Aishwarya Lekshmi and Vishnuu Vishal in a still from ‘Gatta Kusthi 2’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When director Chella Ayyavu’sGatta Kusthi released in 2022, it turned out to be quite a successful fixture for both Vishnuu Vishal and Aishwarya Lekshmi, becoming a hit that furthered its momentum on post-theatrical streaming. However, I must confess that I was amongst the minority of audiences who despised much of the film vehemently — sure it had pockets of fun and a quirky onliner, however, at the end of the day, it was a highly regressive one-trick-wonder masquerading as a progressive film standing up for women. So you must imagine the kind of expectations I would have set for the sequel, releasing four years later.However, I am to report with surprise thatGatta Kusthi 2 not only betters its predecessor but also comes close — just about — to redeeming the problems in the first film. Six years after the events of the first film, Veera (Vishnuu) is no longer the poster boy of patriarchy that he was — and director Chella pushes him to the other extreme for cinematic purposes. Veera is now a docile househusband who accompanies his wrestler wife, Keerthy (Aishwarya), to her matches with refreshments in hand, takes care of their school-going child, Mathi Malar (Zara Zyanna), and teaches aerobics to housewives in his neighbourhood.
