---Advertisement---

Entertainment

Yuddhakaanda: Chapter 2 Review- A Legal Drama With Long Ambitions & Short Vision

Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 stars Ajay Rao, Archana Jois and Prakash Belawadi in lead roles.

Movie name:Yuddhakaanda: Chapter 2
Director:Pavan Bhat
Movie Casts:Ajay Rao, Archana Jois, Prakash Belawadi

Yuddhakaanda: Chapter 2 in Kannada, directed by debutant Pavan Bhat, is a bit of an oddity. It means well. Oh yes, the plea for justice for the disempowered when confronted by the privileged class is loud and clear.

---Advertisement---

But much of what transpires in the film seems formulistic, stagey and stilted. A concentrated effort has gone into ensuring that the tone doesn’t too heavy-handed. There is no attempt to portray the brutality with the hurling momento of the Tamil Vijay Sethupathi film Maharaja on child abuse.

---Advertisement---

More fatally, the plot and the characters seem too close to the recent Telugu courtroom drama, Telugu director Ram Jagadeesh’s State Vs A Nobody, which too showed tremendous empathy for the legally challenged victim. In that far more mature film, also helmed by a debutant director, the fledgling lawyer, just like the lawyer in this film, takes on a POCSO case.

Many of the plotting propulsions seem similar, although Yuddhakaanda: Chapter 2 seems too eager to get it right, like a schoolboy given to write an essay on the law and the underprivileged. The callow attorney here is Bharath (Ajai Rao, barely okay), who takes on himself the responsibility to get justice for the mother (Archana Jois, doing the distraught mother act with all the discreteness of a Doordarshan short) of a molested minor child.

---Advertisement---

While the tone of narration is never patronising or salacious, subtlety is not exactly a virtue in this lumbering melodrama. The courtroom sequences play out like episodes of a streetside play staged by troupers from an amateur theatre company. In the climactic monologue, the hero strides across the screen like a mythological figure while the honourable judge tries hard not to look impressed.

That said, Yuddhakaanda: Chapter 2 has a certain sincerity at its heart that sees it through many choppy interludes which include a halfbaked romantic track (done in a don’t-take-it-seriously tone) and a super-lawyer Robert D’Souza (Prakash Belawadi) who defends the indefensible (the powerful paedophile) in the court and listens to opera music in his spare time.

“Could you please switch it off,” the accused murdered paedophile’s brother requests the super-lawyer.

D’Souza is a sneering portrayal of the privileged who, while counting the zeros on his cheque, has annulled his conscience. The rich are always unscrupulous and elitist in a film of this sort.

This is a big, broad morality tale telling us nothing that we don’t know about the judiciary.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Subhash K Jha

Subhash K Jha

Subhash K Jha is a lifelong fan of Lata Mangeshkar, Hindi cinema and world cinema--in  that order. He has, over the years, contributed  to nearly every major English-language publication from the Illustrated Weekly Of India to E24. His search for writing opportunities  continues. His biography on his idol is work in progress.

Read More
First published on: Jul 16, 2025 05:01 PM IST


Get Breaking News First and Latest Updates from India and around the world on News24. Follow News24 on Facebook, Twitter.

Related Story

Live News

---Advertisement---


live

Parliament Monsoon Session LIVE Updates: Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Adjourned Till 11 Am On July 24

Jul 23, 2025
monsoon-session
  • 16:00 (IST) 23 Jul 2025

    'Opposition Only Wants Headlines': Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske On Parliament Uproar

N24 Shorts Logo

SHORTS

Image Credit - Anshul Kamboj / X-Platform
Sports

ENG Vs IND 4th Test: What’s The Secret Behind Anshul Kamboj’s 318? Why ‘AK-47’ Will Never Forget This Number

Anshul was handed his debut cap by former cricketer Deep Dasgupta - a moment he will remember for the rest of his life.

View All Shorts

---Advertisement---

Trending

   
Hot Links: teen patti boss teen patti joy teen patti gold downloadable content teen patti cash teen patti live