It's lovely to return to these characters that we have liked in the first film, right from
Dhanush Raghuvaran to even
Vivekh
and his assistant. Raghuvaran, despite now being married and having proved himself in the earlier film, still continues to be the same, though he has now developed a fondness for spouting Thirukkural.
The role reversal in Raghuvaran's household, with Shalini becoming the dominant person who keeps everyone on their toes is interesting. The father, played by Samuthirakani, now has the role of the friend and philosopher, which happened to be his mother in VIP.
Talking about the mother, the film does overplay the mother sentiment a bit (and it is aware this), but a scene on the terrace mirroring a similar one from part 1 still manages to be heartwarming.
These scenes in Raghuvaran's home play at a different pitch than in the previous film... from closer-to-real-life tone, we now get almost spoofy episodes with the focus more of generating laughs.
That said, the scenes involving Raghuvaran and the people close to him are still the film’s charm.
That brings us to the antagonist,
Vasundhara
Parameswaran.
Kajol is a good choice to play this character, who is entitled, arrogant and stubborn as much as she is self-made and successful. Her first encounter with Raghuvaran sets the stage for their conflict. They are opposites in every way.
But these still feel like something that has been included to simply prop up the hero and give him a larger-than-life image.
Thankfully, Vasundhara isn't an Amul Baby like the previous film’s antagonist, and is quite a match for Raghuvaran.
If there is one aspect where the film falls woefully short of the original, it is in the songs,which lack the punch of those in the earlier film. While
Sean Roldan
did well in Pa. Pandi, here, the music lacks the pep that this genre needs. The placement of the songs doesn't help either.
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