In ‘Manal Kaiyiru', Kittumani (S.Ve. Sekhar) poses eight conditions to marry a poor girl and Naradar Naidu (Visu) creates high drama to make the match work. In the sequel there is a gender reversal and here Kittumani's daughter Poorna has eight conditions and this time Naidu sets her up with Arjun (Ashwin Sekhar) using his conniving ways. Problems crop up between the mismatched couple and how they reconcile forms the rest of the screenplay.
It is S. Ve. Sekhar’s show all the way and he gets the laughs every time he appears on screen with his own brand of perfect comedy timing. Next to Sekhar it is Poorna who scores with her pleasant looks and acting as the headstrong heroine. Ashwin Sekhar’s comedy timing works out well in the five or so ad films that are shown at regular intervals. He is also not bad dancing for the kuthu number, but in the emotional scenes he is found wanting. Jayashree makes a comeback as Sekhar’s wife and she has done her role neatly. Visu has lost his magnetic voice due to ailments and it is really sad for die hard fans of his but the messages for today’s youth coming from him hit the mark thanks to his stature. Delhi Ganesh, Kuriokose Ranga, Swaminathan, Jagan, George and M.S. Bhaskar all have their own LOL moments in the screenplay. Special mention is due to Chaams who plays the character of a wannabe suitor of Poorna. The scene in which he undergoes family planning operation to get his girl brings the house down.
Cinematography by Gopi and editing by Athiyappan Siva passes muster while Dharan Kumar’s songs are so so barring the kuthu number sung by Anirudh. S.Ve.Sekhar is credited with the story, screenplay and dialogues and though the humor works well the stageplay effect dominates throughout. Director Madhan Kumar of ‘Yaaruda Mahesh’ is credited as the director.
On the downside the conditions that Poorna forces on the groom are juvenile and far from reality and what should have been the anchor of the script becomes its major flaw. As mentioned earlier, this sequel probably would have worked better as a stage play and is no match for the original by Visu.
Verdict: Go for it if you fancy the S.Ve Sekhar brand of comedy and you will not be overly disappointed.
