Film: Maari 2 : Rating: 2.5 stars
Director: Balaji Mohan
Cast: Dhanush, Sai Pallavi, Tovino Thomas, Robo Shankar, Kalloori Vinod, Krishna and others
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography:Om Prakash

Oh boy! this is going to be a difficult one to review. If you are someone who loved the Maari you saw in Part 1 and somehow hope to see that character back in action in part 2, I’m afraid you’ll only be half satisfied.

That is because the Maari you get to see in part 2 is only his usual spunky self for a brief period. For most part of Part 2, he turns into a docile family man or in other words, a devout husband and a responsible father.

Despite all the criticisms that part 1 came in for, it stood tall and reaped rich benefits at the box office, primarily because of the way the central character in the film, Maari, was fashioned.

The Maari in Part 1 was bold, carefree, intelligent, arrogant to the point of being ruthless and more importantly, smart enough to see through manipulative moves and sidestep them.

Simply put, Dhanush in Maari 1 was every guy’s inspiration.

What defined the Maari in part 1 was his willingness to forgive but not forget the manner in which the leading lady of part 1, Kajal Aggarwal, backstabs him in the film. His decision to not fall for her advances unlike how most other normal heroes would fall for, set him apart, giving him a status that no other character had acquired.

However, director Balaji Mohan seems to have squandared all of these advantages that the character of Maari had in Part 2 by making the hero fall for Araathu Anandhi’s(Sai Pallavi) repeated proposals of love.

Director Balaji Mohan is an exceptionally good director and his base idea on which he has built this plot of Maari 2 is a really strong one.

Maari 2 is a conflict between two strong characters — one that has defied death and the other a character that calls itself the God of Death.

So, how does he build this plot? He presents Maari as someone who is invincible — someone who, after having escaped a 100 attempts on his life, is still fearless about the attempts being made on his life. On the one hand, Balaji Mohan presents Gangadhar Beeja (Tovino Thomas), a hardened criminal who has earned the reputation of having killed 32 people while being inside a prison, as someone who is hell bent on getting Maari. Beeja is so proud of the fact that he can bring death to anyone he chooses that calls himself the God of Death. Beeja has a certain reason why he considers Maari his prime enemy. But that is something you will need to watch the film to find out.

The premise is strong but the manner in which the story is narrated and the turn of events that force the director to change Maari’s personality traits halfway through the film are what work against it.

Dhanush struggles in Maari 2. This is probably because of the strong set of co-actors he has in this part. His performance shone like a newly-minted penny in part 1 because he had very few co-actors who could challenge him in the area of expressions then. However, this time around, he has Sai Pallavi as the leading lady and she is brilliant in almost all the scenes that she appears. So, she hogs the limelight and his performance in contrast appears to be dull and unimpressive. In fact, the contrast is too strong to be missed. She outclasses Dhanush in several scenes in the film.

The chemistry between the two also don’t seem to work. Sai Pallavi is a lot shorter than Dhanush and their difference in height only makes matter worse, despite the actress doing complete justice to her character.

One other big factor that worked in Maari 1 was the duo of Sanikizhamai(Robo Shankar) and Idi Thaangi( Kalloori Vinod). The chemistry between all three characters Maari, Sanikizhamai and Idi Thaangi was the highlight of Part 1. Thankfully, this continues in Part 2 as well. Both Robo Shankar and Kalloori Vinod provide some crucial support for Maari 2.

Another factor that seems to have added strength to Maari 2 is the performance of actor Krishna. The gifted actor plays his part to perfection and he dances like a dream.

Talking of dances, one will have to make a special mention of Maari Gethu, which is outstanding any which way you look at it. Choreographed by Prabhu Deva himself, it has Krishna and Dhanush really taking dancing to another level. Add to it Yuvan Shankar Raja’s racy music and you have the perfect kuthu number. Kudos to all those who were a part of this effort!

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is just fantastic as always. Already the numbers he has scored for the film are chartbusters. In particular, Rowdy Baby is a repeat number. His background score too works like a dream.

The film is a reasonably good entertainer but if you are like me who has had huge expectations from Part 2 because of what we witnessed in Part 1, you are likely to be disappointed.