Plot
The film opens with a stark depiction of the **Jallianwala Bagh massacre**, where Brigadier-General **Reginald Dyer** orders his soldiers to fire upon a peaceful gathering of civilians in Amritsar. Hundreds are slaughtered, and one of the few survivors is a teenage boy, **Pargat Singh**, who loses his mother and sister during the carnage. The British suppress all truthful reporting, destroying issues of *Punjab Samachar* that documented the real events, and falsely claim that the victims were violent rebels who attacked the army—despite no soldiers being harmed.
The narrative then turns to **C. Sankaran Nair**, a distinguished barrister and member of the Viceroy’s Council, recently knighted by the British Crown. Nair meets Pargat after the massacre and urges him to abandon violent rebellion and return to school. Later, he hears that Pargat has “committed suicide.” Nair is assigned by the colonial government to investigate the massacre, with the expectation of delivering a report favouring the British. However, law student **Dilreet Gill** secretly retrieves a surviving issue of *Punjab Samachar* and shows it to Nair, exposing the truth of Dyer’s brutality.
Realizing the enormity of the crime, Nair condemns Dyer before the Viceroy’s Council, but his objections are ignored, and he is warned not to challenge the Crown. Feeling complicit in Pargat’s fate for discouraging him, Nair—guided by Gill—decides to sue the British government and General Dyer for genocide. In the first legal confrontation, he wins, causing Dyer to consider killing him, but others advise against attacking a man of Nair’s rank. Dyer then hires **Neville McKinley**, a resentful Anglo-Indian lawyer, to represent the Crown in the Trial Court.
An intense courtroom battle follows. The prosecution introduces **Martha Stevens**, a music teacher who alleges she was raped. Public sentiment turns against Nair for defending the accused man. However, Nair and Gill uncover evidence proving that Stevens was never raped; instead, she was coerced into lying because she had a consensual romantic relationship with the man. In court, Gill cleverly manipulates her into admitting her feelings, revealing the truth. This restores Nair’s credibility and leads him to another victory, during which he nearly provokes Dyer into confessing his guilt.
But McKinley counters with a strategic blow—he accuses Nair of illegally accessing confidential government files while collecting evidence. Nair is convicted and sentenced to seclusion, preventing him from influencing the final judgment. The government is acquitted. Broken and disheartened, Nair returns home only to receive a letter from imprisoned rebel **Kripal Singh**, father of Pargat, revealing that Pargat was murdered by British officials and did not commit suicide.
Enraged, Nair drags Gill back into the fight. When the court rejects his challenge, he deliberately violates **Contempt of Court** to escalate the matter to higher authorities. Dyer and McKinley expect his public humiliation, but Nair exposes that the jury’s verdict was not unanimous. He brings forward the only honest juror—the other two having been bribed—who testifies in his favour. Although Nair is ultimately debarred from practice, his revelations reach the media and ignite a wave of patriotic resistance, ensuring that the truth of the massacre can no longer be buried.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 39% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. [41] Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3.5/5 noting, "On the whole, KESARI CHAPTER 2 is a hard-hitting courtroom drama and works due to the performances and treatment and also because it tells an untold and shocking chapter of Indian history. At the box office, it will need a strong word of mouth to sustain and emerge as a profitable venture. The adults only rating might restrict its business to some extent." [42] Rishi Jogani in his review for Pinkvilla wrote, "Kesari Chapter 2 is a must-watch for its gripping courtroom drama, stellar performances, and unflinching portrayal of a dark chapter in history. While the film’s commercial aspects like the loud score often detract from the movie's groundedness, its powerful second half, soulful music, and exceptional performances make it a compelling experience." [43]
Vineeta Kumar of IndiaToday rated the film 3.5/5 noting, "Kesari Chapter 2 doesn't entirely rely on a chest-thumping, bulldozed sense of patriotism to win the audience's hearts - there is that hard-to-forget use of the F-word in an open court, and an elaborate dialogue explaining Hindu-Muslim unity. It unapologetically adds a bit of creative swag, and lets you be a part of the drama." [44] Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost rated the film 4/5 calling it "a powerful and immensely engaging movie based on the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and the fearless lawyer, Shankaran Nair (Akshay Kumar) who shook the foundation of the British Empire". [45] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 2.5/5 mentioning it as a film of its time, for its time, with dollops of patriotic fervour. [46] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu was critical of the film writing, "It seems that after playing with ancient history, the big boys of Bollywood are meddling with modern history. While the dastardly act of the Empire needs to be exposed, the film, produced by Dharma Productions, milks the sacrifice of martyrs in Jallianwala Bagh to create a trumped-up narrative around the tragic episode. The disclaimer says it is a piece of fiction, but, as it turns out, it uses real incidents and characters to distort well-documented historical incidents that are easily available at the press of a button." [47]
Writing for The Hindustan Times , Rishabh Suri rated the film 4/5, praising the writing and Akshay Kumar's performance. [48] Uday Bhatia of Mint gave a negative review writing, "As with Dharma’s other recent historical, Ae Watan Mere Watan (2024), this is a case of Hindi filmmakers being unable to recognise surefire material when they see it, and burying it under piles of nonsense. Nair’s actual journey is fascinating, criticising Gandhi, returning his decorations by the British, fighting a very public case on their soil. But Kesari 2 is interested in Nair only to the extent that he provides a broad outline for Kumar to shout and weep and proclaim his love for India." [49] Titas Chowdhury of News18 rated the film 3.5/5 writing, "Akshay Kumar sheds off his aura as a superstar and chooses to lean on his acting prowess, taking it a notch higher than Sarfira ." [50]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
