If Jayaraj's Malayalam film 4 the People was about four vigilante college students who helped the needy get justice by cutting the limbs of unjust people, in Of The People they just go a step further and kill off the person.

This film begins with three of the four protagonists of 4 The People getting out of jail after serving time for their crimes committed in the first instalment.

The fourth one played by Bharath is supposedly killed by the police (like the convenient ploy adopted by TV serials when an actor has to be dropped midway through a series. Perhaps Bharath has become too big a star to be accommodated in an average budgeted Malayalam film).

Anyway, what happens to the trio after they get out of jail and return to their college? Not surprisingly, they are ill treated by other students.

So, they venture into the jungle like their hero Che Guevara armed with a laptop and create an interactive website with Guevara's picture, where they take complaints from common folks and annihilate the culprits wearing the Guevara uniform.

The story credited to the director includes mostly everything shown by the media in the last six months -- whether it is the demolition drive in Munnar or the infighting in the ruling coalition stifling the working of an upright Chief Minister. That makes us wonder whether we are watching a Suresh Gopi film.

The violence is bordering on grotesque and the jazzy camerawork does not help either.

While the credit for the major share for the success of 4 the People goes to the music of Jassie Gift, in the sequel there is no cohesive glue that binds the film.

Rediff Rating: