‘Maari 2’ - Sai Pallavi Shines in Dhanush’s Mass Flick

Maari 2 Review: Do Dhanush and Balaji Mohan pull it off this time too?

Dhanush in a still from Maari 2.

(Photo Courtesy: Wunderbar Studios / YouTube)

Maari 2 is Dhanush’s second outing as the titular character conceived, written and directed by Balaji Mohan. The film stars Sai Pallavi, who shot to fame as Malar, in Premam. Tovino Thomas from Mollywood, plays Beeja, the antagonist. Robo Shankar and Vinod reprise their roles as Sani and Adithangi.

Does the film live up to the hype created by Yuvan Shankar Raja’s songs and the brilliantly cut trailer?

Too caught up to read? Watch the review here:

More Than Just Mass Appeal

If there’s one thing Dhanush does surprisingly well, it’s the hero entry. He’s undeniably good in slow motion. And dialogues that sound cheesy when anyone else tries them, somehow look cool when he says them. Like this one;
If you’re bad, I am your dad!

But Maari 2 isn’t just banking on Dhanush’s mass appeal. Balaji Mohan has tightened part 2 both as a director and script writer. So much of the story is told before the interval that I was left wondering how else the narrative could curve.
The flip side is a slightly laggy second half, but I’ll live with it, thanks to Tovino Thomas.

Anandi’s the Hero Pre-Interval

When Dhanush is on screen, no one else is visible. Except of course, when Sai Pallavi’s Anandi is around. Like with Fidaa, it’s impossible to separate the actor from her character.
Especially during the face off between hero and heroine, she brilliantly conveys Balaji Mohan’s idea of a love that’s unconditional. The scene tears you up!

Familiar Plot That Works

There’s nothing new about Maari’s friend Krishna being used by the villain to extract vengeance. But Krishna plays the cocaine addict friend convincingly. He hates as the traitor and enemy with the same intensity as he loves and adores as a friend.

Of course, like with the Marvel universe formula, intense scenes are broken and made to dissipate with unexpected comedy dialogues that bring out involuntary bursts of laughter!

Yuvan Has Arrived. Again.

Three songs in the film. All three viral. Background score top notch but never over the top. The Maari Gethu title song is a truly brilliant mix of folk instruments and electronica. Rowdy baby is a true ear worm and Anandi’s song grows on you, especially because of the visuals.
The movie works in large part because of Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music.

More Than Supporting Cast

Robo Shankar as Sani, Vinoth as Adithangi, Krishna, Varalaxmi and the ever funny Nisha do more than just move the story forward. They help build the fictional world that Maari inhabits. One where he’s invincible most of the time. When there are no bad eggs in the performances, the film moves like a breeze.

Maari 2 succeeds where most films fail; it’s a sequel that’s better than the first. It has an almost equally riveting second half. The climax fight was a bit of a drag though.

Most important, it’s a film without a deep sociological or environmental or societal message. It scores in the way it deals with genuine, fully fleshed out characters and their emotions. Maari can’t exist in the real world. But you’ll end up believing he does!