What if ‘Indian’ is not ‘The’ Senapathi………..?

Veerasekharan Senapathy aka ‘Indian’ is indeed a phenomenal cinematic icon for all the Tamil film lovers across the world. Thanks to the brilliant portrayal of the legendary Kamal Haasan as well as the penning of both Shankar (also the director) and the late Sujatha, ‘Indian’ became an immortalized figure of vigilantism and crime fighting. Kamal Haasan also won several accolades including the National Film Award for the Best Actor, for portraying the character on big screen.

Now since the sequel ‘Indian 2‘ to the classic 1996 vigilante crime thriller is going to hit the big screen in a few days, the Senapathy has managed to become the talk of the town once again. On the web world, there still are striking debates about the kind of politics to be portrayed on big screen (Indian 2 is also considered also as an entry car for Kamal Haasan to the world of politics, into which he is planning on serving for full time), as well as some criticism on the teaser, ever since it got released a few months back.

But what if it is not the actual Senapathy making his appearance as the lead in the sequel?

There were also numerous logical questions about how someone too old like Veerasekharan Senapathy could make an appearance in the sequel about 28 years after the original film. Senapathy’s actual date of birth as per the records Mr. Krishnaswamy IPS (portrayed by Nedumudi Venu, the legendary thespian) collected is ‘30/4/1918’, which makes him already somewhat close to an octogenarian by the original Indian’s timeline itself. Unless there’ll be some sort of obscure reasoning be present for his longevity like how it was present in both Aptharakshaka or Nagavalli (a bad example to be followed, I must admit), Senapathy’s upright pose and his tussle for completely overturning the system might earn some jibes from the people inside the big screen.

There is a theory which is a logical one but not a piece of cake to execute which has been flowing around the net for a while and as per that theory, the protagonist of the upcoming Indian 2 isn’t really Veerasekharan Senapathy but his son Chandrabose aka ‘Chandru’. Yes, you heard it!

The same son whom Senapathy had to kill with grievance to serve his goal. How he could come out of his grave and do all the actions in his father’s name, would be kind of questions one might forcibly tangle in his/her own mind after hearing the theory. To make it straight, nothing isn’t that impossible to bring him back with some explanations and some bit of tweaking.

The basic possible way to bring Chandru back from the grave would be to declare him as someone who had survived the attack from Senapathy inside the airport. Not to mention that Senapathy while being physically robust to his age, is still a really old man who can’t make stab wound beyond 5 inches. Since Senapathy had to fight his emotional side at a great deal while trying to use his notorious knife for piercing through Chandru’s chest, its also highly possible for him to have missed his aim or not stabbing deeply as he usually does. Its also not that entirely impossible for Chandru to have fallen from the vehicle he was riding after suffering from the shock, while his father survived the major accident by jumping off that same jeep. Now all it would take would be a little bit of help from Krishnaswamy to hide his son’s death from Senapathy.

Chandru could make a dramatic transformation from being a corrupt government official to someone who would stand straight against crime and corruption within the 28-year gap. Its also hinted in Indian that while Chandru being someone who tries to get to his ambitions in the shortest and unrighteous route, is also someone who did have some sort of guilt and love as he genuinely lamented his own role in the death of those schoolchildren (even though it got clouded by his decision to evade from the crime scene and plant fake evidence). Things could get complicated if he himself would find some situations like witnessing the side effects of his actions from a parallel side or an untimely death of his beloved like his girlfriend or his own mother. Its not utterly impossible for him to be in his father’s place even if he detested that route in the first place (yes, its an obvious nod to the Godfather series).

Chandru being the eldest and the dear son of Senapathy, could possess some skills in the art of ‘Varmakalai’, in which his father was recognized as a virtuoso in the first Indian film.  While his skills won’t be anywhere in the same league of Senapathy’s, Chandru might still be able to land some punches and throw some stuns through unique hand gestures and proper aiming. Lets not forget that he managed to fight off the bully who messed with his girlfriend. He could still use the 28 years gap as means for honing his skills in the ancient and nearly extinct martial art.

The synopsis available so far claims that its Sidhharth’s character and his actions in fighting the injustices which invite ‘Indian’ back in the game after a long break. In a way, it could still be Chandru who would be making the appearance in Indian 2 as its protagonist. All it would take for him would be a couple of facial prosthetics and other sorts for impersonating his father (not to say that both Senapathy and his son shares a strong resemblance in the first film since they are both played by the same actor. Making some slow gestures or drags like Senapathy won’t be entirely difficult for Chandru since he will almost be in the same age group his father was, in the newest installments. Upon analyzing the chances for Senapathy to make a return and fight the crime as he did, Chandru can make a grand return as his father both for fighting the injustice and for making sure that his father’s name and face would remain an insignia against corruption for scaring away the corrupted officials.

As per some reports, Kamal Haasan could also be making a small appearance as Senapathy’s father as the lyrics in ‘Paara’ suggests an India before making her freedom and his troop members while fighting against the British rule. If those rumors are true, the film could still make an immediate dynamic by shuffling between both the extreme past and present like in The Godfather Part II.

‘Indian 2‘ will hit the theatres on 12^th of July.  At present, the film is the talk of the Tamil filmland since the audio launch of the film took place yesterday and because the songs got released on every online audio and video platforms.

So what are your expectations on Indian 2 & Indian 3.?

Compiled By Amal John