The Saiju Kurup-starrer Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam (B2M) is set to begin streaming on Netflix from May 8. The film arrived in theatres on April 10 and is still running steadily, nearly a month later. Its hold at the box office has come despite fresh competition from a biggie like Patriot, the new spy thriller led by Mammootty and Mohanlal, alongside Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros.
Directed by Krishnadas Murali, Mohiniyattam is a sequel to the 2024 comedy-drama Bharathanatyam. While the first film found much of its audience after its OTT release, the second part clicked with viewers in theatres itself and went on to cross ₹25 crore worldwide. The film also marks Saiju’s 150th feature. He reprises the role of Sashidharan, whose family once again finds itself caught in a fresh round of chaos linked to Bharathan Nair’s actions. Unlike the lighter tone of the first instalment, the sequel leans more into dark comedy and thriller elements.
Along with Saiju Kurup, several actors from the first film reprise their roles in the sequel, including Kalaranjini, Sreeja Ravi, Divya M Nair, Sruthy Suresh, Swathi Das Prabhu, Nandu Poduval and Abhiram Radhakrishnan, while Suraj Venjaramoodu, Jagadish, Baby Jean and Vinay Forrt joined the cast.
An excerpt from CE review of Mohiniyattam reads, "Comparisons between the Bharathanatyam and B2M are not entirely fair, given how differently they are pitched. But the second instalment is undoubtedly the stronger piece of work. It takes what was established, pushes it in an unexpected direction, and arrives at something that feels genuinely earned. For a film that few probably saw coming, that is no small thing at all."
