Spoilers ahead…
Y
ou know that dengue ad with Vivek? If someone expanded it to feature length and married it off to a Visu starrer from the 1980s, we’d get something resembling Pandiraj’s Pasanga 2. Why employ the tools of cinema if all you want to do is have people spout words of wisdom? Kuzhandhainga ketta vaarthai pesa maattaanga… kaetta vaarthai dhaan pesuvaanga. Or, Vaazhkaikulla doubt irukkalam, aana doubtukulla vaarthai irukkave koodadhu. Or, something about how government schools will improve only if teachers are forced to make their children study in them (instead of admitting them in private schools). Or, something about how parents should not live their dreams through their children. Or, something about how hospitals ask you to undergo expensive tests for no reason. Or, ulagileye uyarndha vagupparai thaayin karuvarai. Cue, scene where father reads chapters from the Bhagavad Gita to his unborn child. What, he couldn’t find an issue of Penthouse Letters?
Pasanga 2 bears no resemblance to Pasanga. One, the plot, the characters don’t carry over. Two, that was actually a movie. It had style, wit, charming performances. This one’s inept in every department of filmmaking. The writing is mind-bogglingly bad. The Taare Zameen Par-like plot centres on ADHD, but that diagnosis doesn’t happen until well into the second half – and the child diagnosed with the condition is shown to have been “cured” because he goes on stage and performs. But that would be a win if the kid was shy or introverted. This child shows no signs of holding back. He’s always bounding about. There’s no connection between problem and solution. And instead of focusing on ADHD, we get subplots about a mom who’s a bad cook, a dad who’s a kleptomaniac… The film plays like an act of sabotage, as though someone deliberately set out to screw up every single scene.
Suriya is as annoying as Aamir Khan was in Taare Zameen Par, smug and twinkly-eyed and over-filled with a sense of importance. He’s supposed to be playing a child psychiatrist. He seems to be playing the class clown. The scenes with his horribly idealised family are physically painful – I kept hoping a psychopath from a Quentin Tarantino movie would somehow sneak into the proceedings and off everyone in a gory bloodbath. And the staging! I couldn’t believe the way two neighbours meet for the first time, or the way a kid in boarding school looks at the sky and cries out for his mother. One of the many clueless aspects of this movie is its depiction of boarding school as some kind of prison. I wanted to tell Pandiraj: “You know what prison’s really like? Being trapped in a theatre screening Pasanga 2.”
KEY:
- Taare Zameen Par = see here
Copyright ©2015 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
KayKay
December 26, 2015
I only saw half of the 1st Pasanga (the van driver was playing it on a long bumpy trip to Thiruvannamalai) and really enjoyed it.
Wait! From the trailer above, is Surya doing an Amir in TZP?????
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KayKay
December 26, 2015
Oh…and just because I hate seeing zero comments on this thread, lemme ask you something B: You’ve opened up discussion threads on the new SRK/SLB/Danush movies, how come the Biggest Movie Event of 2015 and the 1st installment in 10 years of a Billion Dollar Franchise doesn’t merit one?
Or, hasn’t the Force not quite awakened around these parts?
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tonks
December 26, 2015
KayKay : The force has awakened in these parts. I was wondering about the omission too. Perhaps the tables are turned and for once, he is the one concerned about spoilers 🙂
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Naveen
January 1, 2016
P-2 is not only a bad movie, it is a very very wrong movie on several counts. there should be a prohibition order banning anyone ( including Pandiraj ) to use the Pasanga connection for any further movies. bcos nothing can match that. not even Pandiraj can make a Pasanga again.
P-2 is tooo preachy and ends up preaching many wrong ideas. a few that are obvious are
P2 messes up majorly with the medical conditions. in spite of doctors’ names being listed in the credit, i am shocked they mix up adhd and dyslexia. Kavin, who is supposed to be a ADHD child, sees letters dancing and getting jumbled which was beautifully and correctly shown in TZP as a dyslexia symptom seen by Ishan Awasti. our films should stop using technical terms ( be it this movie or the bipolar/multiple personality disorder/schixo etc ) when it comes such abnormalities. it could be painful for folks going through these.
the only good message is that parents are largely responsible for their children’s wellness. most parents do not seem to realize that
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brangan
January 4, 2016
The review is up… I agree with you, Naveen. The film is shockingly bad.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
January 4, 2016
You never really said that Aamir Khan was ANNOYING in TZP, did you?
So is Suriya here just unnecessary or plain irritating? What about Amala Paul?
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Rahini David
January 4, 2016
Rohit Sathish Nair: To know what BR thinks of a particular movie, you should not read the actual review but the review and/or comment section of similar movies. And there you will find frank direct statements like “Loved it” or “Annoying” or equalent statements.
It has happened before though I am not able to pull a good example right away.
