Chennai 600028 2nd Innings Movie Review
Years have passed; the uber cool fun gang of cricketers get old. They are no more single, not as passionate in cricket as they once used to be with family burden taking the front seat. But there is one thing that still keeps them together which is their friendship. So here we have the Shark team reuniting to save a love life of one of their friends. Were they able to do it? Check out the film.
Venkat Prabhu is best when it comes to using some of the nostalgic moments in a best way. Here again, be it the dance choreography in ‘Soppana Sundari’, that ‘bowling or fielding ah’ comedy, he has perfectly infused some of his best previous film moments adequately to boost the proceedings.
The first part had an ideal blend of cricket, sentiment, love, friendship and a seesaw battle with the rivals and nothing looked force-fitted. But here, we feel there is a slight compromise with the overall script to make it more edgy for neutral audience to enjoy. To make the game more interesting, VP had given an added weightage to the opponent which leads to a more intense battle. The way cricket is linked to the proceedings in the second half looks interesting and enjoyable.
One of the toughest jobs as a director while making a sport based film is to create suspenseful moments that the audience would not predict. There is moment where a ball is hit at Premji Amaran; it is a crucial wicket. We know how good a fielder he is in the 1st part. So did he catch it? Most of us would think he would since we know it cannot be dropped. So what happens? Check it out in theatres. That scene is handled very well.
As regards performance, Vaibhav gets it perfect. All that Siva has to do is to look at the camera and say a normal dialogue which is enough to bring the roof down. Venkat Prabhu has brought in lots of interesting elements such as his digs on online reviewers, wives at the match and commenatary of Badava Gopi to name a few.
Yuvan’s songs and BGM work big time for the film. However, a couple of songs could have been easily put away. Especially the ‘House Party’ number which looks a complete misfit to the situation. The screenplay is pretty fast; KL Praveen’s editing needs to be lauded for that. More so for the title song which is made from the collection of numerous fan videos, a fascinating edit work that is.
Love is the core purpose for all the struggles but since its essence gets hidden behind the sub-plot called cricket, you are not able to relate emotionally to the situation at places.
Chennai 28-II will satisfy the audience who adores Venkat Prabhu’s brand of comedies as you have plenty of them in it. There has been a lot of work behind comedy portions, loads of them were made in a subtle way which would only grab your attention while watching the second time.
In short, Venkat Prabhu has played an enjoyable second innings.
