Karthikeya 2 Review: Scores Big as far as Core Storyline Goes!

A sequel to the 2014 movie of the same name, Karthikeya 2, which is also the second installment in a (now) planned extended franchise stars Nikhil Siddharth in a recurring role as Dr. Karthik, who has a knack for unraveling mysteries often surrounding around Hindu Gods. Anupama Parameswaran replaces fan-favorite — Swati Reddy as the female lead in the sequel with a new supporting cast including Srinivas Reddy and Harsha Chemudu.

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The narrative of Karthikeya 2 begins five years after the first installment with Karthik, now a pretty famous doctor, being suspended for two weeks as a consequence of slapping some sense to a Government official. While serving his suspension break, Karthik’s mother insists on fulfilling a ritual to Lord Sri Krishna, and they travel to Dwarka, much to his disdain. The rest of the film revolves around how things topple over immediately upon their arrival and how Karthik gets tasked to complete an assignment that has a lot at stake.

Firstly, I will admit that I’m not a fan of the first installment released back in 2014 for reasons which are surprisingly similar to the issues I also had with this film. However, the core storyline of Karthikeya 2 impressed me the most, which is certainly larger in scale and intrigue in comparison. I also found this movie thrilling as it kept moving (sometimes too quick for my own comfort). Furthermore, as the writer-director kept insisting on all his promotional interviews, this film successfully maintained that perfect balance of narrating (or educating) the story of Lord Sri Krishna and also entertaining the audience with serviceable comedy and overall thrill.

But as I said earlier, similar to the first movie, I found the execution a bit haphazard. The editing by Karthik Ghattamneni (who directed one of my personal favorites of 2015 in Surya vs Surya) felt very choppy from start to finish. It lacks that smooth transition and flow which ultimately helps the viewer experience and could’ve worked better by adding a few more minutes to the overall runtime. I’m sure the audience would’ve not nitpicked the extra time cause the story itself was captivating enough for them to sit back and watch it unfold.

More on the negatives, there are a few illogical scenes in the movie, with one of the prominent ones being- I do not understand how the characters keep finding themselves at the right time all the time. Also, the story arc of the bad guys was very undercooked. I did not completely understand their overall motivation in the story and did not understand how they end up taking the loss every time. Chandoo Mondeti could’ve worked more on setting their purpose expertly and crafting an impactful climax. And to be clear, I only had a problem with the Secret Society gang.

Nevertheless, the positives very much overpower the negatives, and the technical aspects in Karthikeya 2 provide another reason why you should only experience it on the big screen. The stunning camera work by Karthik Ghattamneni, production design, the fantastic background score by Kaala Bhairava, and the sound design support the story really well through and through. The performances from the entire cast were pretty much decent, and I have no complaints.

Overall, Karthikeya 2 scores big as far as the content and the core story goes. The execution is a bit substandard, but that shouldn’t distract you from the strong positives. Nikhil Siddharth, who keeps picking different scripts, proves once again that he has that blockbuster box-office pull, unlike many of his counterparts. Chandoo Mondeti, who did not have a solid hit coming into this movie, should be commended for his fearless attempt to think out-of-the-box at the time where he could have easily played safe to save his career. And I hope he focuses a bit more on his execution the next time for Karthikeya 3.

‘Karthikeya 2’ Rating – 3/5

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