😀
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Vikram Sonni
January 4, 2016
Serial killer from a Tarantino film….. delicious that 🙂 )
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Monnish
January 4, 2016
@Naveen This week’s neeya naana episode was about engineering students being beaten up in hostels (because they dont study properly) the same claims have been made by school students as well (11 and 12). the movie was bad but atleast surya is trying something different
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Monnish
January 4, 2016
and isn’t the ending about parents accepting their children as they are or something
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Anu Warrier
January 4, 2016
Cue, scene where father reads chapters from the Bhagavad Gita to his unborn child. What, he couldn’t find an issue of Penthouse Letters?
It was worth reading the review just for this, BR. 🙂
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KayKay
January 4, 2016
“Cue, scene where father reads chapters from the Bhagavad Gita to his unborn child. What, he couldn’t find an issue of Penthouse Letters?”
HawHawHaw….. well, there is the question of availability, B. Perhaps, one of those “soft core” novellas with titles like “Paapa Potta Thaapa” would be more accessible?
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KayKay
January 4, 2016
“I kept hoping a psychopath from a Quentin Tarantino movie would somehow sneak into the proceedings and off everyone in a gory bloodbath”
On that note, B, would love to read your thoughts on The Master’s latest, if you’ve seen it,
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brangan
January 4, 2016
Rohan Sathish Nair: Well, I did allude to his saintliness, which, in my book, is an annoying trait 🙂
“The layered textures of the first half gradually give way to an uncomfortably black-and-white universe: the rest of the world in black versus Aamir in white. “
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Ram Murali
January 4, 2016
@brangan – the trailer had sent shivers down my spine! And it looks like my fears were not unfounded. Having read your reviews over the years, I know your general perception on movies that want to “convey a message.” While I really respect honorable intentions, over the years, I’ve felt that filmmakers like Pandiraj use “messages” as more of an excuse for lazy film making. They know what the Kumudams and Vikatans will appreciate the “gowravamaana muyarchis” and they also know that they can make money through the presence of cleverly inserted commercial elements like Suriya’s presence here. Do you have any favorites when it comes to well-done CINEMA that also managed to convey something but through compelling drama and not through mere “words of wisdom” as you call it in this review?
My favorite would have to be “Devar Magan.”
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Vignesh
January 4, 2016
I completely agree with your review. What was suriya thinking when was producing this movie? You forgot to mention about the epic climax, I was looking for the exit gate with impatience waiting to run out. Amala Paul was a total miscast too. Bad bad movie overall.
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Siva
January 5, 2016
Anyone else feel that Surya is becoming a little annoying in general these days? No appreciable performances in any of his movies whatsoever. And over-saturation due to him appearing in every single advertisement in every single screen available in Tamilnadu maybe…
And of course we know he is capable… I mean… whatever happened to that guy from Pithamagan ??
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Siddarth
January 5, 2016
@Ram Murali: I think Ayutha Ezhuthu also walked that tightrope pretty well and actually gave us something cinematic.
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Ram Murali
January 5, 2016
Siddarth – nice choice. Have you read “Conversations with Mani Ratnam?” BR had an interesting discussion with MR regarding the “message” of Aaytha Ezhuthu.
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Naveen
January 5, 2016
@Ram, I felt Shekhar Kammula did the balancing act very well in his earlier movies hitting the perfect pitch in Godavari. i could not find any loose end or illogical sequences. not seen Happy Days though heard much about it.
I think Pandiraj was too busy with kathakali and expected Pasanga 2 to do wonders due to the original Pasanga aura.
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neabs
January 5, 2016
agreed totally with your views.
The whole movie was big let down and also the title shouldn’t have been pasanga -2 but something like example or udaranam.
Also it was not about ADHD but lectures about parenting about do’s and dont’s.
If the director felt that city life gives chances for careless parenting , i would sorry it is not like that.
Plus why Surya took the role of child psychiatrist and projected to be ideal father, it looked something like heroism projected in a different .
Still couldn’t figure out the idea of “the dream un-school”, so is it wrong for parents to have some dream for their children?
also most of parents shown in the movie where shown to be over ambitious, thief, careless and only cameo one’s were ideal. Why???
Also Why make a two and half an hour lecture through a movie, better conduct a seminar session, at least cinema would be saved.
The kids (nayana, kavin) were good but less scope for performance.
the review was like a rejuvenation for me.
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SANJEEV
January 6, 2016
I dont understand whether BR really has a grudge against Suriya (Im not a fan of him) as of late i feel that you are becoming too biased… U didnt criticise Vaalu, Vedalam and even Puli which were completely run of the mill and rotten and this movie is not even half bad of the films mentioned above… yet you give it a complete trashing.. I really dont get it.. Anjaan and MASSS Were bad but this is not
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Ram Murali
January 6, 2016
SANJEEV – I don’t think BR has a grudge against Suriya at all. In fact, it might just be frustration at a good performer being under utilized these days.
