Kamal Haasan's Indian 2 re-edited amid negative reviews, confirm producers
Despite high expectations, Kamal Haasan's Indian 2 was widely panned by critics and audiences for its flawed pacing and narration, resulting in poor box office performance.
Updated : July 17, 2024 02:29 PM ISTDespite high expectations, Kamal Haasan's Indian 2 was widely panned by critics and audiences for its flawed pacing and narration, resulting in poor box office performance.
Kamal Haasan and Nedumudi Venu in Indian 2.
Lyca Productions, the producers of the latest Tamil movie Indian 2, starring Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan, announced on Wednesday that they have re-edited the movie. The three-hour-long movie has been cut short by 12 minutes, confirmed the producers, citing "popular demand."
Indian 2 was unanimously panned by critics and audiences alike, a rare instance in the career of Kamal Haasan. Written and directed by Shankar, Indian 2 opened in cinemas amid high expectations. However, the film failed to click due to numerous shortcomings in the narration.
The original version of Indian 2 ran for about three hours, like most Shankar movies. But, unlike his past blockbusters, Indian 2 faced complaints regarding its length, thanks to flawed pacing and storytelling.
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Witness the enhanced version of #Indian2 🇮🇳✂️ Now presenting a streamlined edition trimmed by 12 min. Catch it in cinemas near you for a crisper experience! 💥@IndianTheMovie 🇮🇳 Ulaganayagan @ikamalhaasan @shankarshanmugh #Siddharth @actorsimha @anirudhofficial @dop_ravivarman… pic.twitter.com/0reMKOvMIe
— Lyca Productions (@LycaProductions) July 17, 2024
Initially, Indian 2 was envisioned as a single movie. However, for some reason, during its long-drawn production riddled with numerous conflicts and challenges, Shankar decided to split it into two parts. This resulted in a wafer-thin plot, exploring generic themes in the most unoriginal ways.
"Shankar clearly had no clue how to stage that scene or what he wanted to achieve with it. The scene is so bad that it makes Kamal Haasan look like an amateurish actor in bad makeup. That's only the beginning of a series of such directionless and purposeless scenes. There are glaring logical issues, a lack of emotional depth, and a visible desperation to evoke audience sympathy. It sullies our experience and memory of one of the landmark movies in Indian cinema, Indian (1996)," read part of Desimartini's 2-star review of Indian 2.
It's noteworthy that Kamal also indirectly distanced himself from Indian 2 during the promotions, claiming that he only agreed to be part of this film because he liked the plot, events, and production value of Indian 3.
Due to poor reviews, Indian 2 is struggling at the box office, with less than Rs 120 crore in ticket sales. Indian 3 is expected to hit the screens next year.