Name: Vaazha II: Biopic of a Billion Bros
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Action, Family
Duration: 2 h 43 min
Rating: 6.3
Cast: Hashir H, Alan Bin Siraj, Ajin Joy, Vinayak V, Veda Shankar

12 AM To 8 AM

Early Morning

8 AM To 12 PM

Morning

12 PM To 4 PM

Afternoon

4 PM To 7 PM

Evening

7 PM To 12 AM

Night

5 PM To 12 AM

After 5 PM

The film continues the story of young men struggling against societal pressures, following them on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and navigating adulthood, featuring a fresh cast and social media influencers.

Vaazha II: Biopic of a Billion Bros

Times of India

The Indian Express

NDTV

Savin SA's Vaazha 2 is funnier, quirkier and slick. The theme, the emotions and the ideas resemble Vaazha 1, and at the same time it feels fresh, relatable and compelling in its narrative choices.
The story takes us through the lives of Hashir, Alan, Ajin and Vinayak, four young boys. They are the kids who create a ruckus, get into unnecessary messes, and are not great at studies either. But we also get to see how their lives develop that way. Hashir and Alan were eager to have siblings. We also get to see what happens in most dual-child households once the second child arrives. The actors (sharing the same names) were exceptional in their performances. The supporting cast, including Bijukuttan, Alphonse Puthren, Vijay Babu and Sudheesh, also delivers well.
It doesn't shy away from showing the failings of parents, teachers and the kids themselves. It talks about important subjects in a language that youngsters understand. The generational shift in teacher-student relationships and school culture gets space here. Let's not forget the busybodies who are always out there to comment on others' lives, demean and drag everyone down. Vipin Das balances the narrative by not favouring one side but rather exposing everyone's shortcomings.
While it explores such serious themes, the humour is organic and it doesn't weigh down the audience with razor-sharp critique. It's mellow, but intentional and powerful.
The film also explores sibling bonds, and not just within one generation. It doesn't gloss over everything with rosy, feel-good moments, but rather shows how these bonds develop through experiences.
It also touches upon the UK dreams of the current generation, painting a realistic picture for an average student.
The music (composed under Ankit Menon's supervision) is spot on and adds to the overall feel of the film. The female presence, while not non-existent, is not very substantial either. But they really did not forget the women here. The mothers, sisters, girlfriends and classmates are catalysts to the plot.
There is also a cameo from the Vaazha 1 main cast — a stellar one at that.

The easiest way to deal with a tense, messy situation is to point fingers. Is it the right thing to do? Only if the person in the wrong points the finger at themselves. However, there are quite a few situations in which right and wrong are arbitrary. While it may be easy to shun and denounce someone who has made a mistake, without dialogue that maps the reasons why they did so or what slowly led them down that path, a blame game is just escapism to avoid being called out for one’s in/actions.

Where debut director Savin SA’s Vaazha 2 succeeds is by bringing all of them under one umbrella during a thunderstorm, allowing them to pour out all that’s in their hearts so the downpour can wash it away. But that doesn’t mean the movie gives everyone a free pass; it still holds them accountable for their mistakes. In fact, that’s one of the reasons Vaazha 2 is a far, far better film than its predecessor. Unlike Vaazha (2024), which bluntly glorifies manchildren, including their irresponsibility and carefree attitudes that often harm others, Vaazha 2 presents a more sensible, sensitive tale that shows consideration and compassion to those who deserve it.
Hashir and Alan have been friends since childhood, and even in high school, they are inseparable. While they are constantly at loggerheads with Ajin and Vinayak, their dynamic changes slowly — well, literally over their mutual love for Mohanlal. The four are basically loafers, and due to their overt curiosity and disregard for others, they do pretty much everything kids their age shouldn’t. But at one point, things get out of hand, and they become embroiled in a major issue at school that ends in a massive altercation. Although they, with their parents’ help, manage to resolve everything, it leaves a blemish on them. As they begin efforts to break free from their past and rebuild their lives, the harshness of reality slowly comes searching for them. In that moment, no parent or friend’s help proves handy, as they must fend for themselves.
In fact, it almost feels like Vipin Das (director of Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey and Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil), who has penned both movies in the franchise, took the criticisms the first part received to heart and has tried not to repeat the same mistakes, at least in the spirit of the story. While the predecessor presents its central gang as “victims” and depict those around them who aren’t on their side bluntly as unempathetic, even though the former are clearly in the wrong most of the time, Vipin doesn’t repeat that pattern in Vaazha 2. Instead, he shows how circumstances unfold and snowball, with some adding fuel to the already burning fire, thereby derailing people’s lives, exacerbated by impulsive actions.

