Mookuthi Amman 2 review: a Diwali fantasy that runs on Nayanthara

Shakti (Nayanthara) can stop a child sacrifice in Chennai, but she cannot stop a village called Mayilanji from turning up in her sleep, night after night. So the nervous constable takes a transfer there with her mother Mala (Urvashi), unaware that she is the human form of Mookuthi Amman, and that a band of sorcerers has just revived Bhaira (Regina Cassandra), a witch who has spent 2,000 years in jeeva samadhi nursing a grudge against her. Sharing nothing with RJ Balaji’s 2020 satire beyond its goddess, Sundar C’s sequel is a full-blown devotional fantasy, run like most of his entertainers: a crowded cast, plenty of incident and little patience for explanation.

The approach suits Nayanthara well. Her Shakti is easily spooked, which makes the switch all the more satisfying when the trident finally lands in her hand. She seems to grow a few inches, and for those stretches the film has exactly the charge it is chasing. Sundar C knows it, staging each transformation like a hero’s entry.

Regina Cassandra throws herself at Bhaira with obvious relish, all glares and fury, even if her ornate costumes look as though they wandered in from another civilisation. Urvashi wrings laughs out of Mala’s reactions when the written jokes give her little. Duniya Vijay, in his Tamil debut, is an imposing presence in the fights and a blank everywhere else. Yogi Babu’s separate comedy track is the biggest drag, breaking the mood without raising many laughs.

What keeps the whole thing watchable is speed. Sundar C seems to believe no ominous stare should go unanswered by a dramatic entrance, and the film rarely sits still long enough to sag. The interval block pulls the scattered threats together into a proper jolt, and the climax is built squarely for festival crowds, with a rousing Amman song and guest goddess turns from Khushbu Sundar and Sneha. It is loud, colourful and unashamed, which is most of what a Diwali family outing asks for.

The same rush costs the film its heart, though. The 2,000-year-old backstory behind Bhaira’s grudge is the most interesting idea here, yet it flashes past before it can carry weight, and with Sunil and Garuda Ram’s sorcerers also jostling for space, no villain gets room to grow. Loose logic comes with the territory in a Sundar C film, but a devotional story runs on feeling, and this one seldom pauses for the bond between Shakti and Mala or for any sense of awe.

Then there is the CGI, which does the heavy lifting, unevenly. A few shots of the goddess in full regalia carry real charm, but several battles have the thin, unfinished look of a preview. Hiphop Tamizha’s background score rarely drops its volume, but its thump gives the goddess scenes the punch the effects sometimes lack. Messy as it is, Mookuthi Amman 2 understands its occasion, and Nayanthara’s journey from rattled constable to trident-wielding protector gives all that noise a face worth following.