''Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh'' is a 2025 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

courtroom drama Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...

film directed by Karan Singh Tyagi and produced by

Dharma Productions Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Johar. Based in Mumbai, it mainly produces and distributes H ...

, Leo Media Collective, and Cape of Good Films. A

spiritual sequel A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...

to the historical

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

'' Kesari'' (2019), the plot is based on the book ''The Case That Shook The Empire'' by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, centred around C. Sankaran Nair and the 1919

Jallianwala Bagh massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (), also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during the annual Vaisakhi, Baisakhi fair to protest aga ...

. The film stars

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

as Nair and also features R. Madhavan and

Ananya Panday Ananya Panday (born 30 October 1998) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. Born to actor Chunky Panday, she began her acting career in 2019 with roles in the romantic comedies ''Student of the Year 2'' and ''Pa ...

. It was released on 18 April 2025, marking the 106th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, to positive reviews from critics.

Plot

The film follows C. Sankaran Nair, a distinguished Indian barrister and member of the Viceroy’s Council, initially tasked by the British to investigate the

, expecting a report in their favor. As Nair uncovers the horrific truth of General Reginald Dyer’s ordered slaughter of unarmed civilians in Amritsar, his conscience drives him to sue

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

and Dyer for genocide, challenging the British Empire’s narrative. Aided by a young revolutionary, Pargat Singh, and a determined law student, Dilreet Gill, Nair faces off against Neville McKinley, a jaded Anglo-Indian lawyer with a personal vendetta, appointed to defend the British Empire. The intense courtroom battle exposes the colonial suppression of truth and media manipulation, while Nair’s pursuit of justice sparks a surge of patriotic resistance.

Cast

as Justice Chettoor Sankaran Nair * R. Madhavan as Adv. Neville McKinley *

as Dilreet Gill *

Regina Cassandra Regina Cassandra (born 13 December 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Cassandra is a recipient of several accolades including a SIIMA Award and a CineMAA Award, along with a Filmfare OTT Award n ...

as Parvathy Nair, Sankaran's wife * Simon Paisley Day as General Reginald Dyer *

Alexx O'Nell Alexander Leonard O'Neill (born 26 July 1980) is an American actor and musician who works in Indian films. He is best known for his roles in the films '' L2: Empuraan'', '' Ae Watan Mere Watan'', '' Khufiya'', '' Golondaaj'', '' Roohi'', '' Aarya ...

as Lord Chelmsford * Amit Sial as Tirath Singh * Deepak Antani as

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

* Mark Bennington as Michael O'Dwyer * Sammy Jonas Heaney as

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

Steven Hartley Steven Hartley (born 12 August 1960) is an English actor who has appeared in television, film, and theatre. Early life Hartley was born in Shipley and grew up in Yorkshire. He was a successful Amateur Boxer for York He worked for two years a ...

as Judge McArdie * Krish Rao as Pargat Singh * Rohan Verma as Jaan Nisar * Alexandra Moloney as Martha Stevens * Jaipreet Singh as Kirpal Singh * Luke Kenny as

Appeal Court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate ...

Judge * Atul Kumar as Crown's lawyer *

Masaba Gupta Masaba Gupta (born 2 November 1989) is an Indian fashion designer and actress with her own label called House of Masaba. Early life Masaba Gupta was born in 1988 and is the daughter of Indian actress Neena Gupta and West Indies' former cricket ...

as a dancer in the song "Khumaari" (special appearance) *

Vicky Kaushal Vicky Kaushal (; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list of ...

as the narrator (

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

)

Production

Development

The film was initially titled ''Shankara'', then it was renamed as ''Kesari Chapter 2'' in February 2025 to establish a thematic link with '' Kesari'' (2019). It was officially announced by

Karan Johar Karan Yash Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful ac ...

on 22 March 2025. It is based on the life of C. Sankaran Nair who fought against the British Raj to uncover the truth about the

, the 1919 British Army massacre of Indian protesters in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

. Advocate Neville McKinley was a fictional character that was an amalgamation of ten different historical figures.

Casting

was cast as C. Sankaran Nair, a lawyer and statesman who was also a member of the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council, formerly known as Council of Four and officially known as the Council of the Governor-General of India (since 1858), was an advisory body and cabinet of the Governor-General of India, also known as Viceroy. It exis ...

was cast opposite Kumar, marking their first project.

and R. Madhavan was also cast for important roles.

Filming

The film's shooting began in November 2022 with Akshay Kumar, with Madhavan joining in January 2023, and later moved to mid-2023 in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

where a large set of

Jallianwala Bagh Jallianwala Bagh () is a historic garden and memorial of national importance close to the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India, preserved in the memory of those wounded and killed in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre that took place on t ...

was constructed. Later, some important sequences which included Kumar and Panday were shot in

IIT Roorkee The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT- Roorkee or IIT-R) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India. It was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in 1847 d ...

. The next schedule was held in Alibag. Some portion of the film was also shot in

Rewari Junction railway station Rewari Junction railway station (station code: RE) is a major railway station of the Indian Railways serving the city of Rewari in the Indian state of Haryana. It is in the Jaipur Division of the North Western Railway zone and lies on the Delhi ...

and Rewari Railway Heritage Museum and in parts of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

including

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

, Sunder Nursery and

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

north campus area. The shooting was wrapped up by September 2024.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack is composed by Shashwat Sachdev and Kavita Seth– Kanishk Seth, with the lyrics written by

Irshad Kamil Dr. Irshad Kamil (born 5 September 1971) is an Indian poet and lyricist. His songs appeared in Bollywood films including ''Jab We Met'', '' Chameli'', '' Love Aaj Kal'', '' Rockstar'', '' Laila Majnu'', ''Aashiqui 2'', ''Raanjhanaa'', ''Highw ...

