VIP 2 Review

'VIP-2', starring Dhanush, Kajol and Amala Paul, hits the screens.  Here is our review...

Story:

Raghuvaran (Dhanush) is a revolution in the field of engineering.  We are told that he re-built a slum with his extraordinary vision.  That's why he has been awarded the year's best engineer trophy.

In comes Vasundhara (Kajol), the reigning queen of the construction sector, who is pretty much jealous about the hero's small company romping home with accolades.  She wants to buy him by offering a fat paycheck, but the righteous Raghuvaran says that he will always be with the employer who saved him when he badly needed a job.

It would have been sensible had he stopped at this.  But he is an Indian film hero.  He injures the majestic ego of Vasundhara by reminding her of a Vemana 'padhyam'.

The Big Lady now shows her power by unscrupulously trampling upon Raghuvaran's company.

This is when our hero tells her, in Rajinikanth's style, that he is a 'jujubi' entity (grant us our share of creative liberties) known as VIP.  That only means that he is happy to be jobless.

What happens after this is what the second half is about.

Analysis:

As a sequel to 'Raghuvaran B.Tech', 'VIP-2' has its share of spiritual similarities with the former.  Dhanush's special keenness to get scoldings, this time from his wife (Amala Paul), is very obvious.  Then you have those underdog-turns-into-a-messiah moments.

What is clearly to the film's advantage is that it's a sequel to a super hit which many have come to own.  What is a clear demerit is that the script doesn't allow its antagonist (allegedly she is only the other side of Raghuvaran, with an antithetical ideology) to transcend the caricature she has been reduced to.

Look at the way the Raghuvaran-Vasundhara rivalry is presented.  It's as dumb as it can get.  When Vasundhara offers him a job in her company, Raghuvaran, rejecting it, tells her that he is a loyal servant of his employer, whose survival and the livelihood of hundreds seem to hinge on his exceptional talent.  This is enough for Vasundhara to behave like an aggrieved loser who doesn't know how to conduct herself in front of the one giving her company a Rs. 600 Cr project.  Raghuvaran wins the project for his company only because of his attitude.  Wow!

He then goes on to pontificate Vasundhara through a Vemana poem.  May be, it was in his offer letter to preach sermons to a rival company's boss?

It's because of laughable moments that the antagonists lose out in our films.  And when the other one is milk-and-water, the hero's character arc can only gain so much.

On and on, the hero is shown to have funny travails, thanks to his ever-screaming wife.  At home, he is subjected to the wife's whims.  Otherwise, he is street-smart.  He can organize a massive sit-out against a fraudulent real estate project in a jiffy.

Dhanush's performance is what keeps the audience seated.  He is once again that Mr. Natural whom you can trust to take on Amul Babies with elan even while being scared of a hostile wife in a comic way.  He imitates Balakrishna's 'Oke vaipe choodu' to an okayish effect.

Kajol turns out to be an underwhelming adversary.  As a performer, she shows no sparks.  Amala Paul's character should have had an extra shade in the first half.  All the while, she is shouting and shouting.  Comedian Vivekh, Samuthirakani and others fit the bill.

The film's signature tune (by Anirudh) is superb.  Otherwise, the songs only hinder the flow.  Sameer Thahir's cinematography is fine.

Verdict:

A cliched film whose character graphs spoil the broth.  Lack of Telugu nativity is only one of its problems.