A sizzling sequel from Uppi dada

Uppi 2
Kannada (A)
Cast: Upendra, Kristina Akheeva, Parul Yadav, Sayaji Shinde, Shobhraj
Director: Upendra

After a long hiatus, the maverick and mercurial showman Upendra is back. The wait, it seems, has been worth its weight in years. Only that in Uppi 2, the sequel, Upendra takes on a highly philosophical pitch while narrating a convoluted, but cracker of an action plot.

Right from the first frame to final freeze, it is the Real Star’s show all the way. Not one moment does Upendra the actor, egged on by his alter ego, the director, give viewers the time to think, as he goes on philosophising about the real and unreal, seen and unseen, the here and now.

Uppi 2 turns out more of an existential take on life and living, even as the film at more mundane level, is a routine tale of diabolic don Salim seeking to usurp the property and person of Mandakini’s daughter Kushi.

The mother has bequeathed her vast wealth to the daughter and the man who finds and weds her. Even as Salim from Dubai — through his meanies Bala & Co — launches a search for the elusive Kushi (or is she Lakshmi?), you have Naanu (or is he Neenu?) donning many avatars like a chameleon, thwarting Salim’s plans.

Who is this Neenu or Naanu? Going by Uppi 2’s tagline Neenu Unknown, you have Upendra mesmerising as a village yokel, a sandal-pasted sadhu doing penance in the Himalayas, or as a gun-totting knight rider in blazing bikes, or as the swashbuckling romancer of ladies.

By the time Uppi 2 — which sees Upendra take potshots at his own ilk in the industry — climaxes to an unpredictable end, you are in a tizzy, swirled and squished by the storytelling. Is a sequel 3 on? You wonder. Simply enjoy maadi Upendra’s uppittu, salted and spiced with dollops of drama and dialogue baazi.