Short and accurate story
An Indian barrister, C. Sankaran Nair, portrayed by Akshay Kumar, takes the British Empire to court in the wake of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. With the help of young lawyer Dilreet Gill (Ananya Panday (yes, she has Internet access here too)) and others, Nair exposes the concealed evidence against General Dyer. The courtroom showdown shows the brutality of colonial governance. “Although the judgment is not completely about justice, it is an important case involved in India’s struggle for freedom.”
Cast & Crew
Starring
– Akshay Kumar as C. Sankaran Nair
– R. Madhavan as British lawyer Neville McKinley
– Ananya Panday as Dilreet Gill
- Regina Cassandra, Simon Paisley Day, Alexx O’Nell, Amit Sial and others.
Director: Karan Singh Tyagi
Producers: Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, Amritpal Singh Bindra, Anand Tiwari
Music: Shashwat Sachdev, Kavita Seth & Kanishk Seth.
Cinematography: Debojeet Ray.
Editing: Nitin Baid.
Plus Points
- Hard-hitting acts: Akshay Kumar takes charge of the screen with a subtly powerful performance as R. Madhavan and Ananya Panday surprise us with their shades of depth.
- Courtroom drama, emotional: The movie places you in the thick of a dramatic legal face-off.
- Strong technicals: Right course, stirring background music and period veracity are noted.
- Noteworthy storytelling: It surfaces an overlooked turn of events in India’s history to demonstrate the power of nonviolent resistance.
Minus Points
Pros Slow burning first half: The first half is a bit on the slow side with lots of exposition that may try viewers’ patience.
Accuracy in question: Although powerful, some courtroom liberties may stray too far from documented history.
Box-office gap: Made at a budget of ₹150cr, the film made just ₹125cr—a rather disappointing figure for a film with its magnitude indiatimes
Audience & Critic Reception
Critics were mostly nodding along:
Times of India: 3/5 – felt that it had an emotional weight and gripping courtroom tension.
Mixed opinions: NDTV observed star power but cautioned about “pure Bollywood” historical take.
Audience voices: It was described as a “heart‑wrenching” film by Reddit users and appreciated the performance of Akshay, Madhavan and Ananya.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 46 reviews with an average rating of 7.35/10. The site’s consensus reads, “It’s hard to watch, but The Great Hack serves as an effective case for greater restrictions on the use of personal data.” Rotten Tomatoes lists mostly 4 and 5-star audience ratings, calling the film powerful though occasionally “overdramatic”.
Celeb responses (Vicky Kaushal, Urmila Matondkar)
Worldwide earnings:
Approx ₹145 cr—below its ₹150 cr budget . Verdict: Although critically appreciated, its commercial performance was modest—labeled a “flop” by analysts indiatimes
Final Verdict:
Kesari Chapter 2 is a gripping courtroom drama that excels in period details, emotional impact, and performance. It provides a distinct, reflective follow-up to Kesari, emphasizing moral and verbal conflict over action. Even though it doesn’t entirely meet box office expectations and may test viewers’ patience early on, it is a thought-provoking historical drama that works particularly well for audiences interested in courtroom intrigue and patriotic tales.