By V.S. Rajapur
Film: “Gaayam 2″; Cast: Jagapathi Babu, Vimala Raman, Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Kota Prasad, Tanikella Bharani, Ravi Kale, Jeeva, Revathy and others; Producer: C. Dharma Kartha; Director: Praveen Sri; Music Director: Ilayaraja; Camera: Anil Bhandari

It is always a big challenge and also little difficult to make a sequel of a trendsetter. “Gaayam 2″, which has hit the screens nearly 17 years after the original “Gaayam”, is a successful attempt in re-connecting to the director Ram Gopal Varma’s movie.

Backed by superb performances from artists like Jagapathi Babu and Kota Sreenivasa Rao, who were part of the original film, “Gaayam-2″ also shines because of its excellent screenplay, background music and superb cinemetography.

Shot in Bangkok and Hyderabad, the film has got an interesting visual platform to narrate the screenplay. Besides this technical support, “Gaayam-2″ makes an impact through the screenplay which is quite interesting.

The original film had more emotions, but the sequel has less emotional content. The film could have also been a little fast-paced.

Still the film’s director Praveen Sri, a protege of Varma, has more or less succeeded in delivering a tightly scripted film effectively. The director has also been able to incorporate many recent political developments into the story to make it contemporary and interesting.

The first half of the film has been heavily inspired by Hollywood film “A History of Violence”.

The film starts with Durga settled in Bangkok with his wife and adopted child with a changed name and identity. Now Durga is Ram, a hotel owner who hides his identity to have a peaceful life. His real identity is not known even to his wife.

But Gaayam’s guru Narayan, who had a running feud with Durga, wants revenge. He wants to settle scores with Durga and gets the shock of his life when he acidentally stumbles upon the fact that Durga is staying in Bangkok by hiding his real identity.

He despatches his lawyer and son to Bangkok to trace Durga. Narayan’s son Shankar abducts Ram’s adopted son Chaithanya. Later Ram reveals his identity as Durga and he comes to India. And then starts the drama between Durga and Narayan, who now wants to be a chief minister.

Performaance wise Jagapathi Babu, who had scored very well in the original, stands out as a top class performer in this film too. He shows lot of intensity through his eyes and voice.

Vimala Raman shows that she can show her class and can mix glamour well even in a house wife’s role. Kota Sreenivasa Rao is the pick of the lot and looks as menacing as ever in this role of Narayan.

It is a real tragedy that his son Kota Prasad, who has Shankara, died in an accident a few days before the release. Kota Prasad has given a strong performance in the film like another veteran actor Thanikella Bharani.

Other artists like Ravi Kale, Jeeva are also quite effective in their respective roles.

Anil Bhandari has done a good camera work. Ilayaraja’s perfect background score lifts the tempo of the film and its editing and art department work is excellent too.

“Gaayam 2″ is a good watch even if you have not seen the original.