Sandakozhi 2 is a Tamil action thriller film directed by N.Linguswamy. The movie features Vishal, Keerthy Suresh, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar and Rajkiran in the lead roles.
Vishal as Balu returns to his native place after 7 years to attend the Carnival. Varalakshmi as Pechi is stubborn to stop the festival, because of her personal vengeance. Their cat and mouse game is the remaining story.
The premise is set in a pretty good manner and it is strongly built in the opening fifteen minutes without showing the hero. The conflict is convincing, though the context is a familiar one. Being a sequel, the continuity is missing on a large scale, it is not a big deal to miss out characters who were present in the first part, but a simple justification could have been given at least through dialogues. A crucial scene in the second half gives a solid connection to the first part and offers goosebumps. Vishal is said to be living in a foreign country for the past few years, but unfortunately, the reason is not listed.
Director Lingusamy has written a convincing rural script and he has added all the necessary elements which would attract the target audience. The presentation is decent, but the screenplay could have been a lot racier and there could have been more intense situations to provide more excitement. The flow takes a lot of time to establish the characters who are new to the franchise. The dialogues are satisfactory, but the lines which communicate about the power of a character are exaggerated. There are plenty of romance scenes in the movie which are enjoyable to an extent, but they slow down the pace as the story progresses. The combination scenes between Vishal and Varalakshmi are very low, and so the cat and mouse game is just partially gripping.
Vishal as Balu looks almost the same as he looked before thirteen years, in the first part. Vishal is super-fit in the action sequences and he scores well with his screen presence and dialogue delivery. Keerthy Suresh as Sembaruthi has played a bubbly next-door girl, she made the love scenes very jovial and she has effortlessly spoken the village slang. Rajkiran as Durai Ayya rules the screen, his presence is highly commendable. Varalakshmi as Pechi has given a rustic performance, her character gets a powerful introduction but it is not carried in the same way throughout the movie. Ganja Karuppu and Ramdoss could have been used more to tap the entertainment angle.
Kambathu Ponnu song boosts the energy level, but the other songs fall short without being impressive. Yuvan Shankar Raja hits it out of the part with his background music, the protagonist theme gives a nostalgic feel and a special BGM for Varalakshmi is haunting. Camera work is good and the carnival has been explored neatly through wide-angle shots. The editor could have made the movie crisper than it is now, Praveen.K.L has used a lot of sunrise and sunset shots in between a scene and the other. The carnival set looks realistic, kudos to the art department for their passionate work. Stunt choreography packs a solid punch and Vishal has made the cinematic fight scenes appealing with his physique.
Verdict: A watchable rural flick which could have had a faster pace to keep us engaged.
