Bichagadu 2 review: Mass-y sequel to the original!

What’s it about?

One of the wealthiest Indians, Vijay Gurumoorthy (Vijay Antony) runs a vast business empire. Aravind (Dev Gill), CEO at Vijay’s company, murders him for his money. A doctor in Dubai performs a brain transplant on a beggar named Satya (Vijay Antony) using it from Vijay. With the help of Satya, Aravind intends to seize control of Vijay’s business empire.

But will Satya, the homeless man whose life’s mission is to track down his long-lost sister, obey Aravind’s order? What exactly is the Anti Bikili project that he initiates?

Analysis

“Bichagadu”, which was released in 2016, was all about mother-son sentiment. In the film, Vijay Antony played a multi-millionaire who was advised to live the life of a beggar for a period of time in order to save his mother. “Bichagadu 2” reversed the concept. In this sequel, a beggar takes the place of a multi-millionaire and lives his life for a set period of time. It’s a sister sentiment here.

When “Bichagadu” was released, it caused quite a stir at the box office for two reasons: 1) it told a unique story; and 2) persuasive mother-son sentiment. The songs also played an important role. Naturally, this sequel lacks originality in terms of story, as the team simply reversed the thread of the story, and mother sentiment was replaced by sister sentiment. When the film’s uniqueness fades, the director must be extra cautious in narrating it more convincingly and effectively.

Vijay Antony, the writer, director, co-producer, editor, and lead actor, has gone for an over-the-top narrative to make this film bigger than the first. In the first part’s simplicity, mass elements have stepped in. Thus, the entire “Anti-Bikili” movement, which constitutes major portion in the second half, reminds me of Shankar or AR Murguadoss social message movies. However, this concept lacks the potency of those directors’ films. Furthermore, the sister sentiment doesn’t derive the same result as the mother sentiment did in the first part.

The court room episode is another jarring one in this film.

Vijay Antony is excellent in his both roles. He is the pillar of the movie. Kavya Thapar is fine. Other actors have done decent job. The film boasts rich production values.

Bottom line: “Bichagadu 2” is a beefed-up version of the original. It’s aimed at the mass audiences. While the first half of the film focused on mother-son sentiment, this one focuses on brother-sister relationship and narrates the first half interestingly. However, the scenes following the intermission are completely unconvincing and ineffective.

Rating: 2.5/5

By Jalapathy Gudelli

Film: Bichagadu 2
Cast: Vijay Antony, Kavya Thapar, Radha Ravi, Dev Gill and others.
DOP: Om Narayan
Producer: Fatima Vijay Antony
Music: Vijay Antony
Written and directed by: Vijay Antony
Release Date: May 19, 2023