When over 50 people walk out of a screening, you know the film has hit a new low. When the first sign of a house being haunted is a framed picture on the wall mysteriously shattering, you brace yourself for an onslaught of the worst horror film clichés.
In that respect, at least, Jithan 2 doesn’t disappoint. Two hours of random scenes, distasteful comedy, and sequences that leave the audience collectively, gloomily, sighing.
*****
Jithan 2 begins where Jithan (2005) left off. The opening scene (a continuation) is followed by a completely disconnected storyline. This protagonist, Suriya (‘Jithan’ Ramesh), has a different past. When the end credits roll, we’re still waiting to find out what the first scene was about.
It’s another run-of-the-mill horror film. A ghost haunts a huge bungalow in Kodaikanal. Of course, a house on a hill station must be haunted. (Even ghosts cannot take the Chennai heat.) The ghost (Srushti Dange) doesn’t want to leave the house because it belong to her. Suriya (Ramesh) comes along and buys it. The ghost tries every stale trick in the horror film genre to scare him away.
*****
In Kollywood, a character’s bravery is shown by loud declarations about not being afraid of ghosts. With dialogues like “Aavi oda Movie poiruken”, “Pei ke ‘Friend Request’ kuduthavan naan”, and “Pei oda Pizza sapduven”, Jithen Ramesh tries to convince everyone that he’s not scared. However, leave alone pizza, he can’t survive a single night in the house.
Still, despite all his problems, he finds the time and the mood to start dancing on the streets with backup dancers, to a random Gaana Baala song. Five stars for screenplay.
*****
There are a host of annoying characters – a lusty female maantrik, a lusty Telugu speaking rowdy, a lusty friend, a lusty store owner. None of them have a real connection with the story.
Recommended
And there is the Pei. In the first half, she’s a blackened, shadowy figure with long unruly hair, a black oversized dress, and scary teeth. In the second half, she transforms into an angelic Srushti Dange, clad in white, dancing to, of all things, Taal Se Taal Mila. No kidding.
*****
The background score is mostly a mix of violins screeching and sounds of collective heavy breathing. Sometimes, random bits of music fade in and out. The jump cuts have no correlation with the shots. The cinematography is jerky throughout, and the difference in the quality of the footage is evident.
*****
So let’s just say, of the numerous atrocious films I’ve watched, this one tops the list.
*****
The Jithan 2 review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.