Viduthalai Part 1, directed by Vetrimaran, is a force to be reckoned with. It is raw, uncomfortable, and real. Even though the story is being told from a constable’s perspective, there is a lot to unearth about police procedure, law and order, vigilantism, hero worship, and general politics. The first movie ended with Perumal, the so-called ‘terrorist,’ being arrested by the police. Caught in a very Pablo Escobar-esque fashion, this man, however, was not killed as he is wanted alive by the police, politicians, and bureaucrats. Viduthalai Part 2 explores the history of Perumal and his current state since being in police custody.
Spoilers Ahead
Where was Perumanl being sent?
Viduthalai Part 2 picked up from the end of the first film. Perumal was still under arrest and was being questioned by DSP Sunil Menon. Perumal kept talking about his work for the people who have been oppressed for many years. He had no regrets, and he was secure in the fate that lay ahead of him. As shown in the end of part one, Kumaresenan was suspended by OC V. Ragavendar for doing his job, and he was on his way out of the camp. As per the Chief Secretary of the Tamil Nadu state, Perumal needed to be shifted, and they had to move him through the forest nearby. Around that time, one of the police officers in the camp turned out to be a mole who sent a message to Perumal’s people about his movement through the forest. That included people who worked for a local cinema and a lawyer. All of them referred to each other as ‘comrades.’
Why was Karuppu killed?
Viduthalai Part 2 moved back to Perumal’s flashback, through which he explained why he got himself involved in the communist-socialist party, which worked for the betterment of people from the lower castes and other oppressed communities. It began with Perumal as a teacher being witness to the suffering of Karuppu, a young man who belonged to what the people referred to as a backward class. Karuppu went out of his way to rescue his newlywed wife, Maari, from a landlord’s home. The custom back then was to allow the landlords to sleep with newlywed wives on the first night of their marriage. Karuppu killed the landlord, saved his wife, and went into hiding. The landlord’s son wreaked havoc on his community, and police promised to give Karuppu a fair trial if he was to surrender.
Perumal had given shelter to Karuppu and Maari and approached the police, trusting the system and the promise made by them. To everyone’s shock, the police informed the landlord’s son, who gravely injured Perumal and killed Karuppu and Maari for murdering his father and breaking an age-old tradition. Perumal was shaken by the results of his actions, and he was taken in by an upcoming communist leader, Comrade KK. Comrade became Perumal’s mentor, made him attend classes and meet people from destitute classes and castes. He helped Perumal understand the rights and wrongs of the system and why people have the ultimate power.
Who was Mahalakshmi?
Perumal was asked to form a union at a local sugar factory whose owner was allegedly responsible for the disappearance of one of the workers. Perumal joined the factory as a worker under the name of Karuppu and started to sow seeds of unity among the workers. Perumal and Mahalakshmi had their first meeting outside the hospital where Comrade KK was briefly admitted. A few days later he was surprised to learn she was the daughter of the sugar factory owner and went against her family to work for the betterment of the people that worked in her family’s establishment. Perumal was highly moved by the stance she had taken and learned from her about her abusive marriage and the reason she cut her hair short. Both slowly fell in love and got married, and it was understood she moved away from her life of means to be with Perumal and work with him for the upliftment of the people from the lower status. They eventually had three children, and they raised them while on the run from the law.
How did Perumal become a violent Marxist leader?
Perumal and Comrade KK were soon visited by a Bengal-based Marxist leader who began to advocate violence to fight against the system and status quo. Perumal was inspired by his words and began to alter his beliefs but Comrade KK asked him to not take up violence, since protest and dialogues were the only way to seek power. Perumal began to question the power and rules set by the upper castes, which began to bother many people. This included the factory owners, who killed Comrade KK to send out a message. The death of his mentor was the last straw, and in retaliation, he killed one of the factory owners, which set the tone for his path from here along. His life took a sudden turn as he engrossed himself in party-based violence for the people he promised to serve.
What was V. Ragavendar forced to reveal?