For instance, at one point, Hashir and the gang end up in the police station after the aforementioned fight, during which they were under the influence of narcotics. Unlike their parents and teachers, who were squarely focused on blaming the kids, the cop Xavier (Alphonse Puthren, in a role that mirrors Basil Joseph’s in the first installment) tries to unravel what pushed them into that situation. He realises that the lack of spaces and opportunities to play and hang out like kids their age — due to their inconsiderate parents and teachers — led them to camp more often at a nearby juice shop run by a drug dealer. Now, it’s easy to blame the kids for using drugs and close the chapter, but should we do just that? Isn’t it unfair that Mujeeb (Vijay Babu), a judgmental teacher who constantly chews paan in school, police children who use intoxicants?Going beyond the typical “mata, pita, guru, daivam” adage, which unfairly gives these figures an upper hand, thus positioning them above scrutiny, Vaazha 2 problematises the habit of teachers blowing even teen romances and the small mistakes kids make out of proportion, thus traumatising them forever. If only they listened to Boo (Jenny Rainsford) in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, “That’s the very reason why they put rubbers on the end of pencils… because people make mistakes.”

Unlike Vaazha, the second installment has its heart more or less in the right place. However, that doesn’t mean Vipin Das’ writing is extraordinary. In fact, despite having far better material, the writer has failed to flesh it out adequately. One of the biggest drawbacks of the narrative is the overstretching of several moments, particularly the comedic ones. For instance, there’s a scene when Hashir, Alan, Ajin, and Vinayak go to see Mohanlal’s Lucifer (2019). As chaos erupts in the theatre, a police officer (Krishna Prasad) enters and tries to bring order with an iron fist. But in the darkness, people start booing and cursing him. Although the moment is initially hilarious, it goes on for unnecessarily long, draining all the fun by the time it ends, leaving the scene tedious. At the same time, the misjudgment in the placement of certain jokes, such as the Premam (2015) climax reference in Alphonse’s intro, spoils the emotion built up to that point.
However, Vaazha 2 works better than its predecessor in the emotional moments since they aren’t overtly melodramatic or crafted to go viral later as reels. Instead of individual moments, Vipin has focused more on the gradual progression of the story while developing emotions organically along the way. Although the story has an arc, it meanders aimlessly in the second half, oscillating between the four friends without coherently developing. Even the many characters introduced early on go totally missing towards the end, with the most notable example being the compassionate teacher, Manoj (Aju Varghese), leaving them purposeless.

Amid all this, Savin keeps viewers hooked with the vibrancy he brings to the visuals. The fight scene leading to the interval, in particular, is extraordinary and brilliantly choreographed, ensuring a sense of naturalness, and thanks in major part here to editor Kannan Mohan, who displayed brilliant work in the predecessor too. Most of the time, Savin gives the impression that he has understood the soul of Vipin’s script, and the rhythm of the scenes highlights that well. Even in emotional moments, he doesn’t go overboard to make it a tearjerker. Akhil Lailasuran’s cinematography also contributes significantly to these efforts. Had the movie been trimmed a bit more, it would have been even better.

Nonetheless, it’s impossible not to mention that this is how a sequel should be. Instead of simply drawing from the first part and milking all that made it what it is, the makers of Vaazha 2 have treated the story as freshly as possible. Of course, the fact that this installment revolves around a fresh set of characters and can only be described as a spiritual sequel to its predecessor is there. But regardless, the makers have clearly tried their best to ensure that similarities between the movies are not many, even if not nil.

