The late Satish Kaushik had an illustrious career as an actor and director, but his last movie, Kaagaz 2, doesn’t do justice to his legacy. Like the previous installment, Kaagaz 2 is also a courtroom drama talking about a societal issue. The message is sincere and relevant, but V.K. Prakash’s weak direction and the caricaturish dialogue leave a bitter aftertaste. The characters in this world behave like they’re written by a toddler, and the low production value along with the poor soundtrack impacts the movie a lot.
Spoilers Ahead
What happens in the movie?
Uday is a trainee cadet at the Indian Military Academy (IMA). He and his best friend, Satty, dream of joining the Indian Army. Uday is suspended from the academy when he gets into a fight with some local troublemakers. Satty’s father helps Uday pay off the compensation fee, and he returns home to his mother, Radhika. Uday’s girlfriend, Tanisha, is a supportive partner who suggests that he tell his mother about the suspension. Uday hesitates when he sees Radhika and her boyfriend, Abhijeet, talking to each other. When Radhika finds out about Uday’s suspension, Uday fights with her and leaves to see his estranged father, Raj Narayan Singh. Uday is aggrieved and repulsed by his father for leaving, but Raj deals with Uday’s behavior like a good dad should. Uday’s perception of his father changes when he learns about a case he’s fighting, along with a rare type of blood cancer he has.
Why doesn’t Uday leave his father?
When Uday finds out about Raj’s disease, he thinks Raj only wanted to see him because he wanted his bone marrow. Uday lashes out at Raj without even letting him clear things up, and he leaves his house infuriated. At the bus station, he’s stopped by one of his dad’s clients, Sushil Rastogi. Uday had earlier seen goons vandalizing Raj’s house and the son of a minister threatening Sushil and Raj. Sushil tells Uday how all of it began with his daughter Arya’s death. Arya, the daughter of a clerk in the Water Department, topped the UPSC examinations in the small town of Sheetlapur. Arya falls from a stool and hits her head just the day after, and when she’s being taken to the hospital, a political rally leads to a huge traffic jam. Despite Sushil and one constable’s best efforts, they reach the hospital too late, and Arya passes away. The doctor tells Sushil she might’ve been saved if she was brought there 15-20 minutes ago, and Sushil can’t believe what happened to his life. Raj takes up Sushil’s case against the minister, and he promises to fight against the injustice even with his life-threatening disease. Uday realizes his father’s fame wasn’t born out of PR, and his selflessness in fighting for the common man is noble. Uday comes back to Raj’s home, and the two hit it off when Uday offers to be his assistant on the case.
What’s the argument from the defense?
K.P. Deo Ranjan and his team put up a strong defense against Sushil’s plea. The judge is already friends with the minister, and all the favors lean toward him. Dr. Nigam, the pathologist, testifies that it’s not certain that Arya would’ve survived if she had been given medical attention 15 minutes ago. The inspector in charge of the rally says he sent a constable to help Sushil, and he did the best he could. Another police official states that the traffic disturbances for the day and alternative routes were published. Minister Ranjan claims that his party already obtained permission from the city council, and they served their own responsibilities. He further tells the court that his party is a national one, and for the greater good, he must hold rallies and give out speeches. Raj counters each and every one of the arguments with rationality and the book. Things take a turn when he collapses on the ground during one of his statements.
Does Uday give his bone marrow to Raj?
After admitting Raj into the hospital, Uday gets to know his bone marrow matches Raj’s, and he agrees to go ahead with the transplant right away. He remembers his days at the IMA, where he trained to be a soldier. The procedure is successful, and Uday finds Satty by the bedside. Satty salutes Uday for the bravery he showed, and Uday gets back up to take care of the real hero, his father. When he tells Radhika that he’d rather stay with Raj than go back to IMA, Radhika asks if she should be worried or proud of the upbringing she gave him. Raj soon starts to recover, and the father-son bond continues into Uday’s adulthood. Uday clearly has abandonment issues, and Raj finally coming around helps him be more lively than before. Raj tells him that he should accept his mother and Abhijeet’s relationship, as he helped Radhika’s business grow and he’s a good man overall. Uday thinks his mother should get back with Raj, but Raj explains why that’s not possible. Raj cheated on Radhika years ago, and Radhika, being a woman with self-respect, refused to take him back and broke up. Uday has a lot of unresolved issues with his dad, but he also understands the pain of living apart from one’s family for so many years.
How does Uday bring the case under the spotlight?
Uday and Tanisha work together to raise awareness about the case all around the city. Their hard work bears fruit, and people start to join their cause. Their clear question to the common man of the nation is about how many times politics has ruined their daily lives. People from all over India join the movement, and it catches on like wildfire. Their efforts on social media lead to people from different cities starting the protest in large numbers, and Uday puts the final nail in the coffin when he blocks Mr. Ranjan’s car on the last day of hearing. He hires people disguised as Ranjan’s followers and surrounds his car by creating a traffic jam. The court waits for Ranjan, but he’s stuck tasting his own medicine.
Does Sushil Rastogi get justice?
On the day of this historical judgment, Raj brings forth three people without prior notice who are directly connected to the case. A man who had an interview to attend that could’ve changed his life, missed it due to the traffic jam caused by Ranjan’s rally. Now he faces financial trouble and can’t provide for his family. A teenager who was supposed to give her board examinations reached the centre an hour late and lost an entire year. A man from Kolkata who got to know that his son was sick, couldn’t get to airport in time, and his son died while he was stuck in Sheetlapur. After they speak, Raj emphasizes the fact that this is a case of violating the rights of an Indian citizen, and if Arya had even one percent chance of survival, Mr. Ranjan snatched that chance from her. Sushil comes to deliver a monologue on how a common man in India has no rights to speak up for themselves. The judge is moved by Sushil’s pain and Raj’s closing statement, and he passes a fitting judgment. Mr. Ranjan is penalized and is ordered to give one crore rupees in compensation, along with a formal FIR against him.
The D.M. of Sheetlapur is due to present her case to save her job, and the inspectors will get FIRs against them as well. The state government is ordered to compensate Sushil with two crore rupees, and justice finally prevails thanks to Raj’s nerves of steel. Uday rejoins the IMA, and his parents and Abhijeet salute as the upcoming soldier performs in a march. Uday seemed to be losing his life when he was suspended, and his difficult relationship with his parents wasn’t helping. When he hesitantly decided to meet his father, little did he know that he’d learn to be a man from him, not from the IMA. Raj wasn’t there to teach Uday how to ride a bicycle, but when he finally reconnected with his son, he was patient with Uday’s anger towards him. His leniency allowed Uday to finally come closer to his dad, and life is never worse when you’ve got a supportive father by your side.
