Pasanga 2 (Tamil, 2015)

The intention of Pandiraj in wanting to make a film like this & a commercial hero like Suriya to back it by playing a role without any flab (read ‘Mass’ moments) is certainly appreciable. There are some razor sharp dialogues which are extremely relevant to the current generation parents and kids & ring in the applause from the audience.

Suriya and Amala Paul, in spite of seeming to possess hard-to-believe characterizations, have made their presence count. On certain occasions it is only their screen presence that aids in making some extremely preachy dialogues sound convincing.

The kids are an absolute delight on screen never seeming plastic or staged in their performances. In fact only the dialogues of the so-called mature parent look artificial with the kids modulating naturally. The scene where Suriya interacts with two different kids, one a perennially calm boy and another a self-proclaimed bad boy is very good not only because of Suriya’s histrionics but also because it veers off from focusing on the upper class kids.

Karthik Kumar & ‘Munishkanth’ Ram Doss are brilliant in their respective father roles. While the former is an epitome of sophistication the latter brings in some much needed laughs with his lovable antics as a kleptomaniac.

Technically the film is sharp with the editing & cinematography departments making sure of blending into the story. Arrol Corelli’s background score too plays a vital part in bringing out the necessary emotions on multiple occasions in the film.

While Pandiraj’s intention is to be commended, the execution could have been much better. While the need to correct schooling system has been reminded repeatedly using two extraordinarily talented kids, it would have been nice had the runtime been extended to follow another kid who is average with middle-class parents.

Everyone realizes the need to allow the kid to blossom on their own but with such a huge canvas it would’ve been nice to see Pandiraj explore the situation from the perspective of parents too. Another film that questioned the system, Prakash Raj’s Dhoni, too aimed a lot of valid questions at the system but they were not followed by any concrete answers.

The characterizations of both the mothers leave a lot to be desired. Their lines seem utterly forced and stick out like a sore thumb. The prime example can be the ridiculous one on ‘Family Planning’. Again the fact is not that they are unable to act or emote properly, but more due to the fact that the writing focuses more on the fathers than the mothers.