Karthikeya 2 - 2022

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Introduction 

Karthikeya 2 is a sequel to the 2014 blockbuster, Karthikeya. The supernatural thriller follows the journey of Dr Karthikeya, played by Nikhil Siddhartha, and his adventures while trying to find the lost anklet of Lord Krishna. The movie is based on the belief that what we call Indian mythology is actually our history, and the Gods roamed the surface of the Earth. The lost anklet in question is said to be the holy grail capable of solving all man's problems. Found by an archaeologist during his research, the movie traces the struggles of the protagonist to return the anklet to Lord Krishna's statue by protecting it.

Table of Contents

• Details
• Plot
• Release
• Reviews
• Cast
• Crew
• Character Analysis
• Songs
• Behind the scenes
• Controversy
• Box Office Collection
• Conclusion

Details

Plot

Karthikeya 2 is an edge-of-the-seat supernatural thriller packed with adventure, mystery, and action. The story begins with Professor Ranganatha Rao, played by K. S. Sridhar, discovering during his research that Lord Krishna entrusted his anklet to a friend toward the end of the Dwapara Yuga. Professor Ranganatha Rao is chased and injured by anti-social forces who wish to find the anklet. He shares the secret with Dr Karthikeya, but the protagonist fails to understand the injured man's words. 

Later Dr Karthikeya, while trying to find his missing mother, crosses paths with Mugdha, Rao's granddaughter, with whom he tries to retrieve the anklet from its secret place and bring it back to Krishna's statue. In this struggle, he meets numerous obstacles, has to solve many mysteries, and goes on many adventures. The movie ends with Dr Karthikeya gearing up to explore the mysterious links between Lord Krishna and the Atlantic Ocean, which one could see as a sneak peek into the third part of the movie. 

Release

Karthikeya, the 2014 blockbuster, ended with a glimpse of a possible future adventure for Dr Karthikeya. The audience loved the movie, but there were no talks of a sequel for a long time. Karthikeya 2 has been in the news for a long time, even before its release. The movie was initially announced in 2018 by actor Nikhil Siddhartha through his Twitter handle. However, there was no news about it for over a year. In 2020, the movie was back in the media buzz with a simple puja in Tirupati with all the lead actors and crew. Covid pandemic-led lockdown led to the movie filming being on hold until 2021.

The movie was meant to release in June 2022 but was pushed around several times to release in mid-August. The film hit the screens on 13 August 2022 and was sweeping, with positive reviews from all quarters.

After a massive success in theatres, Zee5 released the movie on their OTT platforms on 5 October 2022, coinciding with Vijayadashami. The film is available in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi and had a 100-hour viewing record on the platform within the first 48 hours. 

Reviews

During the entire movie, Nikhil Siddhartha excels in his role and essentially stays faithful to Karthikeya 2's narrative. Nikhil portrays Dr. Karthikeya, a character in the film who is confined to trying to solve a mystery. It is vital for an actor to set aside all the commercial advancements and remain committed to his character, keeping the issue at the forefront in content movies like Karthikeya 2. This is precisely what Nikhil did. He effortlessly carries the movie on his shoulder. 

Anupama Parmeshwaran is adorable and performs her duties admirably. Anupam Kher was given a significant and influential role. He left a lasting impression, and people enjoyed listening to him speak about Lord Krishna's importance, spirituality, customs, and culture.

Srinivas Reddy kept the audience laughing between the intense action scenes with a few jokes. He offers lighthearted diversion to prevent the film from getting too serious. The story just briefly mentions Praveen and Satya, who play Nikhil's friends, as well as Harsha, who plays Suleman. With his imposing presence, Aditya Menon created an impression. Tulasi does a good job as the mother.

Cast

Crew

Director: Chandoo Mondeti

Producer: Abhishek Agarwal and T. G. Viswa Prasad

Cinematographer:   Karthik Ghattamneni

Singer: Inno Genga and Kaala Bhairava

Lyricist: Krishna Madineni, Chaitanya Prasad, and Ramajogayya Sastry

Production House: Abhishek Agarwal Arts and People Media Factory

Composer: Kaala Bhairava

Editor: Karthik Ghattamneni

Written By: Chandoo Mondeti

Character Analysis

• Dr Karthikeya Kumaraswamy: Dr Karthikeya Kumaraswamy strongly believes in science and logic. He never fails to stand up for what he believes to be right. However, all these changes and the unwavering scientific-minded man starts believing in the power of Lord Krishna. 
• Mugdha: While she falls in love with the protagonist toward the movie's end, she isn't your stereotypical heroine. Mugdha is a new-age girl driven by her determination. Strong-willed, opinionated, and determined to follow her heart and mind, Mugdha leaves a mark as a girl who is more than just a pretty face. 
• Dr Dhanvanthri Vedpathak: A man of science and a strong believer in Krishna, Dr Dhanvanthri Vedpathak's faith inspires everyone to follow Lord Krishna. Dr Dhanvantri often reminds that one of his namesakes, Lord Dhanvantri, is not just a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu but also a medical genius. Dr Vedpathak believes that Krishna is the greatest scientist, doctor, and engineer to walk on the surface of the Earth. 

Songs

Behind the Scenes

Play

The filming of Karthikeya 2 faced numerous hiccups. The film was meant to kickstart at the end of 2018, but actor Nikhil's commitments with his previous films led to a delay, and the movie was finally announced in 2022. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the brakes as soon as the film was announced. The next speed bump came in the form of actor Nikhil's leg injury in March 2021. 

Controversy 

• The Release Delay Issue: After a lot of struggle to finish filming the movie, there were challenges with releasing it. The media was flooded with stories of ace producer Dil Raju trying to sabotage the film by suppressing its release. However, he went on record and rubbished this news, saying it was a business decision he and the movie producers took to ensure the success of all the big-ticket Telugu films released during this time.
• The Review: While the movie in itself was not on the receiving end of the controversy, it was a review of the movie that was. A leading Indian English daily called the film 'An overdose of Krishna.' This did not go down too well with the movie buffs, who took to Twitter to slam the media house. They labelled this review as Hinduphobic, and the media house had to apologize and change their headline to resonate more with the movie without hurting the sentiments of anyone. 

Box Office Collection

The movie was a spectacular success at the box office and garnered a whopping ₹121.50 crores. On day one, the film collected  ₹8.50 crore worldwide, of which the distributor's share from the earnings amounted to ₹5.05 crore. The movie also had a great weekend run and grossed over ₹25 crores globally. This makes the movie a blockbuster and one of the highest-grossing small-budget Telugu films of the year.

The movie also found a spot on the list of top ten highest-grossing Telugu movies of the year, only next to RRR, Sarkaru Vaari Paata, Bheemla Nayak, Radhe Shyam, F3: Fun and Frustration. This was a sweeping success for a small-budget film shot in less than 100 days with a budget of around ₹15 crores. 

Conclusion 

Karthikeya 2 is an adventure thriller that has you on the edge of your seat for most moments. It has a treasure hunt-like plot where the protagonist has to go from one goal to another and complete missions. The devotion that a few characters carry in their heart for Lord Krishna is perfectly constructed by the greed of the others. The power-packed script and flawless acting of everyone make it a worthy 145-minute watch. Good triumphs over evil, and the movie ends with a cliffhanger that teases the audience with the possibility of part 3. 

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