Dhanush, Yuvan's Music, Cinematography, Action scenesDhanush, Yuvan's Music, Cinematography, Action scenesSai Pallavi, Editing, Zero logic, Beeja's transformation

National award winning actor Dhanush, who was last seen in the raw and rustic gangster drama Vada Chennai, is back on screen, this time joining hands with Balaji Mohan to dish out a sequel to his 2015 mass masala entertainer Maari, and the movie has hit screens today. Does Maari 2 live up to the expectations? Here's team AP Herald's exclusive first on net Maari 2 review.

The naughty Don Maari (Dhanush), who had finished off illegal activities of Inspector Arjun and Bird Ravi in the first installment, this time faces a challenge from Beeja (Tovino) who wants to eliminate Maari at any cost. Who's Beeja, and what's his motive, and was Maari able to lead a peaceful life with his love Anandhi, and was he able to save his friends Kalai, Sanikelamai and Adithangi from the evil Beeja and Vijaya Chamundeswari (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar) is what Maari 2 is all about.

Dhanush is his usual energetic self as the don Maari, and his character, besides the usual massy, fun loving and naughty angle associated with the Maari don role, gets another emotional shade also to portray, and excels in romance as well, Sai Pallavi as Araathu Anandhi was irritating to the core and her acting is definitely a big minus to Maari 2, as she never brightens the proceedings. Kajal Aggarwal is definitely missed. Tovino as Bheeja tries hard to look menacing but ends up as a funny and loud caricature. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar is seen in a typical cliched role, while Kreshna, is apt. The rest of the cast including Robot Shankar and Vinoth are adequate.

Background score by Yuvan Shankar Raja is loud, and one could certainly miss Anirudh, and of the songs, Rowdy Baby and Maari's Anandhi track are appealing. Cinematography by Om Prakash is top notch and captures the movie in a colorful manner, and editing by Prasanna GK could have been taut. The production values are rich. But the director has been confused about carrying the plot and it's obvious right from the start. 

Years after Maari, and after directing a web series, Director Balaji Mohan is back on silver screens, this time with a sequel to Maari, and with an able  Dhanush leading from the front, but has he got back the lost form? It's a definite no, as the maker fails right from the beginning, as he fails to establish his antagonists in a fresh manner, and opts for the routine stuff, and has failed to offer properly etched roles for actors like Tovino and Sai Pallavi, and has let them down. While Dhanush as Maari is the mainstay of the movie, this time he has also got a lot of characters around him, and all of them without any emotional connect with the audience and poorly written scenes that neither are massy nor look like spoof, spoil the whole purpose of the movie, ending neither funny nor entertaining. All said, despite the presence of a good star cast and technical team, Balaji Mohan yet again fails to impress and falls prey to commercial cliches.

Dhanush, Sai Pallavi, Balaji Mohan,Yuvan Shankar RajaMaari 2 is a sequel that was never really needed