Even as I write this, I am conscious that millions of Malayalis would have stayed up the night to watch the film as soon as it debuted on #AmazonPrime on the 19th ofFebruary 2021. I woke up to read posts and comments on Facebook celebrating the success of the sequel. I had written earlier about how I am sceptical about sequels to brilliantly constructed movies, but must say that I am floored with the logical consistency, immaculately constructed and seamlessly executed Part 2.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #Mohanlal’s #Drishyam2 that released on #AmazonPrime today. I must say that this one caught me napping and bowled me over lock, stock and barrel.
GeorgeKutty Chettan is back and how! In Part 2 he is back at his A game, outsmarting the new look police force with a well-thought out master plan. It is meticulously constructed and leaves you gasping in disbelief but never seems trying too hard or devoid of logical consistency. The first half is like a collage of new characters and seemingly unconnected events and sometimes you wonder what's happening. In the second half, you realise how good a master craftsman Joseph is as he gets it pat down and the frantic pace keeps you hooked till the finish. #Mohanlal is brilliant as he essays a role that is devoid of too much histrionics and relies heavily on his eyes and body language.
Director #JeetuJoseph has been planning the sequel to the 2013 superhit for a while and he has got it right bang on. He manages to rope in all the popular stars of the cast from last time around including #Meena as his wife Rani, #EstherAnil as the younger daughter Anu and #Ansiba as the elder one Anju. There is also #NarayananNair as the tea shop owner, #Siddique and #AshaSarth in the other character roles. The introduction of #MuraliGopy and #GaneshKumar as well as #SaiKumar act as a welcome change. There is of course producer #AntonyPreumbavur in the customary cameo. Some of the acting is ham handed but tolerable. The first half has a neighbour couple with the drunk husband constantly assaulting his wife; there is a jailed convict who is now out after his sentence and a lot of hue and cry over Anu’s sleepover party. George Kutty has taken to drinking and cop Sahadevan has been dismissed and nowhere to be seen.
It's only after IG Thomas Bastin (#MuraliGopy) enters the scene that these unrelated events start falling into place and you figure out that the director is actually toying with you! And as the parts of the jigsaw start falling into place, the smart writing keeps you hooked till the climax. #JeethuJoseph employs some of the same techniques as Part 1. For example, the same interrogation scene escalates the tension here. In the final scene, you see a similar green hilly landscape as in the first one. The continuity design is brilliant; it does feel like the story takes off from where it left off six years ago.
On to #Mohanlal. I talked about why they call him the Complete Actor but here he is par compare. George Kutty now six years on is older, more circumspect and weighed down under the cross that he is carrying constantly. He is of course now a theatre owner and a budding producer. None of the playful romantic advances and the tomfoolery. Instead, director #JeetuJoseph is clearly portraying the moral compass of a man weighed down by the guilt he is carrying and which becomes his eventual punishment. Alienation from the wife and his daughter now prone to seizures are the symptoms. It is ironic that he is fast losing the very family he tried to protect in Part1. Truth be told, George Kutty is now almost obsessed with outwitting the police in a cerebral game of chess and that is all-consuming! Lalettan’s brilliance is that he emotes less than in Part 1; there is no hype, no over-acting; he lets his eyes and body language do the talking for most parts.
Sometimes you do wonder if you are missing anything in the sequel. Some of the family bonhomie is clearly gone. Gone are the funny sequences at the cable television office. There are also some flaws. For example, the laptop and wiretapping apparatus in the shadow police couple’s house is kept out in the open and a dead giveaway. Notwithstanding, you realise that #Joseph has put the carefully scripted plot as the centrepiece and nothing is more important.
#Joseph does give in to some theatrics in the film. The scene where the auto drivers joke in the tea shop declaring that George Kutty is their hero for example. I loved the second one where George Kutty in a drunken high declares “Njaan Ee Malayalam cinema il oru Velassu Velasumm” ( I will rule Malayalam cinema). Our thespian is already doing just that !! In yet another sequence, he falls back to the loveable Vijayan from #Nadodikaattu and says “Ellathinum athindeaaya Samayam ondu Daasa” (Everything has its time, Daas).
#Drishyam2 is a slap on the faces of critics who were skeptic about a sequel matching the original. It is brilliantly visuaised and meticulously crafted and a winner all the way. In particular, I love the fact that the ethos of the first part is maintained. There is no attempt made to glorify the protagonist who is covering up a crime. In fact George Kutty is genuinely apologetic and even acquiesces to the wishes of the parents of the boy. If you look closely, you will notice that George Kutty has been characterised as a man who is obsessed with the cat-and-mouse. In some scenes, the camera shows him behind the window grills almost as if he is behind the cell door. A man whose punishment has been meted out to him!
