Vaazha 2 review: Hashir and gang are impressive in a sequel that far outshines its predecessor

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Hashir and Alan have been friends since childhood, and even in high school, they are inseparable. While they are constantly at loggerheads with Ajin and Vinayak, their dynamic changes slowly — well, literally over their mutual love for Mohanlal. The four are basically loafers, and due to their overt curiosity and disregard for others, they do pretty much everything kids their age shouldn’t. But at one point, things get out of hand, and they become embroiled in a major issue at school that ends in a massive altercation. Although they, with their parents’ help, manage to resolve everything, it leaves a blemish on them. As they begin efforts to break free from their past and rebuild their lives, the harshness of reality slowly comes searching for them. In that moment, no parent or friend’s help proves handy, as they must fend for themselves.

Although the opening sequences showing Hashir and Alan’s childhood are pretty templated and far too generic, once the focus shifts to their high school era, Vaazha 2 picks up pace. Unlike quite a few recent coming-of-age comedy dramas, including Vaazha, that cashed in heavily on nostalgia, particularly in scenes set in the past, Vaazha 2 features authentic moments anchored in its backdrop. Even if not all of them may be great, they at least exude freshness.

Watch Vaazha 2 trailer here:

In fact, it almost feels like Vipin Das (director of Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey and Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil), who has penned both movies in the franchise, took the criticisms the first part received to heart and has tried not to repeat the same mistakes, at least in the spirit of the story. While the predecessor presents its central gang as “victims” and depict those around them who aren’t on their side bluntly as unempathetic, even though the former are clearly in the wrong most of the time, Vipin doesn’t repeat that pattern in Vaazha 2. Instead, he shows how circumstances unfold and snowball, with some adding fuel to the already burning fire, thereby derailing people’s lives, exacerbated by impulsive actions.

For instance, at one point, Hashir and the gang end up in the police station after the aforementioned fight, during which they were under the influence of narcotics. Unlike their parents and teachers, who were squarely focused on blaming the kids, the cop Xavier (Alphonse Puthren, in a role that mirrors Basil Joseph’s in the first installment) tries to unravel what pushed them into that situation. He realises that the lack of spaces and opportunities to play and hang out like kids their age — due to their inconsiderate parents and teachers — led them to camp more often at a nearby juice shop run by a drug dealer. Now, it’s easy to blame the kids for using drugs and close the chapter, but should we do just that? Isn’t it unfair that Mujeeb (Vijay Babu), a judgmental teacher who constantly chews paan in school, police children who use intoxicants?

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Going beyond the typical “mata, pita, guru, daivam” adage, which unfairly gives these figures an upper hand, thus positioning them above scrutiny, Vaazha 2 problematises the habit of teachers blowing even teen romances and the small mistakes kids make out of proportion, thus traumatising them forever. If only they listened to Boo (Jenny Rainsford) in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, “That’s the very reason why they put rubbers on the end of pencils… because people make mistakes.”

Unlike Vaazha, the second installment has its heart more or less in the right place. However, that doesn’t mean Vipin Das’ writing is extraordinary. In fact, despite having far better material, the writer has failed to flesh it out adequately. One of the biggest drawbacks of the narrative is the overstretching of several moments, particularly the comedic ones. For instance, there’s a scene when Hashir, Alan, Ajin, and Vinayak go to see Mohanlal’s Lucifer (2019). As chaos erupts in the theatre, a police officer (Krishna Prasad) enters and tries to bring order with an iron fist. But in the darkness, people start booing and cursing him. Although the moment is initially hilarious, it goes on for unnecessarily long, draining all the fun by the time it ends, leaving the scene tedious. At the same time, the misjudgment in the placement of certain jokes, such as the Premam (2015) climax reference in Alphonse’s intro, spoils the emotion built up to that point.

Hashir, Alan, Ajin, and Vinayak are perfect in their roles, with Alan being particularly impressive. (Credit: Instagram/@hashireeeee)

While the first half is well-paced, the second half nosedives, owing to too many dialogue-heavy scenes in which many lines come across as preachy. Also, Vipin’s typical overreliance on popular memes, too, has played spoilsport here, as they sound forced far too often.

However, Vaazha 2 works better than its predecessor in the emotional moments since they aren’t overtly melodramatic or crafted to go viral later as reels. Instead of individual moments, Vipin has focused more on the gradual progression of the story while developing emotions organically along the way. Although the story has an arc, it meanders aimlessly in the second half, oscillating between the four friends without coherently developing. Even the many characters introduced early on go totally missing towards the end, with the most notable example being the compassionate teacher, Manoj (Aju Varghese), leaving them purposeless.

Amid all this, Savin keeps viewers hooked with the vibrancy he brings to the visuals. The fight scene leading to the interval, in particular, is extraordinary and brilliantly choreographed, ensuring a sense of naturalness, and thanks in major part here to editor Kannan Mohan, who displayed brilliant work in the predecessor too. Most of the time, Savin gives the impression that he has understood the soul of Vipin’s script, and the rhythm of the scenes highlights that well. Even in emotional moments, he doesn’t go overboard to make it a tearjerker. Akhil Lailasuran’s cinematography also contributes significantly to these efforts. Had the movie been trimmed a bit more, it would have been even better.

Nonetheless, it’s impossible not to mention that this is how a sequel should be. Instead of simply drawing from the first part and milking all that made it what it is, the makers of Vaazha 2 have treated the story as freshly as possible. Of course, the fact that this installment revolves around a fresh set of characters and can only be described as a spiritual sequel to its predecessor is there. But regardless, the makers have clearly tried their best to ensure that similarities between the movies are not many, even if not nil.

The music also deserves commendation. While the makers could have easily used hit tracks from Vaazha, they refrain from doing so until the very end. That’s why, when Parvatish Pradeep’s “Makane” finally plays at the right moment, after teasing for long, it hits a home run.

Also, Savin and Vipin could have easily ruined the movie by bringing in the central gang from Vaazha and capitalising on them. Had they appeared even in the climax, all that the makers built towards in Vaazha 2 would have gone to waste. Instead, Ajo (Siju Sunny), Vishnu (Amith Mohan Rajeswari), Moosa (Joemon Jyothir), Abdul Kalam (Anuraj OB) and Vivek (Saaf) appear at the tail end when everything has been wrapped up, and along with them, we hear Electronic Kili’s iconic “Eyy Banane,” which serves as the cherry on top.

While Hashir, Alan, Ajin, and Vinayak (playing characters named after themselves) are perfect in their roles — with Alan being particularly impressive — it’s almost impossible to assess their acting potential from this one movie, since they largely portray their public personas, which carry many elements of their real selves.

Vaazha 2 movie cast: Hashir, Ajin Joy, Vinayak, Alan Bin Siraj
Vaazha 2 movie director: Savin SA
Vaazha 2 movie rating: 3 stars

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