Aranmanai 2

Aranmanai 2 in a way is an insult to the cult Malayalam classic Manichitrathazhu. It is not a rip off of the Fazil movie, but it is like what if they take away the science from the classic and made it as a supernatural ghost movie. Twisting the plot to above mentioned nature, add some tacky jokes, navels, cleavages and an old fashioned revenge idea, you get Aranmanai 2.

Murali and Anitha are an engaged couple, and they had to come back to Murali’s home from foreign when Murali’s father had an accident and went into coma. The supernatural events that took place inside the home ended up in more awful incidents and thus Anitha’s brother Ravi comes to the place. The movie is basically about the investigation carried out by Ravi and Murali along with the help of Manju about the reason behind all this.

A couple coming to a big home, supernatural things causing issues, a third party close to the couple coming to the rescue – reminds you of any movie? Taking the plot of the Malayalam classic and adding the inevitable clichés of the ghost movie formula is what Sundar C creatively done in Aranmanai 2. When the revenge flashback story which had Hansika Motwani was shown, I thought Sundar C left Manichitrathazhu at the half way point. But soon after the flashback portion, you again get to see similarities in plot ideas. For instance most characters in the movie are thinking another member of the family is haunted by the ghost and the role played by Thilakan is also there in a different form. As Aranmanai is a horror movie, the science factor isn’t there and there for the above mentioned characters and incidents are treated in the most superficial and typically exaggerated manner.

Sundar C hasn’t surprised me to be honest. The shallowness in writing and over ambitious making style that just wants to focus on the audience who are just there to whistle for Soori’s jokes puts the movie in a disappointing zone. The only area I felt fresh in terms of creativity was in that climax fight where Sundar C’s character gets into a difficult situation. But that too get spoiled by the masala added in the making. Surprisingly Hansika Motwani wasn’t used as a hot property where as Trisha and Poonam Bajwa were used to please that section of audience. Quintessential parallel track comedy is there. The cinematography is just okay. The music isn’t that catchy. As always, the visual effects are a mix of good and bad with the later having an edge.

You may not see Sundar C in the posters of the film, but he is the “Dr. Sunny” of Aranmanai 2. The actor is just okay in this character that doesn’t really demand any outstanding acting skill. The screen time of Sidharth’s character is pretty less and those who are planning to watch the movie simply because he signed the movie may get disappointed. Hansika as always looks pretty and fails as an actress. Trisha has managed to get a role that demands a little from the actress in her along with the usual skin show agenda. But Poonam Bajwa’s character is really unwanted and whenever her character is given focus in a scene, it is mostly misogynistic. Soori, Kovai Sarala and Manobala combo handles the parallel track comedy in the expected way.

On the whole Aranmanai 2 is pretty much for those who enjoyed the first part. The story is somewhat predictable, the horror elements are all the same and the comedy part is too typical. It is a horror movie with a little bit of lackluster comedy, so please don’t call it a horror comedy or comedy thriller.