The problem with most sequels is that the makers have to battle the inevitable comparison with the original as well as expectations of newcomers. With ‘Chennai 600028 2’ Venkat Prabhu has walked the tightrope and delivered a clean hit well beyond the boundary ropes.
The boys are back Siva, Nitin, Vijay Vasanth and Ajay Raj are happily married while Premgi is still a bachelor. Jai is in love with Sana Althaf whose parents agree of the match and they all head to her village for the marriage. They encounter their old friend Arvind Aakash there, who convinces them to participate in a gully cricket match against the local rowdy Vaibav. Ensuing events result in the marriage being called off, after which, all hell breaks loose as one unexpected twist after another leads to a nail biting climax like a T20 international match between equal foes.
Siva is in top form with his one liners and counter dialogues bringing the house down every time, Jai is perfect as the lover boy, Premgi is in his elements and after this no one will accuse him of biting (“kadi”). Vaibav rocks as the villain while Nithin Sathya, Vijayalakshmi, Vasanth Vijay , Arvind Akash, Ajay Raj, Inigo Prabhakar and Mahat Raghavendra provide ample support. The girls Sana Althaf, Anjana Kirti, Maheshwari Chanakyan and Krithika are all uniformly good in the looks department for their characters as well as acting. Manisha Yadav as Soppana Sundari in the item number oozes oomph and also provides the major twist in the story.
Cinematography by Rajesh Yadav and editing by Praveen K.L are top notch while the background score of Yuvan Shankar Raja complements the proceedings. As far as the songs are concerned, sadly Yuvan fails to match his ‘Chennai 600028’ brilliance.
Venkat Prabhu in his familiar territory has done a great job of writing an interesting screenplay that throws many a delightful twist (not in the conventional sense but going all out zany). The way Inigo Prabhakar of Chennai Rockers joins forces with his old foes, the return of the small boy (now grown) who beat the Chennai Sharks many times in the first part and the rip-roaring cameo by veteran Shanmughasundaram receive thundering responses, The way the boys with one match defeat their old rivals, the villain as well as their wives stranglehold on them is brilliantly conceived and executed by VP. Kudos for taking care to make every interaction between the characters flow naturally which infuses a zesty energy from the opening of the film till the very end never straying away from reality. To top it all the heroes don’t win legally and fairly as it happens in real life gully cricket which makes it all the more relateable.All the three cricket matches in the film are very well filmed and are exciting to watch which is a great credit to the entire team.
On the downside post interval there is a fall in the pace for a noticeable period of time and the repetitive drinking and partying scenes could have been avoided.
Verdict: Go for it and enjoy this highly entertaining film which is as satisfying as a well played T20 game.
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