I am copy pasting an excerpt from BR’s comment from the “Masss” post from June of last year.
“Krish: I think he’s begun to coast. In the sense that the filmmakers he’s working with aren’t pushing him beyond his default level — so we’re getting default-level sogam, default-level romance, default-level kindal etc.
But the good thing is that Suriya’s default level is a pretty good level. So even if we don’t get anything revelatory, even if (as I say in this review) he keeps playing himself, doing the same things, there’s a strong sense of competence.”
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sridharraman
January 7, 2016
In my mind, Pasanga – 2 has already been made and called Goli Soda. The trailer of this official Part 2 didn’t interest me one bit.
I have to agree with a few commenters here – Suriya has really begun to irritate me. He had an annoying cameo with a PSA in that other disaster – Chennaiyin Oru Naal.
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SANJEEV
January 7, 2016
RAM MURALI – If that is the reason I’m very happy. But this film is not so bad to be thrashed… ya it is tad too preachy but not untolerable… this film ran to packed houses in Mysore…. can you imagine and moreover among the current crop of 40+ actors I Feel that Suriya is trying something different in each of his films barring Anjaan and Masss and he is still better that Ilaya Thalavali and Tharuthala
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Anantha Krishnan
January 7, 2016
All the fan fights are of no use… BR said suriya was as ‘annoying’ as aamir in TZP… so i think suriya will be terrific in the movie!!!
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Ram Murali
January 7, 2016
SANJEEV – I don’t disagree with your opinion of the movie because your opinion is entirely yours. (For the record, I haven’t even watched the movie yet.) In a similar vein, I feel like BR or any other reviewer/commenter is entitled to their views and I dare say, “biases.” People’s sensibilities, their character, their experiences all shape up the way they view movies.
I’ll give you a personal example. In my group of friends, on a scale of 1-10, if I give “Rhythm” (one of my all-time favorites) a 9.5, my friends would not give it more than a 7 on average. I have even had some of my friends say that I am “biased” towards “Rhythm” because I am good friends with Vasanth. But the truth is that in the early 2000s, I had reached out to Vasanth as a fan and later became very good friends with him only BECAUSE OF Rhythm, not the reverse. I was just so floored when I first watched the movie that I had to meet the creator and was lucky to have an Aunt (subtitlist Rekhs) who knew him.
To me, Arjun’s scenes with his parents were what made the movie. To the point that I have routinely overlooked other minor flaws that people point out. Because, the movie made a tremendous, positive impact on how I treat my own parents. I was only 19 when I first watched the movie and in the past 15 years, it’s become an integral part of my life, almost a feedback loop of sorts. As mentioned, I have had very few people in my circle that admire or love the movie as much as I do because the movie spoke to me differently than it did with others and I have to respect that while maintaining my own passion for the movie.
The fact that the same content appeals to people in different ways is what makes movie watching and these kinds of discussions so rich, varied and exciting.
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Amit Joki
January 7, 2016
Messages if they have to be conveyed in films have to be done in an implicit manner. That is, the viewer should be able to get it from the screenplay.
What Pasanga-2 does is weave a whole lot of screenplay with characters explicitly feeding words of “wisdom” to the viewers.
I could imagine what BR would have felt. The characters are yelling that this is good and this is not and aren’t letting the audience decide for themselves, which is quite irksome.
But still, I could see Sreedhar Pillai declaring it a “run-away hit”. Sigh
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siddarthsen
January 7, 2016
@Ram Murali: Ah yes I’ve been moving slowly through the book, but haven’t gotten to the Ayutha Ezhuthu/Yuva chapter yet. It’s been a fascinating read so far. Regarding Ayutha Ezhuthu, I was also reminded of BR’s review of the film from all those years ago when he said something along the lines of Mani, the moral science teacher, infusing such energy into the film to make it supremely entertaining.
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Srinivas R
January 8, 2016
Ram Murali – Lovely comment on how everyone relates to a movie differently. In general I like most of your comments.
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Ram Murali
January 8, 2016
Srinivas R – thank you so much for your kind words.
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Anusha Balasubramanian
January 9, 2016
they keep on using the term ‘dyscalculia’ which is a neurological diagnosis not at all related to ADHD/dyslexia. it was so badly researched
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sankar anand
January 9, 2016
This movie is a total disappointment.. What was the point in the screenplay to include 2 kids who are very similar characters.. Their parents are same too.. Just to make a movie over 2 hours..? I have no hope for pandiraj, who has no place to hide from now.. Whats more shocking is that honestly, some parents loved this movie.. I do not know, whether it was rich entertainment or they were enlightened.. I hope a director like Kakka muttai Manikandan, makes a honest movie on our poor education system…
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Neethi
January 9, 2016
Pasanga 2 ….. Very Bad
Don’t do movie simply for money to fill your pockets… already u all in good position… think ur past… days… People earning money by hard work… And spending money for movies even their family need of that…. money….. Bros
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sanjay2706
January 14, 2016
Pandiaraj is a Donald Trump of Tamil Cinema. He offers simplistic solutions to complex problems
Socialize the entire education system and privatize liquor shops.
