Vishwaroop 2 Movie Review: Kamal Haasan's Spy Thriller Fizzles Out & Leaves You Highly Disappointed!

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Not many know that Kamal Haasan had plans to release Vishwaroop 2 a week after the release of Vishwaroop. 'Vishwaroop was never supposed to be made as two films. We knew the script was lengthy and we didn't want to break the structure, and therefore, the decision to release it in two parts," Mahesh Narayan, the editor of the film was recently quoted as saying in an interview. Who doesn't love spy thrillers? Well, I am sure most of us do. Especially the ones that have twists and turns to keep our eyes hooked to the screen. Unfortunately, Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroop 2 is nothing but a jumbled mess, which makes you guffaw at regular points for its silly plot.

Vishwaroop 2 begins from where the first part ended in 2013. After failing to execute the deadliest terror attack in the city of New York, Omar Qureshi (Rahul Bose) and Salim (Jaideep Ahlawat) have one more dangerous plan up their sleeves. Meanwhile, soldier-turned-spy Major Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri (Kamal Haasan), his nuclear-oncologist wife Nirupama (Pooja Kumar), his working partner Ashmita Sunbramanium (Andrea Jerremiah) and Colonel Jagannath (Shekhar Kapoor) team up to thwart Omar and Salim's revenge game.

While the first half of the film revolves around Wisam and his team discovering a terrorist plot to destroy UK, involving a sunken ship, the film post interval goes for a toss, as Kamal Haasan brings in all the trappings of a typical masala potboiler, which includes a lacklustre love track, a mandatory 'maa' scene and a climax which is an absolute no-brainer.

While Vishwaroop had some engaging moments, the sequel comes across more as a stitched-up gag, which simply doesn't make sense at times. During the promotions of Vishwaroop 2, Kamal Haasan said that making Vishwaroop in two parts was a decision of passion. Sadly, he isn't in top form when it comes to calling the shots this time. Blame it majorly on the weak screenplay! However, the flashback scenes do manage to impress.

From an effeminate kathak teacher to an Al Qaeda jihadi fighting a NATO forces in Afganistan to a RAW agent working for India, Vishwaroop had Kamal Haasan effortlessly slide into every avatar. Unfortunately, the sequel doesn't have any such scope for his character. A not so-memorable performance from the spy-hero this time!

Pooja Kumar begins on a good note, but ends up faltering towards the end with her damsel-in-distress act. Andrea Jeremiah plays her part well. Shekhar Kapur doesn't get to do much post the popcorn break. Rahul Bose as the one-eyed terrorist Omar is reduced to a laughing stock and his wheezy voice annoys the hell out of you. Waheeda Rehman as Wisam's Alzheimer-struck mother suffers from poorly-sketched role. Jaideep Ahlawat as Salim gets his moments to shine.

One of the biggest shortcomings of Vishwaroop 2 is the visual effects. The shoddy VFX is hard to miss at several places. The non-linear narrative might fail to pique the interest in some section of the audience, as it can come across as a tedious watch. At a runtime of about three hours, Vishwaroop 2 could have been spared a few unnecessary sub-plots and snipped shorter at the editing table.

While Vishwaroop 2 has dollops of action, few of them come across as being over the top, particularly the one involving underwater which defies logic. The music of the Hindi version too doesn't have much to offer.

With a silly plot and the 'curse of the second half', Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroop 2 fails miserably in its mission of conquering the audience's hearts. What could have been a riveting watch, instead loses most of its fizz. This Kamal Haasan film has more 'misses' than 'thrills'. I am going with 2 stars.