. The first single titled "O Shera – Teer Te Taj", composed by Sangtar, was released on 12 April 2025. The song was recreated from a 2020 song "Teer Te Taj" which was released during the

2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest The 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest was a protest against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts, often called the Farm Bills, had been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions, ...

. The second single titled "Kithe Gaya Tu Saaiyaan" was released on 14 April 2025.

Marketing

The teaser was released on 24 March 2025, and the trailer was released on 3 April 2025. The trailer launch event was held on 3 April 2025 in Delhi.

Release

Theatres

The film was first scheduled to be released 14 March 2025, but was delayed until 18 April 2025. The Telugu dubbed version released 23 May 2025.

Home media

The digital streaming rights were acquired by

JioHotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

. The film began streaming on the platform from 13 June 2025.

Reception

''Kesari Chapter 2'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 50% of 12 critics' reviews are positive. ''

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...

'' rated the film 3.5/5 noting, "On the whole, ''KESARI CHAPTER 2'' is a hard-hitting courtroom drama and works due to the performances and treatment and also because it tells an untold and shocking chapter of Indian history. At the box office, it will need a strong word of mouth to sustain and emerge as a profitable venture. The adults only rating might restrict its business to some extent." Rishi Jogani in his review for ''

Pinkvilla Pinkvilla is an Indian entertainment and lifestyle platform. As of June 2022, Pinkvilla has over 50,000,000 visitors on its website and app. Overview Pinkvilla covers entertainment and lifestyle stories. Its coverage extends to Hindi cinema, ...

'' wrote, "Kesari Chapter 2 is a must-watch for its gripping

, stellar performances, and unflinching portrayal of a dark chapter in history. While the film’s commercial aspects like the loud score often detract from the movie's groundedness, its powerful second half, soulful music, and exceptional performances make it a compelling experience." Vineeta Kumar of ''India'' ''Today'' rated the film 3.5/5 noting, "''Kesari Chapter 2'' doesn't entirely rely on a chest-thumping, bulldozed sense of patriotism to win the audience's hearts - there's that hard-to-forget use of the F-word in an

open court Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Got ...

, and an elaborate dialogue explaining Hindu-Muslim unity. It unapologetically adds a bit of creative swag, and lets you be a part of the drama." Lachmi Deb Roy of ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' rated the film 4/5 calling it "a powerful and immensely engaging movie based on the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and the fearless lawyer, Shankaran Nair (Akshay Kumar) who shook the foundation of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

Shubhra Gupta Shubhra Gupta is an Indian film critic who writes for ''The Indian Express''. She received the Ramnath Goenka Award for Best Writing on Cinema in 2012. She was a member of the Central Board of Film Certification from 2012 to 2015. She is the au ...

of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'' rated the film 2.5/5 mentioning it as a film of its time, for its time, with dollops of patriotic fervour. Anuj Kumar of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' was critical of the film writing, "It seems that after playing with

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

, the big boys of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

are meddling with

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

. While the dastardly act of the Empire needs to be exposed, the film, produced by Dharma Productions, milks the sacrifice of martyrs in Jallianwala Bagh to create a trumped-up narrative around the tragic episode. The disclaimer says it is a piece of fiction, but, as it turns out, it uses real incidents and characters to distort well-documented historical incidents that are easily available at the press of a button." Writing for ''

The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter of K. K. Birla. ...

'', Rishabh Suri rated the film 4/5, praising the writing and Akshay Kumar's performance. Uday Bhatia of ''Mint'' gave a negative review writing, "As with Dharma’s other recent historical, '' Ae Watan Mere Watan'' (2024), this is a case of Hindi filmmakers being unable to recognise surefire material when they see it, and burying it under piles of nonsense. Nair’s actual journey is fascinating, criticising

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

, returning his decorations by the British, fighting a very public case on their soil. But ''Kesari 2'' is interested in Nair only to the extent that he provides a broad outline for Kumar to shout and weep and proclaim his love for India." Titas Chowdhury of ''

News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, ( d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief ...

'' rated the film 3.5/5 writing, "Akshay Kumar sheds off his aura as a superstar and chooses to lean on his acting prowess, taking it a notch higher than ''

Sarfira ''Sarfira'' () is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Sudha Kongara and produced by 2D Entertainment, Abundantia Entertainment and Cape Of Good Films starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Radhika Ma ...

''."

Controversy

Poet and Youtuber Yahya Bootwala accused the makers of the film of plagiarizing his poem for scene which Dilreet Gill's speech on

allegedly lifted. in June 2025, FIR case filled by Ranajit Biswas against makers for alleged insult Bengel Freedom fighters.

Sequel

A sequel, titled ''Kesari Chapter 3'', was confirmed by

and Deepak Rao Capour in April 2025, which would be based on the life of

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (29 April 1791 – 30 April 1837) was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshaw ...

, the first commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj (the army of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

References

External links

* * {{Bollywood Hungama movie, id=kesari-chapter2 2020s Hindi-language films 2025 films Alternate history films Biographical films about politicians Cultural depictions of British people Cultural depictions of British politicians Delhi University Films about genocide Films about lawyers Films about massacres of Sikhs Films about massacres Films about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre Films based on non-fiction books Films scored by Shashwat Sachdev Films set in 1919 Films set in Amritsar Films set in Punjab Films set in Punjab, India Films set in the British Raj Films set in the Indian independence movement Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Alibag Films shot in Delhi Films shot in Haryana Films shot in Mumbai Films shot in Punjab, India Films shot in Uttarakhand Hindi-language biographical films Hindi-language films based on actual events IIT Roorkee Indian Army in films Indian biographical drama films Indian courtroom films Indian drama films Indian films based on actual events Indian historical films Indian legal drama films Indian sequel films