Pretham 2

Though titled Pretham, Ranjith Sankar’s supernatural film released in 2016 didn’t have many supernatural elements as part of its narrative. As he brings out its sequel, he is getting a lot more into the mood of the genre. How far does it thrill?

The movie has five strangers, played by Amit Chakkalakkal, Saniya Iyappan, Durga Krishna, Sidharth Siva and Dain Davis brought together by a social media group named Cinema Pranthan, at the centre of the tale. They meet at Mullasheri Mana and their passion for filmmaking urges Amit’s character to make a short film with the others, at the mana. Soon after, a series of eerie incidents take the centre stage and their presence disturbs the shoot, which also makes the youngsters believe in supernatural powers.

Actor Jayasurya is back in his mentalist Don John Bosco avatar again in this film and his mentalist acts successfully intrigue the audience right from the beginning. With their comic counters, Dain, Jayaraj Warrier and Sidharth Siva also managed to trigger some laughs. Anand Madhusoodhanan’s haunting music also suits the story to a T. Interestingly, just like the first instalment, director Ranjith Sankar has managed to tell the story of a spirit, whom the new age audience can connect with, again. It manages to dwell a bit on the piracy and related cybercrimes happening around us, as well. 

As compared to the gripping first half, the second half is a lot more predictable. Then again, the movie leaves the audience with the feeling that the director could have explored the genre a lot better, if he wanted to do justice to the film’s title.