Vaazha II Movie Review

Picking up from where the 2024 hit Vaazha: Biopic of A Billion Boys left off, debutant Savin SA’s Vaazha II: Biopic Of A Billion Bros sticks quite closely to the same template, only widening its focus this time to four boys dealing with school, family pressure and the many ways in which society is quick to label them. Written again by Vipin Das, the sequel doesn’t really try to reinvent anything, but it does attempt to stretch its emotional and geographical canvas a bit further.

Director: Savin S A

Cast: Hashir, Alan, Vinayak, Ajin, Biju Kuttan, Alphonse Puthren, Vijay Babu, Aju Varghese Ameen, Angel Maria

The first half, set largely within the school space, is easily the film’s most engaging stretch. The writing moves at a brisk pace, helped by humour that lands more often than it misses. Much like the first film, the narrative flows almost like a string of Instagram reels, jumping from one moment to another with very little pause. The central quartet of Hashir, Alan, Vinayak and Ajin, all more or less playing versions of themselves, bring an ease and familiarity that keeps things lively. Their deadpan delivery and casual banter feel natural, almost like watching their online personas spill onto the big screen.

There is also a strong sense of deja vu in how the film builds its conflicts. The boys being branded as troublemakers and the escalation of consequences mirror the structure of the original. Where Vaazha II begins to differ is in how it leans into slightly heightened situations. Many moments feel a bit exaggerated, at times even staged, missing the simplicity and relatability that made the first film so effective.

Even then, the humour does a lot of the heavy lifting. There is almost always a line or visual gag that pulls you back in. The “6th Mile” bit is a good example. It comes up during a casual video call when two of the friends, now in the UK and living about 12 miles apart, complain about how difficult it is to meet. Hashir suggests they meet halfway at six miles, and what begins as a throwaway joke turns into an actual meeting point they call “6aam Mile”. It lands like one of their usual reel jokes, but also quietly grows into something more meaningful.

Where the film starts to wobble is in its emotional core. The first Vaazha had a grounded sincerity, especially in how it explored flawed father-son relationships. Here, while the film again places its characters in relation to their parents, the emotional beats do not land with the same depth. With the exception of Vinayak’s track involving his father, most moments feel surface-level and rarely stay with you. There is nothing here that hits quite like the exchange between Azees Nedumangad and Siju Sunny in the first film. To be fair, the actors do try to bring weight to these scenes. Vinayak, in particular, stands out and manages to convey vulnerability even when the writing around him feels a bit thin. The others are effective too, especially within the comedic portions.

The second half expands the story beyond Kerala, looking at the lives of Malayali students abroad. This is not a space Malayalam cinema has explored in great detail, and Vaazha II does a reasonably neat job of presenting it through a mix of humour and quiet struggle. The UK portions feel authentic in their depiction of isolation, language barriers and odd jobs, though the writing could have been done with more restraint.

There are also tonal missteps that are hard to ignore. Certain stretches, like the comedic treatment of Alan’s circumcision feel borderline insensitive, reducing it to a throwaway gag. Similarly, the handling of campus violence and drug use comes across as indulgent and, at times, slightly romanticised. Alphonse Puthren’s cameo brings a certain novelty, much like Basil Joseph’s appearance in the first film, but the character often slips into a preachy mode, delivering lines that feel more like lectures on the pitfalls of drug use, parenting, and the responsibilities of teachers than natural conversations.

The visuals are vibrant, but the music does not quite match up to the first instalment’s memorable album. Apart from ‘Vannilla Chediye’, very little really sticks, and the reuse of earlier tracks only reminds you of what worked better before. The background score, too, tends to get a bit too loud in places.

In the end, Vaazha II feels very much like an Instagram reel expanded into a feature film, filled with humour, life lessons and a fair bit of chaos. It does not quite capture the emotional depth of its predecessor, but thanks to its engaging central performances and consistently amusing moments, it remains a fairly enjoyable watch.