The one-line story of Vijay Milton’s Goli Soda 2 would be the same as the one for Goli Soda – the underdog, the powerful don and the story of rising above it all. While the makers have made it clear that Goli Soda 2 is not a sequel, parallels can be drawn between the two in several instances. However, the narrative that helped Goli Soda cruise does not work the same magic for GS 2.
The film begins with a police officer, Raghavan (Gautam Menon), interrogating Natesan (Samuthirakani) in the case of three missing people. From this point onwards, the film tracks the backstory of the three protagonists – Oli played by Esakki Bharath, Siva played by Vinoth and Maaran played by Bharath Seeni. The three are in no way related to each other and Natesan is the thread who connects them all.
While Goli Soda was set in Koyambedu, GS 2’s characters are from north Madras. The three youngsters are basically nobodies, wanting to create a space for themselves, to live peaceful lives. Yet society’s class system and prejudices gets to them fairly quickly. Whether they chose to stand and fight or run and hide forms the rest of the story.
The director may have gone a bit overboard with Samuthirakani’s permanent neck brace and repeated references to missed opportunities. The dialogue ‘Naama enna thappu pannom?’ (what mistake did we do?) from Goli Soda is heard in this film as well, but it seems a little too dramatic this time around.
The element of love is done weakly in the film – in all three cases. Another aspect in which the film falls flat is in establishing the characters. While the relationship the four children share in GS makes the film more endearing, the lack of adequate bonding in GS 2 is a major let-down.
Chemban Vinod Jose plays the typical don. Rekha and Rohini, who play the role of the mothers, have been underutilised. The film’s narrative exasperates at times fuelled by the predictability of the story. Actors Subiksha and Krusha Kurup, who play the love interests of Bharath Seeni and Esakki Bharath respectively, have enacted their parts well.
Music by Achu Rajamani sounds familiar. While the stunt sequences are nicely done, it gets excessive as the film progresses. Cinematography works well in GS 2. In terms of dialogues, we might have been watching Goli Soda with a different set of characters – ‘Opportunity comes only once. If you miss it, you’ll end up regretting all your life’, ‘Who are you to decide what I should do with my life?’, ‘No one gets to choose what caste they belong. Why are they discriminated all their life?’.
While GS 2 could have been a simple yet effective drink like its namesake, it ends up trying too hard and losing its fizz altogether.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.
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