Thiruttu Payale 2 Review - Has its moments!!!

Bharath Vijayakumar

The good thing about Sushi Ganeshan's spiritual sequel to his 2006 film 'Thiruttu Payale' is that this isn't merely an attempt to use a title that did manage to register with a section of the audience a decade back. The title seems apt without a doubt as the film plays out. Characters with mostly grey shades, blackmail, the hunter and hunted swapping places at regular intervals - the structure is quite similar to the first film and this one is actually a better product with lesser rough edges.

In 2006 it was a binocular and a camera that were weapons in the hands of the protagonist/antagonist Jeevan. A decade later and social media is what takes centerstage and the danger is much more closer here.The casting is interesting (not entirely in a positive sense) and so are the characters. It is Prasanna who takes the first place with a performance that is assured, believable and also devoid of the fuss that such characters usually bring out from the actors. This is definitely an improvement for Bobby Simha from what he has been offering of late but from what comes across on screen there is quite some inconsistency in the way he behaves. He is supposed to play someone who wanted to be honest but has fallen prey to the system. This definitely does not come across as well as it was intended to. In Amala Paul's case the writing itself leaves a lot to be desired. She never looks like someone who is fragile enough to be blackmailed by a guy with a photo of her pouting for the camera.

The film moves at a certain moderate pace throughout and this works as a sort of relief from most films these days that think breakneck speed is a must. Vidhyasagar's music too toes a similar line. But the length (150 mins) does not help towards the end. The romance between Bobby Simha and Amala Paul in the short flashback is handled quite nicely. It is also placed at an important point in the film and this really works. The pre-interval sequence too packs a punch and so is the little twist in the climax.

What did not work for me was that most of the problems in the film looked contrived. As pointed out earlier, Amala Paul makes a mountain out of a molehill. For someone who is shown as a confident young woman she keeps compounding her problems with little thought about the repercussions. Also time and again the characters in our films behave as though infidelity is a more serious sin compared to corruption and even murder!! The fact that we are not really rooting for anyone works for and against the film. It helps to keep the proceedings interesting but there is a lack of real tension as we are not really backing anyone.

Bottomline: 

Thiruttu Payale 2 has its moments and works as an interesting watch. But it is not as compelling as it should have been.

Rating: 2.75/5