🎬 The kerala Story 2 Review: Propaganda Overloaded, Drama Underwritten

The kerala Story 2 arrives after months of controversy, CBFC hurdles, and courtroom debates — and ironically, the most dramatic tension surrounding the film existed outside the theatre. Once the lights dim, what unfolds is not a layered political thriller or even a complex social drama, but a blunt, heavy-handed narrative that mistakes shock value for storytelling.

If the first instalment and the sequel’s trailer already laid out the ideological blueprint, the film itself offers little beyond repetition. There is no suspense to unravel, no psychological depth to explore, no moral ambiguity to wrestle with. The trajectory is predictable from the opening frames — and the film makes the baffling decision to begin with what are essentially glimpses of its own ending, draining whatever curiosity might have survived.

What remains is not tension, but endurance.

📖 Story: Three Girls, One Agenda

The narrative follows three young women — Divya, Neha, and surekha — from different cities and backgrounds, none connected except by the film’s singular thesis. Each is portrayed as ambitious, modern, and emotionally vulnerable. Each is lured into a relationship by a man who later reveals a darker identity and extremist motives.

Divya, a 16-year-old aspiring dancer, is manipulated by Rashid under the guise of fame and “freedom.” Neha, a state-level javelin athlete, falls in love with Raju, only for him to unveil a hidden identity and exploit her brutally. surekha, a UPSC aspirant from kerala, is drawn into the orbit of Saleem, an atheist journalist who eventually reveals an ideological mission rooted in extremism.

From there, the film escalates into graphic sequences of coercion, violence, forced conversion, assault, and humiliation. Scenes are designed to shock — and they succeed in that limited objective — but they lack emotional layering. Instead of character development, we get relentless suffering. Instead of narrative complexity, we get repetition.

The screenplay repeatedly positions its protagonists in situations where escape appears possible, yet they remain trapped through contrived decisions. Surekha’s arc, in particular, feels mechanically constructed; opportunities to resist or flee are conveniently ignored to sustain the film’s thesis.

It isn’t storytelling. It’s reinforcement.

🎭 Performances: Sincerity in service of a Script

Despite the ideological weight of the narrative, the actors deliver committed performances.

Ulka Gupta, as surekha, carries a quiet intensity and emotional vulnerability that occasionally hints at a better film struggling beneath the surdata-face. Aditi Bhatia navigates multiple shades — from naive teen to broken survivor — with noticeable effort. aishwarya Ojha’s portrayal of Neha is physically and emotionally demanding, and she brings conviction to some of the film’s most distressing scenes.

The male antagonists — played by sumit Gahlawat, Arjan Singh Ahuja, and Yuktam Khosla — effectively embody menace, though their characters are written in stark black-and-white strokes with little psychological nuance.

Even the supporting actors, especially the parents, lend credibility to individual moments. But strong performances can only stretch so far when confined within a rigid narrative frame.

🎼 Technicalities: Competent Craft, Aggressive Messaging

The background score is immersive, especially in the second half, heightening dread in scenes already designed to disturb. The songs, however, lack the cultural recall value of the original film’s soundtrack. Cinematography is functional, capturing urban and domestic settings without visual flair but with sufficient clarity.

Director Kamakhya Narayan Singh stages several sequences with undeniable intensity. Yet intensity alone cannot substitute depth. The film leans heavily on graphic imagery — assault, dismemberment, forced acts — to provoke outrage rather than introspection.

Technically competent. Thematically blunt.

🔎 Analysis: cinema or Campaign?

The film positions itself as a warning — an educational alarm against what it terms “love jihad.” It even attempts to clarify, through dialogue, that it is not targeting an entire community but extremist ideologies. References to respected Muslim figures are included to soften the edges.

However, intent does not erase impact.

By constructing a narrative universe where every antagonist from a specific community operates with identical ideological motives, the film sacrifices nuance for narrative uniformity. Complex social realities are flattened into a singular, fear-driven lens.

Rather than opening space for dialogue, it reinforces division. Rather than interrogating extremism through layered storytelling, it packages trauma into a spectacle.

It is possible to explore radicalisation, coercion, and exploitation responsibly. But that requires moral complexity, empathy, and structural balance. The kerala Story 2 opts instead for provocation.

✅ What Works

• • Committed performances from the lead actresses

• • Effective background score in intense sequences

• • Certain emotionally charged parental scenes

• • Technical competence in staging disturbing moments
  
  

❌ What Doesn’t

• • Zero narrative suspense due to predictable structure

• • Heavy-handed ideological messaging

• • Graphic scenes that feel exploitative rather than insightful

• • One-dimensional antagonists lack complexity

• • Contrived character decisions

• • Emotional manipulation replacing meaningful storytelling
  
  

🧾 Final Verdict

The kerala Story 2 aims to be an eye-opener but ends up feeling like an echo chamber. It is loud, graphic, and emotionally exhausting — yet dramatically hollow. While the actors strive to ground the film in sincerity, the screenplay cages them within a predetermined ideological arc.

It is not subtle. It is not balanced. And it is certainly not suspenseful.

Ratings: 1.5 / 5 ⭐

India Herald Percentage Meter: 30% - A disturbing watch — not because it reveals uncomfortable truths, but because it reduces complex realities into blunt propaganda.