Everyone remembers the first part of Sandakozhi. It laid foundations for Vishal as a mass action hero, made Lingusamy a go-to director for masala entertainers and elevated Meera Jasmine to a cult status for her refreshing portrayal of the usual bubbly heroine character. It is the same magic that Sandakozhi 2 hopes to recreate.
Director Lingusamy has stuck to the tried and tested formula. Rajkiran (Durai) and Vishal (Balu) reprise their role as the majestic father-son duo who are the guardian angels of their district. However, Meera Jasmine’s character has been removed and a hasty 5-second scene is all we get to know what happened to her.
Keerthy Suresh as Sembaruthi has been roped in to revive the essence of Meera Jasmine’s character to try and cast the same spell it had on the audience in 2005.
The movie is set against the backdrops of a village festival. Durai and Balu have to battle against Pechi (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar). She craves for revenge to end the life of the last descendant of a family responsible for her husbandâs death.
An action-centric film with a powerful hero needs an equal villain to sustain interest. So to make it challenging for the hero, Lingusamy balances the equation by injuring Durai early in the film and Balu has to battle the woman adversary alone. Credits have to be given to Varalaxmi for sparring against not one but two powerful actors in Vishal and Raj Kiran and holding her own.
The movie shows a lot of ‘mass’ moments for both Vishal and Raj Kiran. It even has a small Devar Magan moment and portrays Vishal as the next Raj Kiran.
The romantic track too is entertaining and Keerthy Suresh has made sure there is no hangover from Mahanati and transforms beautifully as the chirpy and funny Sembaruthi.
In all the din of the village revenge saga, it is Sembaruthi who keeps things light in the first half. However, she has little to no role in the second half as the main plot of how Pechi and Balu outsmart each other takes centre stage. The combo of Kanja Karuppu and Munishkanthas also tickle our funny bones throughout the film.
But the problem with Sandokozhi 2 is that it lacks the surprise moments and the controlled burst of brilliance of the first film. The music and the background score too could have used some fresh tunes and the epic Sandokozhi BGM has been overdone.
However, the small failures do not remove the entertainment factor of the movie and it is still a big step up for Lingusamy who is slowly rising up from the Anjaan debacle.