Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/uriyadi-2-movie-review-vijay-kumar-abbas-sudhakar-baradwaj-rangan/
Despite the number in the title, Uriyadi 2 is not exactly a sequel to the gritty, sensationally effective earlier film, which was also written and directed by Vijay Kumar. Yes, there are similarities — for instance, the seething social anger, reflected in the well-timed use of Bharathiyar verses. (If Part 1 ended with Agni kunjondru kanden, this one comes to a close with Naan veezhven endru ninaithaayo…) Here, too, we get flash-forwards (though, unlike in the earlier film, they come across more as a stylistic choice than something crucial to the narrative) Once again, unscrupulous small-time politicians form parties based on caste and lust after more power. And there’s the occasional reminder of why the earlier film was so impressive. I especially liked the unfussy “introduction” of the heroine (Vismaya) in a scene where an astrologer predicts she will have a love marriage. The staging relegates the heroine to the background. The emphasis is on her father, who is not happy with this news.
The difference is that this time around, the protagonist, Lenin Vijay (again played by the director himself), is glamourised. The last time we saw him, he was a college student in the 1990s, and part of a group of friends. Now, he’s graduated — not just in terms of getting a job but also getting rid of his entourage. He still has friends, but the conflict eventually turns out to be his alone. From a boy who was sucked into violence only because he and his friends were constantly tormented by the local politician’s henchmen, he’s now a crusader. From team member, he’s grown into a leader. Some might even call him a vigilante. I missed the smallness, the tightness of Uriyadi — but I suppose the inflation is inevitable. A sequel — even one that is not exactly a sequel — has to keep upping the stakes.
Continued at the link above.
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Baradwaj Rangan 
thesaintponders
April 5, 2019
wrong movie link 😉
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Srinivas R
April 10, 2019
I blame the sledge hammer approach and righteous PSA acpect of the movie on the producer. All movies produced by Surya are possessed by a righteous ghost. Surya himself is stuck in a sort of faux realism image since Ayan.
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Thupparivaalan
April 10, 2019
Srinivas: Suriya had always been about being politically correct. The film’s where he shines best are when he lets himself loose like he did in Ayan, 24. I’m not surprised his production is like this. Even in his stage speeches he induces weird ultra obedient good boy attitude, that pisses me off. Hopefully he finds his form back with NGK.
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praneshp
April 11, 2019
@Srinivas R: If the director cares about his movie, he can go to a different producer. He’s somewhat established, if Pottu can get a producer, so can U2.
My take: I obsessively watched all of the director’s interviews after Uriyadi, and he loves the sound of his own voice. He was looking to make a message movie with himself in the lead, and the director/producer ended up being a perfect fit.
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V
April 11, 2019
Thupparivalan: But Suriya is nejamave an ultra-obedient good boy right? From what we have seen these 20+ years? Suriya, Jayam Ravi & Jeeva are actors who belong to the samathu pasanga category & this political correctness & personal righteousness of theirs does make them a little bland – but their fans seem to like them more for these personal attributes than their onscreen persona.
What Im trying to say is that Surya isn’t putting on a good-boy mask I guess. That is his outlook towards life & it reflects in his films too.
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