Film: VIP 2
Director: Soundarya Rajinikanth
Cast: Dhanush, Amala Paul, Kajol, Vivekh and Samuthirakani
Rating: 1/5

Dhanush’s Velaiilla Pattadhari was unanimously well received and loved because its story, thought tried-and-tested and predictable, could connect with all the sections of the audiences. It worked because of the way it was packaged, apart from a terrific Dhanush winning us over in the role of a jobless graduate. It wasn’t one of those commercial outings you could easily write off and that’s what made the film stand out. Unfortunately, its sequel Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 fails miserably in every aspect, ending up as a movie that shouldn’t have been made in the first place

VIP 2 is set a few years after the first part. Dhanush is married to Amala Paul, whom he wooed in VIP and made us root for their romance. As husband and wife, their relationship is outright boring and that has been achieved by making Amala’s character look silly. She is made to look like an authoritative, nagging wife who controls Dhanush. It’s surprising that why even a female director — especially someone like Soundarya who is well-read, smart and is expected to write stronger, better roles — would portray a wife’s character in such poor taste.

It was quite evident from the trailer that VIP 2 is all about the face-off between Dhanush and Kajol, who delivers a strong performance even in a poorly written role. She, unabashedly, keeps dropping the F bomb (of course, the word is muted) in every sentence because she is rich, conniving and ruthless. She reminds us of a more sophisticated version of Ramya Krishnan’s Neelambari from Padayappa, but unlike the latter she doesn’t strike fear in our hearts. When she locks horns with Dhanush, there’s not enough tension to hold on to our seats and one can guess how a scene will pan out.