Pichaikkaran 2 review: Vijay Antony's tried-and-tested mass formula offers sporadic entertainment

3/5

Story: A multi-billionaire is assassinated by his business partners for selfish motives. They successfully infuse a beggar's brain into the former's body through a complex surgery with the help of a doctor. The billionaire with the brain of a compassionate beggar, who is on the lookout for his younger sister, surprises his employees and girlfriend with his changed behaviour and actions. Meanwhile, the businessman-turned-beggar's popularity soars after he introduces several welfare schemes to the under-privileged. However, a cop sets out to reveal his changed identity with the help of a leading politician and the two start blackmailing him.  

Review: Vijay Antony, who scored a massive success with Pichaikkaran among Tamil and Telugu audience in 2016, is back with Pichaikkaran 2, albeit it isn't a proper sequel. The composer-turned-actor-turned-producer-turned-editor-turned-filmmaker had no qualms in confessing that he chose the title to bank on the popularity of the seven year old movie.

However, there is a similarity the two films share. Both the stories have its protagonists donning a beggar's role. While Pichaikkaran had its lead character, a business magnate acting as a beggar owing to a unique circumstance, this time around, Vijay plays dual roles, that of a multi-millionaire and a beggar.

Vijay Gurumoorthy (Vijay Antony) is one of the top 10 richest men in India. His disloyal business partners Aravind (Dev Gill), Ilango (John Vijay) and Siva (Hareesh Peradi) pull off a delicate brain transplant on him with the help of a doctor (Kitty). They infuse the brain of Sathya (Vijay Antony) in the businessman's body without the knowledge of the latter's girlfriend Hema (Kavya Thapar).

Sathya, who is in search of his long lost sister, isn't comfortable leading a life using another identity and tries his best to regain his original self, but in vain. As a beggar who has been through several hardships, he announces a few welfare schemes to the destitute in society, leaving everyone surprised. A politician and a cop decide to expose his identity in front of the public. How is Sathya going to deal with them?

Despite being packed with a tried-and-tested story, predictable emotions and commercial elements at regular intervals, Pichaikkaran 2 is entertaining to a good extent. Vijay delivers what the masses want and presents it in an enjoyable manner. He takes up a role which suits him convincingly yet again.

The screenplay which relies on solid brother-sister sentiment in the first half is elevated by an intriguing interval sequence. He is convincing in dual roles and gets his chemistry right with Kavya, Yogi Babu, Dev Gill and Sheela Rajkumar.

The action scenes are neatly choreographed though they remind you of scenes from Sivaji, Mersal, Sarkar, and so on. The latter half, however, falters a bit as the flow of events is marred by lack of novelty. The cinematic liberties which are utilized in a few portions raise our eyebrows.

Hareesh, John Vijay and Radha Ravi are apt in their characters. Dev Gill and Mansoor Ali Khan stand out in their respective roles and so does Kavya Thapar. Sheela is effortless in a crucial emotional sequence. The songs do not leave much impact, but the background score is effective.

The production quality in some of the scenes is top-notch while the VFX in a few sequences stick out like a sore thumb. The film doesn't offer any innovative story or performances, but its packaging works to a decent extent which makes it a one-time watchable fare.

Verdict: Vijay Antony has once again relied on the age-old "mass formula" which involves brother-sister sentiment, identity confusion, a crowd-pleasing hero and the namesake romance. It works in a few sequences, thanks to the impressive writing while there are portions which fail in providing the required impact.