If history books were action movies, Kesari Chapter 2 would be their legal thriller spinoff where the battlefield is a courtroom and the weapons are carefully constructed arguments aimed at bringing an empire to its knees.
The newly released trailer of the film showcases Akshay Kumar in the role of Sankaran Nair, the lawyer who boldly took on the British Empire in court following the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919.
The trailer effectively establishes the gravity of this historical tragedy, which claimed at least 1,650 lives, while setting up the legal battle as its dramatic centerpiece.
Akshay appears convincingly passionate as Nair and delivers powerful courtroom dialogues that cut through colonial justifications. One particularly striking moment shows him directly challenging the massacre's perpetrator, General Dyer, who attempts to paint the victims as armed terrorists.
"What weapons did you see in the hands of eight-month-old babies? Their kadas? Or their clenched fists?" Sankaran demands, establishing both the emotional and moral stakes of the legal proceedings.
R Madhavan portrays the opposition counsel Neville McKinley with a measured intensity that promises compelling courtroom confrontations. Ananya Panday also appears as a lawyer, though the trailer gives less insight into her character's specific role in the proceedings.
The visual tone shifts between the stark reality of the massacre and the tense formality of the courtroom.
Following the 2021 film Sardar Udham, which approached the same historical event through the lens of revolutionary violence, Kesari Chapter 2 offers a different perspective on seeking justice for historical atrocities through legal channels rather than retribution.
Directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, the film has been produced by Dharma Productions, Cape Of Good Films & Leo Media Collective. The film will release on April 18, 2025.
