Jailer 2: Vidya Balan's role draws viewer criticism and drives the final twist

Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 opened in theatres on October 15, 2026. Most early reactions on social media are positive, but one part of the film has drawn sharp criticism from viewers: the way director Nelson Dilipkumar wrote Vidya Balan's character.

Many viewers say Nelson used her mostly to set up flirty reactions from Rajinikanth's Tiger Muthuvel Pandian, and some have called those reactions misogynistic. One scene comes up again and again in posts. In it, Tiger ogles her and says "super", a moment fans argue should never have been filmed.

Others found the whole romantic track cringeworthy. They feel an actor of Vidya Balan's calibre deserved a strong part, not a glamorous spot in the villain's gang.

Spoiler warning. On screen, the role carries more weight than those scenes suggest. Vidya Balan plays Kantha, daughter of Chakri Kalpak, played by Mithun Chakraborty. Tiger spends the sequel fighting the Kalpas family to protect his loved ones, and several of its members fall. SJ Suryah's Bodhi dies, and Shiva Rajkumar's Narasimha kills Hakim, played by Shahjahan. Hrithik Roshan's character also comes back to help Tiger when his family is in danger.

Kantha survives. In the closing moments she sends Tiger a "good morning" message, borrowing one of his own tricks and marking herself as the next enemy. Vijay Sethupathi adds to the mystery as a policeman who leaves Tiger unsure of what comes next.

Those two threads keep the door open for a Jailer 3, though no third film has been officially announced. The cast of the sequel to Nelson's 2023 film Jailer also includes Mohanlal.