The music also deserves commendation. While the makers could have easily used hit tracks from Vaazha, they refrain from doing so until the very end. That’s why, when Parvatish Pradeep’s “Makane” finally plays at the right moment, after teasing for long, it hits a home run.
Also, Savin and Vipin could have easily ruined the movie by bringing in the central gang from Vaazha and capitalising on them. Had they appeared even in the climax, all that the makers built towards in Vaazha 2 would have gone to waste. Instead, Ajo (Siju Sunny), Vishnu (Amith Mohan Rajeswari), Moosa (Joemon Jyothir), Abdul Kalam (Anuraj OB) and Vivek (Saaf) appear at the tail end when everything has been wrapped up, and along with them, we hear Electronic Kili’s iconic “Eyy Banane,” which serves as the cherry on top.

While Hashir, Alan, Ajin, and Vinayak (playing characters named after themselves) are perfect in their roles — with Alan being particularly impressive — it’s almost impossible to assess their acting potential from this one movie, since they largely portray their public personas, which carry many elements of their real selves.

When Vaazha - Biopic of a Billion Boys was released in 2024, its humour-filled story of five aimless young boys took audiences by storm. The feel-good film by director Vipin Das was extremely relatable, given its setting of school and college life, friendships, parents, teachers, romances, and, of course, rivalries. The movie was a smashing success, and it is no surprise that Vipin Das has followed it up with Vaazha 2, directed by Savin SA.

There is a line in Vaazha 2 - "We are not useless, we are just not used yet" - delivered by one of the young boys, and it neatly sums up the story. The film follows the male friendship of four schoolboys in a town in Kerala who lead rather aimless lives riddled with failure. Vinayak, aka Vinu, and Ajin are friends whose rivalry with Alan and Hashir turns into friendship at a cinema hall. Once they form a gang, there is no stopping them. Like most boys their age, they frequently get into trouble at school and at home, earning the wrath of elders.

It is when a particular issue at school spirals out of control, leading to the involvement of parents and the police, that the boys realise adulthood is just around the corner and that they need to change. However, change is not easy for them. They remain unfocused and inconsistent, yet ambitious, dreaming of a future in the United Kingdom.

Vipin Das seamlessly weaves smaller stories around each of the boys within the larger narrative, offering a glimpse into the diverse challenges they face at home. Alan, for instance, has to deal with a rigid religious custom imposed by his devout father, while Ajin struggles with his strict father sending his brother to Dubai to support the family financially. Each boy is weighed down by family and school pressures, which only deepen their sense of aimlessness rather than provide clarity about their future.
Das's writing is sharp in the way real conversations are - not through grand dramatic moments, but through casual cruelty, friendly insults and uncomfortable truths that often emerge as comical situations. For example, teacher Mujeeb's intolerant attitude towards students is hilariously addressed through graffiti in the school toilets. While the first half of the film is light and breezy, filled with humour, the second half shifts towards more emotional, life-altering moments that set the boys on different paths.

Das's understanding of male friendships, particularly during the transition from school to college, is excellent. However, the same cannot be said for female characters. The girls in the film have limited roles and largely exist to support the boys, either as family members or romantic interests. The film also becomes somewhat preachy at times, emphasising the role of parents and teachers in shaping young minds. Writer-director Alphonse Puthren, who appears as a police officer, directly addresses these issues during a major confrontation, calling out the flawed perspectives of both parents and teachers and how they contributed to the boys' situation.

The second half does feel sluggish, as it leans heavily into emotional drama. Tighter editing could have improved the pacing, as several scenes become overly serious, weighed down by lengthy dialogues.

Performance-wise, the cast works beautifully as an ensemble, delivering natural and unforced performances. No single actor dominates the film, which adds to its authenticity. The characters feel like people one might know in real life - not cinematic constructs, but real boys who never quite grew into men because no one showed them how, and real parents struggling to raise them despite their own shortcomings.

Vaazha 2 is not like Vaazha, and that works in its favour. It is both entertaining and emotionally engaging, even if it becomes sermonising in parts. Overall, the Vipin Das film remains a worthwhile watch - one that offers hearty laughs while also giving the audience something to reflect on.