Neeya 2 - A snake movie that does not charm
'Neeya' released in 1979 was a huge hit due to the convincing portrayal of Sri Priya as the wronged snake woman who is on a vengeance spree against the four men who killed her husband. To stars of the time Kamal Haasan, Vijayakumar, Jai Ganesh and Srikanth played the negative roles. 'Neeya 2' comes as a spiritual sequel to that classic and does it touch the audiences in the same way is unfortunately not in the affirmative.
Jai and Balasaravanan are colleagues in Chennai and a young girl Catherine Tresa smitten by the hero starts stalking him in a role reversal of what a usual Tamil hero does. She even goes to the extent of threatening to throw acid on him if he doesnt accept his proposal when he reveals that he has the "Naga Thosham" (A Snake Curse) and can only marry a girl with the similar affliction. The unrelenting girl makes a fake astrological chart claiming that she too has the curse and the couple get married. When the truth comes to light they set off to Kodaikanal to atone it but to their shock there is a strange being there who is a woman in the daylight and transforms into a snake at night who wreaks havoc on the couple's lives. Who is she and what is her connection with Jai and why does she want to marry him is told in a flashback and what happens next is what 'Neeya 2' is all about.
Jai as usual plays the lead role without any fuss and he also gets to play a different shaded character in the flashback reminiscent of Subramaniapuram. Catherine Tresa as the girl who goes all out to get his man is okayish while Varu is wasted in a badly written role appearing in the flashback. Its Raai Lakshmi's show all the way as she is a perfect fit for the sensuous woman with the body language and mind of a snake. A few counters from Balasaravanan pass through for a smile or two but on the whole its some of the bad scenes that are more laughable.
What works for 'Neeya 2' is its unabashed appeal to the B and C center audience complete with the snake factor balanced with the oomph factor of the three heroines.
On the downside the makers have not worked hard enough in the writing to form a connect to the audience to make them for the characters which was done brilliantly in 'Neeya' with regards to Sri Priya and Kamal. Dialogues are regressive and graphics are more so. The characterizations are poor and the screenplay drags big time too.
The remix of the classic song "Orey Jeevan Ondre Ullam" from the original is nicely done by Shabir while the cinematographer, editor and the rest of the technical team have done their best to make the proceedings passable with the given budget. Director L Suresh has no doubt chosen an evergreen subject about the snake woman but has failed to add any novelty to make it appealing to the current generation audiences.
Verdict : Go for this one if you fancy snake revenges and three heroines routine.
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