`2 Harihar Nagar` is simple and entertaining (IANS Film Review)
Rating: **1/2
2 Hariharnagar is a sequel to the super hit Malayalam comedy
In Harihar Nagar.
The same actors play the same roles in the original with tongue-in-cheek humour
and naughtiness generally associated with young bachelors.
It is all about four men Mahadevan (Mukesh), Govindan Kutty (Siddique),
Appukkuttan (Jagadeesh) - all married and Thomas Kutty (about to tie the knot)
trying to woo an attractive female neighbour Maya (Lakshmi Rai) during a 10-day
run up to the marriage.
Lal informs his audience in detached, measured tones the facts about his main
characters:
Mahadevan, a kind of know-all expert who usually peps up adolescents on
management techniques, actually yearns for female company having been separated
from his wife during life in the Middle-East.
Govindan (nicknamed `Goku`) is a successful builder - yet to start a family
simply because he and his wife want more fun in life before being saddled with
children.
Appukkuttan is happily married and blessed with twin-boys alright, but is
looking for fun on the side.
And finally, Thomas is at the verge of surrendering his bachelorhood.
In a nutshell, the main four characters are normal men encountered in every
middle-class home the world over - seeking short term pleasures thinking that no
one (especially their family members) is watching.
So, in several humorous scenes they gallivant with a winsome, vivacious, female
neighbour Maya.
But, in the bargain circumstances go beyond their control and the foursome land
from individual frying pans into multiple fires - all narrated in a
light-hearted method succeeding in its endeavours to trigger laughter.
The movie, however, degenerates into a somewhat hackneyed plot towards the
climax, despite the non-reduction of the entertainment quotient.
All the members of the cast have put in adequately underplayed performances and
their on-screen body language is clear evidence of their having enjoyed doing
it.
The title is the imaginary address in Kerala.
Part nostalgic, part contemporary, the movie entertains - pure and simple.
In his first outing as an independent writer-director, Lal keeps to the basics
with decent support from cinematographer Venu and music from Paul.
MALAYALAM 
