Why the first part of VIP worked for me was because of the amount of simplicity it had and also there was a nice build up towards the second half’s ambitious developments. The humiliation Raghuvaran had to face and the kind of humor that got developed etc. made the film really funny and for a majority of youth who shared the sentiment the connect was instant and we sort of enjoyed the transformation knowing that what you see on screen is practically impossible. When it comes to Velaiilla Pattadhari 2, you can somehow feel the burden of it becoming a franchise. Dhanush as a writer somehow manages to keep the ingredients from the first film, but the over dosage of certain elements drags the film slightly backwards.
Raghuvaran is now a married man working in his first company and he has won the “Engineer of the year” award. So that award puts him under the radar of Vasundhara, a prominent builder in South India. Raghuvaran was offered a job at her firm, but he politely refuses the option. Vasundhara’s ego gets hurt and the film is driven by this tussle between Raghuvaran and Vasundhara.
First of all I don’t know any organization who gives an award titled “Engineer of the year”. May be it was Dhanush’s way of saying don’t take anything in the film so seriously. The practicality of most of the plot twisting moments in VIP 2 is not a convincing one. While VIP had only one such major plot element, here there are too many. Just like how Hari is making Singham go national, international and may be out of space, VIP 2 is also a bit desperate at times to make Raghuvaran a little bigger in terms of reach. The problem is that it reduces the fun factor from the narrative. The marriage of Raghuvaran, the equation with other family members etc. are the subplots that give us the feel of the old VIP, and if you analyze them, they are not as blended the way it was in the first part. Raghuvaran who delivered mass dialogues that just trashed the egos, is more interested in preaching this time.
Dhanush has the swagger to pull off Raghuvaran. His timing in comedy and the signature attitude as Raghuvaran obviously helps the movie in being kickass. Kajol’s character isn’t really more than the antagonist one would expect. She is adamant, egoistic and may be because of the stature of her stardom, Vasundhara is not the typical antagonist and Dhanush tries to humanize that character with the usual sentiments and also some impressive humor quirks. Amala Paul and Samuthirakani reprise their roles from the first part. Saranya Ponvannan appears briefly in the film. Vivek is there with his mind voice jokes.
This is Soundarya Rajnikanth’s second film after the ambitious Kochadaiyaan. Looking at the choice of script, one can easily say that she has played it safe by choosing VIP 2. The Velraj movie is obviously the foundation of the film and whatever Dhanush has written beyond the scope of the first VIP looks unconvincing. Even the dialogues don’t have that kind of punch. The portions you enjoy the most in this film are actually the ones that are somehow connected to the first part. Looking at the climax portion featuring Raghuvaran and Vasundhara, I would have loved the film if they had kept a bit less ambitious. Sameer Thahir’s frames add style to the frame. Sean Rolden’s music isn’t as peppy as Anirudh’s and even in the case of background score; the Anirudh version has more energy.
Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 is entertaining for sure. It has humor, it has punch dialogues, it has drunken song and it has the slow motion walk. But the end result is slightly below the Velraj version.
Rating: 2.5/5
It has humor, it has punch dialogues, it has drunken song and it has the slow motion walk. But the end result is slightly below the Velraj version.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