The movie moved back to the current timeline where Perumal was being taken through the forest to the border check post. He began to converse with everyone and share his stories. He claimed this was the only way to keep wild animals at bay. He was joined by OC Ragavendar, and the driver was Kumaresan, who was reinstated within five minutes of his suspension on the orders of DSP Sunil. Since Perumal lived most of his life in the forest, he knew all the roads and routes. Perumal also saved OC V. Ragavendar from falling off a cliff, and out of guilt and pain, he confessed a secret. Ragavendar had accidentally shot his associate and killed him to avoid getting suspended and dismissed from the force. Other constables with him holding Perumal went livid at Ragavendar.
Did Perumal reveal anything about the train accident?
Perumal eventually revealed that he and his comrades had planted a bomb on the railway track and left a tip about it to the police in the hope they would react and try to avert an accident. This was in the context of the train accident shown in the prologue of Viduthalai Part 1. To their shock, neither the police nor anybody from the railways appeared to act on the tip they had given. Perumal realized the government and officials intentionally let the accident happen to place blame on the party. The accident sent Perumal and other members into deep despair and they came forward to help many victims from the train wreckage.
Was Perumal rescued?
As seen in the beginning of Viduthalai Part 2, the message regarding Perumal’s presence in the forest had already reached the comrades of the party, and they finally appeared. The comrades overpowered and overwhelmed the police force and rescued Perumal in no time. Ragavendra took this shootout as a chance to kill one of the policemen in his group as they were witness to his confession of killing his junior. Ragavendar tried to kill Perumal but the bullet just grazed him, rendering him injured. Perumal moved deep into the jungle with his comrades to avoid being captured again.
What is Subramanian’s plan?
A. Subramanian, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, had learned in the beginning of the film that one of the Tamil local dailies had pictures of detained and tortured women, and they were planning to publish them. A. Subramanian also learned from the press secretary of India that the Perumal sympathizers had revealed the news of his arrest, and they had published it as well. This put pressure on A. Subramanian and his entourage about their plan. The government was probably planning to get rid of Perumal, and that could have been the reason they took a detour through the forest. The media leak was the setbacks they had not expected. A. Subramanian was under the impression that if the media were to learn of the arrest, they would speculate and question the role of the government if Perumal was killed.
A. Subramanian quickly got accustomed to the fact that the media were aware of the arrest, however, Ragavendar informed the chief secretary that Perumal was not in their custody anymore and he had been taken away by his comrades. The police in charge of keeping Perumal safe were surrounded, and they were in no position to counter them as the comrades wouldn’t think twice before shooting the officers of the law to death. They had to surrender so that news could be sent to the higher authorities and they could take necessary action soon. Ragavendar and his team being alive was crucial for A. Subramanian to put a new plan in action to capture Perumal. He assigned Amudan, a decorated sub-inspector, to carry out the mission, and let him know another officer would join him the next day, which would make the capture easy.
Were Kumaresan and Perumal dead?
Amudan and his large force of police officers arrived in the forest, and they were joined by OC Ragavendar and Kumaresan, among other police constables who were in charge of safeguarding Perumal. Ragavendar was informed about his suspension, since the news of the torture was out. This was bound to happen as the police had to take action, and Ragavendar was to take the fall for their horrifying interrogation methods.
As the gunfire between the comrades and the police began in the forest, Perumal went through a drastic change of heart. He was leaning towards the idea of surrendering, as he was sure the police would not kill him since the news of his arrest was out. Perumal was probably thinking of reverting to Comrade KK’s ideals of getting their ideology out there through words, discourse, nonviolent fights, and negotiation on fair terms. Over the years he witnessed his comrades being killed by the police and realized that their ideology would cease to exist if things continue as is. He asked his subordinates in the party to let the police arrest him, and from prison he could fight his war and make changes as per his demands for the people who believe in his ideology. Perumal realized he wanted his ideology to remain afloat and relevant for as long as it could since he believed in protecting people and their rights. His fight was to safeguard that, but the government and the police believed him to be a terrorist.
