ARANMANAI 2 MOVIE REVIEW

Aranmanai 2's intent is pretty simple - to entertain in every way possible, same as its predecessor Aranmanai, literally. In fact, the difference between the two movies is as much as their titles, Aranmanai and Aranmanai 2. 

 

Talking about the differences, addition of Siddharth and Trisha is a refreshing move. It's no Chevalier task for the two, but they do contribute high energy. If you are a stranger to Tamil Cinema or wondering why Trisha is still one of the darlings of Tamil audience, Aranmanai 2 puts forth one of the many strong reasons. Plainly put, Trisha is smoking hot in the film.

 

Sundar C and Hansika literally play the same roles from Aranmanai and play it well enough. Poonam Bajwa has brief scope, but no complaints with her performance too. Kovai Sarala, Soori, Mano Bala and the rest of the supporting brigade do what's expected of them - get spooked and make people laugh.

 

Grand sets, vibrant visuals, elaborately done dance sequences, high decibel music, pacy editing, costumes of myriad hues and overdone graphics- with all that Aranmanai 2 sticks to every rule that Tamil Cinema has come up with so far, for an entertaining horror comedy.

 

Despite the classical stereotypes like, Amman dance, Namboodhiri poojai, frequently levitated victims and crazy stranger with an eye for ghosts, Aranmanai 2 still manages to engage. However a major drawback in the movie is that most of the characters and their looks have been retained. However, a few minor changes have been made in their character sketches. While these characters remind heavily of the prequel, the trivial changes to their characterizations create a weird feel. For example, with the storyline and the overall premise of the movie being extremely similar to that of Aranmanai, Mano Bala and Kovai Sarala who played lovers in the first part, play siblings in Aranmanai 2. Little things like these pull the movie experience down by a small margin.

 

Overall, Aranmanai 2 has nothing different to offer than its antecessor, except for Siddharth, Trisha and the magnitude.