only one that seems to want to give back to the people of K.G.F, never leaving them behind even in the direst of situations. And this is where Rocky shines above all else and becomes, inadvertently, the hero we root for during the entire movie, with our eyes transfixed at what he’s going to do next, even if we, sometimes, can’t see anything.
The action scenes are also a stylistic improvement over the first film. There are moments of genuine awe and artistry flowing throughout that need to be experienced on the most giant IMAX screen possible; Adheera and Rocky’s duel is beautiful. Who would’ve ever thought that a sequence set in a refinery, amidst the constant flare of gas fires, would produce some of the most potent action imageries of the year, alongside S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR, and Michael Bay’s Ambulance? Or when Rocky decides to decimate a police station with the aforementioned cigarette lighter of a machine gun? The cars fly in the air because the bullets are too damn fast. This type of imagery is rarely seen in American films, save for the Fast & Furious series, which have incorporated Indian cinema’s surreal aesthetic and stunts during action scenes, but they’re always criticized for stretching reality. K.G.F: Chapter 2’s action scenes more than stretch reality, but the suspension of disbelief is critical for our enjoyment of the movie. And since we can see (in most cases) what’s going on in this movie, it’s an incredible time at the movie theatre.
Of course, its rapid pace sacrifices some character drama here and there and character introductions. Many side protagonists are introduced with their names written on the bottom of the screen, and you’re supposed to remember who they are more than forty minutes after they were [way too] briefly introduced. It doesn’t work and adds to the general confusion of many of the film’s action sequences. But K.G.F: Chapter 2 is, above all else, a cinema experience that needs to be witnessed by a crowd who doesn’t much care about the story or character development. They want to see Rocking Star Yash be the badass Rocky he was in the first film, through even more over-the-top (and fluid) action scenes. To that extent, the movie more than succeeds in delivering a memorable theatrical experience whose hefty 168 minutes flies by so quickly; you’ll be wanting more by the minute it ends, which, from the looks of the post-credit scene, will happen sooner than later.
Film: Rating: 
Director: Prashanth Neel
Stars: Yash, Sanjay Dutt, Srinidhi Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Anant Nag, and Prakash Raj
Runtime: 168 minutes
Country: India