Ragavendar, on the other hand, used the opportunity of the chaos that was ensuing in the form of the gunfight. He killed two more policemen in his group as they’d overheard his confession. Since he’d killed one police constable already, he was not afraid to kill others. Ragavendar was an egotistical man who did not think twice before killing his subordinates just to save his job. This also proves that the brotherhood, or the police spirit, was just a farce and they would not mind killing their own brethren and taking the law into their hands. Ragavendar was being hypocritical by wanting to kill Perumal and his comrades. Perumal can be dubbed someone who took the law into his hands for a good cause, but Ragavendar’s motive was self-serving. He killed three people with his revolver and was finally caught by Kumaresan. Kumaresan was slowly able to see through the police’s black and view of the world. This was the reason he let Amudan know about Ragavendar and got him arrested from the sight of an ambush. Ragavendar was angry, but now he’d run out of luck since he could no longer protect himself using the law. He had broken the law, and he would face the consequences of it.
Perumal convinced his comrades to let him surrender, and he did so by waving a white flag. As mentioned above, he had a plan and hoped his arrest would cause dissent and discourse. Perumal, on surrendering, was surrounded by Amudan and his force. He was shot by Amudan and was followed by other policemen who fired on his orders. Kumaresan and his fellow constable Bhaskar were in shock at what transpired, as they believed Amudan would follow the rules of surrender. Bhaskaran was forced to pull the trigger on the shot that finally killed Perumal. Kumaresan did not fire, since he was unable to process what was happening, and his first reaction was to not fire. This was his mind and body leaning towards the ideology Perumal had shared with them. Kumaresan stood by his decision, even if it meant he would be dismissed from his job.
Viduthalai Part 2 ended with Perumal’s last conversation with Mahalakshmi. He let her know his death was imminent. This was possibly a while before he was caught by the police. He requested that she accept his death and not trust whatever the police or people in power would let her know. She should accept his body so that people would know he was killed by the system. Perumal probably knew the power struggle over the years had not changed anything since he witnessed the brutal killing of Karuppu. Karuppu was also trying to break age-old practices, and so was Perumal. Both were deemed criminals for trying to do the right thing by saving the people from constant oppression. Mahalakshmi divulged she was glad to have lived a life with him and would never regret it. This was her way of letting him go since she was aware he would be either killed or arrested. Her fate post his arrest was not shown in the film, which was sad. However, she was alive, and so were her kids with Perumal. His death won’t end the ideology, and they would probably carry it forward by getting into politics, which was his last wish.
Amudan and the force were on their way back to the camp with Perumal’s mortal remains. Kumaresan and Bhaskaran were still in shock over the turn of events that they witnessed. It seemed both were losing hope over the establishment that was supposed to protect people. On witnessing Ragavendar’s egoistic rage and Amudan’s selfish killing of Perumal, he soon realized all of his seniors wanted to gain traction from the comrade’s death. Amudan claimed he killed Perumal, since he could not stand the idea of another officer joining him the next day and taking the credit. This proves none of them followed the ethics of the law and order and were quick to brand people like Perumal and his comrades as terrorists. The chief secretary, A. Subramanian was informed about the death, which left him angry, yet he had another plan to save the government from facing the wrath of the media and the people. He planned to keep the lore of Perumal alive so that his comrades would hope he would come back and save them. This would save the government embarrassment and mean they wouldn’t have to deal with this matter. Perumal probably knew the government would pull this stunt; hence he asked Mahalakshmi to accept his body. The lawyer who worked with Perumal was arrested by the police and so was the photographer from a local tamil daily who was going to publish the photographs of the custodial torture of a woman. This move was to prove the system and the police only work for the powerful. The journalist losing his right to speech also showcases that nothing could surpass the eyes of the people sitting in powerful positions. They could make and break people and political parties as per their convenience.
Kumaresan, in the end, drove the police jeep to the side of the cliff and left it hanging. It was the conversation with Amudan that made him give up on the life of a policeman. He could not tolerate the hypocrisy of his peers and superiors and hence kept the jeep hanging. The rest of the people in the car, including Amudan, Ragavendar, and Bhaskar, along with the body of Perumal, were left as they were. If the car fell, all of them would die. We feel it was not the right move, as the policemen would be deemed martyrs, and many would assume Kumaresan died with them. Kumaresan probably wanted the people responsible for Perumal’s perish to die. As he walked down the cliff, his voiceover stated that Kumaresan wanted to live and die for the people. This indicated he might join and become a comrade with Perumal’s party and work against the police. Perumal’s words had an impact on him, and thus was his decision in the end.
