A little while into Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros, one gets the feeling of being taken from one neatly engineered event to the next. Rather than one overarching narrative, the anticipation and excitement are concentrated into shorter bursts—each sequence having an inherent rhythm, a slow buildup, and then a crescendo where either all hell breaks loose or emotions overflow.
Even in later recollections of the film, it comes to mind as episodes. The uproarious theatre sequence of a hapless policeman caught amid a young, cat-calling audience in the dark. Or the school episode where an evil-minded teacher’s attempt to implement strict measures builds up to an extreme, drug-induced fight.
The Core: A Story of Losers Who Succeed
At its core, the Vaazha series is a story of losers. Emerging from the second instalment is a story of the unlikely success of four youths—Hashir, Vinayak, Alan, Ajin—who began making relatable videos set in their rural neighbourhood, went viral enough to get noticed by filmmakers, and once they got their chance, pushed their limits to put up performances laced with humour and pathos.
They bring their own verve into the film, with a good part of Vaazha 2 almost feeling like an extension of their highly popular short videos. The writer and filmmaker also chose to retain their real-life names, adding to the relatability factor.
What Works
- Episode-Based Structure: Each sequence has its own rhythm, building to emotional or chaotic crescendos
- Relatable Performances: The leads bring their viral video energy to the film
- Resonant Themes: The film tackles migration for higher studies to the UK and the gap between dreams and harsh realities
- Sibling Rivalry: A wholesome, smoothly-edited sequence of understanding and acceptance
- Biju Kuttan: Gets one of his most memorable turns on screen
- Background Score: Ankit Menon’s music elevates many sequences
What Doesn’t
- Preachy Passage: The film veers into preachy territory for a small stretch
- Tasteless Gag: One of the less enjoyable episodes is the gag around circumcision
- Women Characters: Get only shorter screen time and fewer dialogues in this “bro-coded” film
- Clichés: Quite a few situations, including the sibling rivalry sequence, are cliché-ridden
A Film for the Young Crowd
The way Vaazha 2 tackles the current trend of migrating for higher studies to the United Kingdom or other countries, and the gap between dreams and harsh realities, will resonate with quite a large number of youngsters.
What might resonate universally is the wholesome way in which the film brings together various strands of sibling rivalries into a smoothly-edited sequence of understanding and acceptance. Although quite a few such situations are cliché-ridden, they still work because of the packaging and the treatment.
The Verdict
Vaazha 2 improves upon the flawed original, managing to pack in a lot that a young crowd can identify with. The background score and songs by a team of artists led by Ankit Menon go a long way in elevating many sequences. The writer reimagines characters for actors who are often typecast, especially Biju Kuttan, who gets one of his most memorable turns on the screen.
