Gatta Kusthi 2 Movie Review:

Camouflage. It is always interesting to see how women empowerment films play out in Tamil cinema. Quite often, the makers try to mount a ‘male saviour’ film masquerading as a ‘women empowerment’ film. But smarter filmmakers know that the audience might see through this bluff, and they have started packaging it better. One such film was Chella Ayyavu’s Gatta Kusthi (2022), a seemingly entertaining ride about the ill effects of misogyny and the inherent need for women's empowerment in society. On paper, it was empowering, but compromises were made to make it seem more ‘palatable’. Interestingly, in Gatta Kusthi 2, Chella doesn’t play the camouflage game. He throws caution to the wind, and goes all out to give us a battle of the sexes that tilts the scales clearly in favour of the man, but not without having him point out why women must be empowered. Basically, Chella and Vishnuu have the cake, and this time, they eat it, too.

Director: Chella Ayyavu

Cast: Vishnuu Vishal, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Zara, Mokksha.

Gatta Kusthi 2 starts six years after the happenings of the first film. The baby that was born in the end of the first film is now six-year-old Mathi (Zara). Keerthy (Aishwarya Lekshmi) has a government job and is winning wrestling tournaments left, right, and center. Veera (Vishnuu Vishal) is a proud house husband, and just like a particular television brand, he is the Owner’s pride and the neighbour’s envy. Chella sets the tone of the film by having Veera play a 2026 version of Gopala Gopala’s Pandiarajan, who has the women in his apartment treat him as their confidante, much to the chagrin of their husbands. He dances with them, struggles with them for a place in the line to fill water in plastic pots, cooks special dishes and teaches them how to do so, and you get the drift, right? He is the ‘ideal’ man, but the film wastes no time in spelling out how this idealism is exalted only in the houses of others. It succinctly points out that society still looks down on men who take up the role of a homemaker. Even as it advocates respect for such choices, Gatta Kusthi 2 also asserts that this outlook persists because society has never accorded housewives the respect they deserve. “You insult househusbands only because you have never respected the hardwork of housewives,” says Veera in a scene. Even when exalting the men, Gatta Kusthi 2 doesn’t forget to tick the basics. That is why it is even more disappointing when it frequently resorts to plucking low-hanging fruit in building conflicts and employing reductive humour.

One might think having a misogynist uncle (Karunaas), who spews hate against independent women, and insults them in every scene, is the most problematic aspect of the film. However, the writing balances it out by painting him as the clear villain, who doesn’t understand that the world has evolved, and isn’t waiting for him to play catch-up. You have Veera who says all the right things, and does all the right things, except in one scene where he reverts to his slap-happy demeanour. While the film tries to justify it by adding layers of remorse, guilt, and more, one can’t help but be wary about how ‘inadvertent’ physical abuse is always glossed over in this franchise. Even when Keerthy cries after being slapped by Veera, and the family rightfully rallies around her, one character says, “Keerthy is crying because she hit her daughter, and not because she was hit by Veera.” That, how do you know? In fact, throughout the film, Keerthy is portrayed as hot-headed, nothing more. There is very little nuance to her character, and it is disappointing that the film doesn’t give her a chance to actually say what she feels. Imagine a film where a character is constantly pressurised, and yet, she is the one who has to ‘understand’ everything. It is a shame that, after a while, Keerthy is painted as just the nagging wife, who doesn’t know better. On the other end, it isn’t like Veera is any better. He does everything only to pull off an ‘I didn’t know better’ reaction. But Chella also paints an important picture as to how stinging words can be as painful as a slap. Apart from a song in the first few minutes, we hardly see Keerthy respond warmly to Veera. There are a lot of acerbic words being thrown around, and she doesn’t realise the impact it has on someone who understands his role in the family but wishes for more acknowledgment. These scenes are actually well-written, and they show that the battle of the sexes is not mostly about who wins, but about how no one loses in the end.

The writing smarts are also evident in how the film narrates the events of the first installment for those who might not have seen Gatta Kusthi. It is a neat trick and shows how Chella has a firm grip on the narrative direction. There is also oodles of humour that work extremely well, and there are a few template scenes that are structured to elicit loud laughs. Take, for instance, the entire “Appadi Podu” sequence, the ‘chauvinistic’ conversations peppered throughout the film, or even the final act, with Ramya Krishnan and Yogi Babu making interesting cameos that slightly overstay their welcome. Gatta Kusthi 2 has a lot going for it. There are some compelling dialogues by Lizzie Antony, who plays Karunaas’ wife in the film, even if that narrative detour is familiar and not fleshed out enough. The film does a really good job of keeping the laughs coming, even if there are intermittent scenes where your eyes roll to the back of your head.

Gatta Kusthi 2 understands that as long as you keep people in high spirits, they would look past a few fundamental flaws. Case in point, that entire stretch involving Mathi’s teacher Meenu (Mokksha). She does play a generic ‘distraction’ who only exists to add confusion in the mind of an estranged wife. She is dressed provocatively, and it takes you back to the not-so-good ol’ 90s where such tropes did the profession of teaching a great disservice. One might ask people not to read too much into these things, but how can you do so when you have a teacher randomly joining a reality TV show with a father-daughter duo, dancing with them, and planting a kiss on the father’s cheek? Why would a teacher do it? Humour? But why? ‘I didn’t know better’ cannot be the middle name of Veera, right?

Nevertheless, Gatta Kusthi 2 does a lot of things right, especially with the character of Mathi, who talks and behaves like a first-standard girl. She isn’t asked to act much beyond her years, and it is a welcome relief. Of course, there are a few misses here, as well, especially in the final stretch. In fact, Gatta Kusthi 2 comes together well mainly because the screenplay has long gags that you warm up to. Yes, there are moments when you are worried if the one-dimensional characters might become an excuse to derail the call for feminism. And yet, at the same time, you might look around to see if anyone is judging you for laughing out too loud. Gatta Kusthi 2 smartly oscillates between both ends. It provides enough laughs, even if it leaves you with a few questions that make you think if you are reading too much into it. Because in this film, we have the thinker be antagonised, and what happens to the happy-go-lucky person who camouflages his misgivings as naivete? He gets everything, and much more.