Director: CS Amudhan
Cast: Shiva, Iswarya Menon, Sathish
Music: R Kannan
Tamizh Padam 2 is an easy enough movie to watch. Director CS Amudhan keeps us engrossed with a steady diet of jokes gleaned from Tamil films and pop culture.
There’s some effort in subverting tropes from Tamil cinema. The soup song gets a twist – here, the woman is the one singing ‘Eva da unna petha’. There’s some sharp commentary on the state of Tamil cinema and politics as well.
However, this does not take away from the fact that Tamizh Padam 2 is also a difficult film to review. Most dialogues exist to move the story along. The few exceptions are iconic dialogues lifted from other creations. Tamizh Padam 2 does not have characters as well. The leads are stand-ins for various other actors and actresses, and yes, it is exciting to figure out who plays what. But, that lasts only so long.
Shiva’s deadpan (dare we say it) acting is precisely the canvas CS Amudhan needs to push his satire along. The comedy is very self-aware – snarky stuff that valiantly keeps its head above toilet humour. Sometimes, it does become slap-stick, but it never evokes the kind of LOL moments that we all thought it would. Yet another example of the film’s promotions overselling the product.
Iswarya Menon’s maida maavu loosu, on the other hand is a spot-on depiction of the kind of Tamil heroine movies have shoved at us these past few years. The bit about Shiva falling in love with Ramya (Iswarya) when he sees her getting into a mental hospital bus is a scathing indictment of the kind of roles written for women. That Ramya is shown to be someone of substance later is a definite plus.
Most interesting thing about Sathish’s P is his backstory. He was apparently one of the extras in the film, and became a big don laterat on. He has multiple costumes to flaunt, and that’s just about it.
The attention to detail elevates the experience. For me, the styling of Shiva’s friends – especially that of Manobala as a goth teenager, stood out. Especially since there is a whole death-and-resurrection theme going on with him. The local tea kadai gets a update with croissants, Peking duck being served alongside tea and coffee.
Sometimes, Amudhan tends to go on tangents. This was never more visible than in the Cinemapatti portions of the first film. Here, Amudhan takes the audience way way back in time for an epic dance contest. Crisper editing would have helped. As it stands, the film is a series of gags with some razor-sharp commentary. A tighter script would have served it well; but we would probably have missed out on Shiva’s epic cricket/dance moves.
The music and background score by R Kannan is delightful. But, he also ends up with variants of popular songs. The best among the lot (and original too) is ‘Kalavarame’ by Chinmayi. It’s a charming melody with lyrics by Madhan Karky that poke fun at lust and Tamil culture.
Udal Koarkka Uyir Saerkka, Vaa Inaiya Vaa Vaa, Vaa!
Adhu Thirumanam Varai Mattum, Adhan Piragu? Vaendaamae!
Thamizh Kalaachaaram Ellaam, Engae Engae?
In portions that leave us clueless as to the source material, Kannan gives us a gentle nudge with the background music.
That said, Tamizh Padam 2 is nirvana for that movie friend we all have. That girl/guy who likes to link every situation in life to a movie moment. Interrogation scene? Vikram Vedha. Check.
Most extravagant proposal scene ever? Remo. Check.
Recommended
The raw material gathered for Tamizh Padam 2 must have been huge, given that both the State’s politics and cinema have not had a good time lately. It is to Amudhan’s credit that a somewhat cohesive narrative emerges out of such eclectic material. And yet, the end product stands incomplete.
Something always seem to be missing. The humour is hit and miss, it doesn’t reach out and grab the audience’s attention. Amudhan tries to push too much into the film. Just when we think that it is going to end, there’s some new film that has to be spoofed. You think it ends with Kabali.
But, no, there’s Baahubali as well.
***
The Tamizh Padam 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.