When Krishnadas Murali’s feature debut Bharathanatyam came out in 2024, my immediate question was straightforward: how does this family sustain even a modest lifestyle? I couldn’t tell what anyone in this crowded house did for a living, especially since times were so uncertain. But as the movie went on, that worry went away and was replaced by a growing interest in how normal and strange people live together in a typical Malayali home. With Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam, the filmmaker dives deep into that chaos to revel hard in its absurdities. The result? A sequel that is richer, zanier, and mightily confident in its skin.
A dark comedy at its heart, Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam knows when it must behave as a spoof and when as a joyous comedy of manners. This time, the story takes off shortly after Bharathan Nair’s (Saikumar) death. Omnipresent in the film without really appearing himself, the man dies, leaving a brand new grief for his twin families – a lesson they learn from the wicked Govindaraja (Suraaj Venjaramood), who shows up one fine day to disrupt their recently acquired peace of mind. As history goes, he, along with Bharathan and two aides, once engineered a fabricated myth to establish a local temple, which eventually became a hub for a profitable cult following.
What distinguishes Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam is its audacity in critiquing religion by staying within a deeply religious setup. The film begins with rituals and reverence, then gradually exposes them as part of a carefully planned con that exploited people’s beliefs. While both Bharathan and Govindan were equally responsible, society remembers them very differently. Bharathan is mourned, held in some degree of respect, and is allowed to be memorialized through familial bonds and goodwill from the community, whereas Govindan is viewed with disgust and has been unwelcome even in his own home.
An outlier in this dynamic is Subhash (Baby Jean), Govindan’s nephew and the Bharathan family’s neighbour. As in the original, Sasidharan Nair (Saiju Kurup) anchors the mayhem, orchestrating a household that turns dysfunction into spectacle, while Subhash’s detective brain ticks over time to suspect them when Govindan mysteriously disappears.
The humour in Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam is situational, embedded within the fabric of its world. It’s not the kind that works on punchlines that you would quote later and laugh at. Plus, not every character attempts to make you laugh. Consider Bharathan’s wives: Rukmini (Sreeja Ravi) embodies the prototypical “Paavam Amma”, while Saraswathi (Kalaranjini) is happy being a wicked mom. It’s ironic how the latter’s face is what lights up the village as Goddess Mohineeshwari.
The narrative picks up further interest when Sasi brings in Subhash Sr (Abhiram Radhakrishnan), a figure who matches the late patriarch’s flair for what Malayalis term sly men with a smooth way to scam – “udayippu.” From here, Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam becomes a cat-and-mouse game that makes you roll with laughter for its sheer originality.
By then, Krishnadas Murali, along with co-writer Vishnu R. Pradeep, has a winsome screenplay that is unabashedly absurd, yet a fantastic critique of our society’s behaviours. Electronic Kili’s music, contemporary in tone, plays in amusing contrast to the film’s rooted setting, while Shafeeque VB’s editing ensures a consistently brisk tempo. Vinay Forrt’s CI Parthan emerges as a delightful addition, functioning as a modern echo of Suresh Gopi’s iconic SI ‘Minnal’ Prathapan from Manu Uncle.
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Speaking of the ensemble cast, Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam is a film where the performances do not compete for attention but are rather unified by their screen chemistry. Saiju Kurup is incredible, embodying Sasi in a way that makes you feel he loves playing Sasi as much as Sasi would love to have Saiju essay him. Kalaranjini, a revelation with her characteristic coarse voice, brings authority and mischief to her part, while the new supporting characters (Jagadish, Balachandran Chullikkadu, Nisthar Sait, and Santosh K. Nayar) prove to be perfect additions to the film’s bizarre canvas.
The sisters (Divya M. Nair, Sruthy Suresh) add their share of madness, although the twin brothers get fewer lines this time. The standout actor among the new entrants is Baby Jean, whose timing injects tension and organic humour into the proceedings.
In Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam, Krishnadas Murali does more than outdo his original. The film’s ability to make us believe in the most inane situations, however criminal they might be, is what renders it an audacious piece of work. In the bargain, Krishnadas Murali and crew give birth to a parallel Drishyam universe, but with a long list of side players who deserve their own spin-offs.
VERDICT: ★★★★
Read the reviews of Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam by the Film Critics Guild HERE.
