Chennaiyil Oru Naal 2 opens with an interesting poster. ‘Angel in saavu indra naalaiya?’ (Will Angel die today or tomorrow?) You get curious about the story behind the creepy looking poster, for about 5 minutes. But it’s all downhill from there.
Everything about Chennaiyil Oru Naal 2 screams half-heartedness. The film meanders through each plot point without much clarity. For example, take an interrogation scene of Sarathkumar. He takes a statement from a woman struggling to speak in the ICU. The doctor suggests bringing a lip-reader. Munishkanth, a constable, pops up and says that Pandian (Sarathkumar) knows lip-reading. After a sec, Pandian (who seems to have momentarily forgotten his skill set) has an epiphany and says he’ll do it himself.
Another such example is a conversation between Munishkanth and another policeman. Pandian leaves the room asking Munishkanth to get details from the other policeman.
The camera lingers in the room for a second longer and we see Munishkanth saying ‘The case is very confusing’ with an awkward pause before we cut back to Sarathkumar. Like what? And also, the name Angel gets another spelling ‘Anjel’. (Again, what?)
The film is shoddily shot that gives an amateurish effect. With an already slow screenplay, the excessive use of slow-motion further dampens the pace. The usage isn’t warranted as well. Does a normal smoking scene need a slow motion? The dialogues of the movie also feel heavily contrived.
Chennaiyil Oru Naal was a race against time. As the clock ticked, suspense intensified. However, its sequel fails desperately to keep up the pace or the time. Rather we end up racing out of the theater.
This was first originally published on https://indianexpress.com/. You can find it here.
Ashameera Aiyappan 
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