City kids fucking swear in English. Small town kids speak in Gotha Omala Tamil swear words.
Successful parents are bad parents. LOSERS in Trump’s words.
Good parenting is being polite to those super irritating kids. (I wanted to be that serial killer BR)
ADHD, Down syndrome and etc. = Dyslexia
Dancing to a kutthu song = Great art
Good storytelling skills = Future J K Rowling ( None of the storytelling skills are used in corporate world)
And many more….
No wonder this movie is a success. Look at the polls where Trump is winning. 😀
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Vijay Nandakumar
January 14, 2016
Long time reader first time commenter
Wonderful and truthful review! Pandiraj has been guilty of doing lazy movies ever since Pasanga. In fact, one could gauge from the trailers that this is going to be an “against the system” movie full of dialogues.
Surya should get out of this idealistic image he has caught himself into- I mean the man tries hard to be so perfect to the point that he becomes un-relatable to the general audience in TN. Should also cut out on his Ads and stuff. Let’s see how 24 shapes out to be.
Ram Murali- nice to see you here man. Hope you remember our time in Raleigh. Should connect soon.
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Pravin J Kalyan
January 27, 2016
just saw the movie y’day and it was so bad – a amateur writing on an important issue with a over glorified hero and dialogues. The last story telling was the final knock. Not sure why at all they are making such crazy films. Really wanted Sam. L.Jackson with his swear words to shoot off the entire cast …Ha ha ha
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Uma
February 7, 2016
I have a 5 year old who has speech delay, behavioral issues and received special education. The struggle that the parents go through is real but the movie does not address any solution. I can imagine having a special needs kid in a regular school in India is probably not easy. I think the director was not clear about what he intended to convey. Just too many things mixed up like…special needs, school business, parent’s crazy expectations etc etc.
I watched this movie on Tentkotta over several days. Had to force myself to watch and finish it. Was that horrible. The only thing I liked about the movie is that it is implying one of the heroines is expecting and could have aborted the baby due the family’s situation. It is very very rare for an Indian movie to show realistic dilemas that families face when they are expecting.
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Arch
February 28, 2016
Is this movie trying to blame working mothers for learning disabilities? It was intolerable, the child actors had none of the acting chops or charisma displayed by the kids in Pasanga. Could not watch after the first 30 minutes. It has a 8/10 in imdb!!
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A mom
March 14, 2016
Pardon me for this long comment. Just watched pasanga 2. BR – have you met all kinds of ADHD kids? Do you know anything at all about being a parent of a kid under the spectrum? Unfortunately parents play a big role in some cases which is what they have tried to show. May be it was preachy and annoying a bit but it is certainly not a bad movie that one should so passionately trash. Not every movie has to be “classy”. if you forget the TZP influence, it is a decent attempt. Mudinja talk to some moms having autistic kids – not the severely affected ones but ones who are barely but definitely under the spectrum. As a reviewer you have a huge responsibility of doing basic research before criticizing every single detail. And please look at who the target audience is. Not every one is a well informed parent. Preaching things like ” talk good” “be positive” “dont fight” during pregnancy is absolutely ok!!! why mock that concept? Any gynaec would say that! Choose natural delivery over C section if possible- again whats wrong in preaching that? And – spend quality time with your kid – typical prob of parents of ADHD kids. Minimise usage of elec gadgets. All perfect. The ambulance scenes which they show a few times aren’t random too. Kids under the spectrum often lack empathy. It is also because they dont pay attention to things that dont interest them. With therapies and sensory exercises in some cases these kids can definitely become more “normal” in matter of weeks too. So no need to mock the concept there. and LOTS of parents force kids to do things they couldn’t do . So the msg isn’t for you and me there.
The movie was BLOODY slow and not so engaging . But dont trash it as garbage.
My only real grudge (apart from tzp “influence”) was about the scene where the naughty boy asks sooryas kid if his dad was a cook(like “just a cook”) . And the kid replies with “hes a doc” in a “what did u think of my dad” tone. While they talk about respecting and nurturing every talent, imbibing in a kid the idea of one profession being better than the other, doesn’t help!
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Sundar Gopalakrishnan
May 23, 2019
I liked this movie very much. I don’t accept BR’s review. The movie is very fast. It should be a little slow. Otherwise this movie is good.
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