This mythological tale revolves around Hindu symbolism and semiotics. The sequel to Chandoo Mondeti’s Karthikeya released in 2014, was, comparatively, a smaller version of the sequel. But this time, the movie portrays some great elements of mythology and crime thriller.
Karthikeya 2 Cast
Starring Nikhil Siddhartha (as Dr. Karthik) in the main role, this movie also has Adithya Menon (as Santanu), Anupama Parameswaran (as Mugdha), Anupam Kher (as Dhanvanthri), Viva Harsha (as Suleman), Satya (as Ravi), Srinivasa Reddy (as Sadananda), and Fish Venkat.
The film is directed and written by Chandoo Mondeti, and is co-produced by TG Vishwaprasad and Abhishek Agarwal, the duo is best known for their work in The Kashmir Files. The music in the movie is by Kaala Bhairava, and the cinematography is by Karthik Ghattamaneni.
Story
The story follows Dr. Karthik who finds Lord Sri Krishna’s anklet, which had gone missing. His adventure brings him closer to the Indian mythological elements and the power of the Indian belief system and the power of Tatva of Lord Sri Krishna.
Karthikeya 2 – Movie Review
The plot of the movie is reminiscent of the plot of Ashwin Sanghi’s book The Krishna Key and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code in the Indian context. Ashwin Sanghi’s book and Karthikeya 2 draw a lot of similarities like secret societies, symbolisms, archaeologists, and anthropologists.
Comparing it to the previous movie, Karthikeya, the sequel is presented at a deeper level with an explanation of the elements that are talked about in the movie.
Despite an interesting premise, the story is, however, not presented in a way that provides a nail-biting experience to the audience. The dialogues, at times, are completely unnecessary and over-explained at times when the plot is self-explanatory. This strips the story of its pace and makes it highly slow-paced, and at times makes it boring. The concept of the amalgamation of mythology and thriller is quite riveting, but the makers were unable to portray it in the best way possible.
However, the movie leaves a lot of storylines unresolved which is a clear indication of the third installment. Hopefully, Karthikeya 3 could explain the unresolved plotlines well.
Cast Performances
Nikhil as Dr. Karthik comes across as a safe actor, playing the role most neatly without going overboard, which is a plus point to the movie. This is also the reason that he stands out in the movie without any doubt. The character requires a huge change from an atheist, his curiosity about the myths drives him to unravel some truths. The typical revelation that the protagonist is the chosen one, makes the story very predictable.
Anupama Parameswaran’s character is also very vital to the story, and not just serves as a mere female lead shadowing the male protagonist. Parameswaran manages to present a great performance in whatever airtime she gets.
Other characters might not be the most vital part of the story, but they help build the plot. Srinivasa Reddy’s performance is neat with his comic timings. Making a debut in a Telugu film, Anupam Kher makes a cameo appearance and does what he does best.
Sources: Mirchi9.com, Pinkvilla.com, and Thehindu.com
