Earlier, we reported about Bharath reprising his titular role as a police officer from 2019’s thriller Kaalidas in an upcoming film, with writer-director Sri Senthil returning to helm it. With post-production works in full swing, the makers of the film, with the tagline 'Crime and Punishment', have released a first-look poster on Saturday. Speaking about the film, Kaalidas 2, director Sri Senthil said that while the title may hint at a sequel, it has a standalone story. “Inspector Kaalidas returns, tackling a new and distinct case here. I wanted to make another crime thriller with a police officer as the central character. At the time of writing the film, I thought, ‘Why not bring back Kaalidas instead of creating another character from scratch?’”
The 2019 film Kaalidas has plenty of drama, revolves around deaths connected to the Blue Whale Challenge, and explores the personal life of the titular character. However, Kaalidas 2 will not have those elements, says Sri Senthil, for whom the film marks the sophomore directorial. “The film deviates from the typical thriller format, leaning more towards a procedural than a classic whodunit. It has two parallel stories, with Ajay Karthi playing a character with a negative shade. The scale is bigger in Kaalidas 2, with relatively greater intensity, more action and a more extensive cast reminiscent of my first film.”
The film marks the comeback of Sangita to Tamil cinema after a major gap; her last known credit is 1999’s Jayam. Sangita, renowned for her roles in the Vijay-starrer Poove Unakkaga (1996) and the Sreenivasan directorial Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala (1998), recently returned to Malayalam cinema with Chaaver (2023) and has since taken on numerous roles, including a notable appearance in the whodunit Anand Sreebala. Explaining the decision to cast Sangita in the film, Sri Senthil says, “It is an important character, for which we considered a heroine from the 1990s. That is when we realised that Sangita ma’am has started acting again in Malayalam. She is a big fan of Kaalidas and liked the story of this film.”
Thrillers are considered challenging for filmmakers, as even minor errors can significantly impact the audience's experience. However, Sri Senthil finds it easy to helm a thriller. “Unlike a love story or comedy, with a thriller, you can easily convince a producer and carry the audience along with the story. However, maintaining the element of surprise remains a key challenge.” The filmmaker emphasises that even if the antagonist's identity is discernible to the audience, the film's conclusion will remain unpredictable.
Produced by K Senthil through his Sky Pictures banner, alongside N Yogeshwaran, Kaalidas 2 has been shot mostly in Chennai, with some portions in Kerala. The film also stars Prakash Raj and Kishore in important roles. Suresh Menon, Bhavani Sre, Anant Nag, Raja Ravindra, DM Karthik, and Abarnathi round out the cast. On the technical side, it has music by Sam CS, cinematography by Suresh Bala, editing by Bhuvan Srinivasan, and stunts by Om Prakash. The makers plan to release Kaalidas 2 in late May.