Meesaya Murukku 2 — Review
A real subject — who gets to be taken seriously in music — handled with speeches instead of a story.
A watchable film with a much better one inside it. Four critics scored it between 2 and 3 out of 5. Three others reviewed it without a score, and all three were unimpressed.
The songs work and Aadhi is likeable across three roles. What most reviewers could not forgive is that the film keeps stopping to explain its own point, and the main conflict does not turn up until just before the interval.
Released in cinemas on 25 September 2026. No streaming service or date has been announced yet. We will update this line as soon as one is.
See every place to stream Meesaya Murukku 2The scorecard
Story & Screenplay
2The subject is strong. The screenplay keeps telling you so.
Three generations of one North Chennai family sing gaana — street music from the city's working-class neighbourhoods, long treated as beneath classical Carnatic music. Jeeva, the youngest, wants to take it to a wider audience.
That is a real argument about class and who gets taken seriously. Cinema Express credited the film for noticing how independent music is being taken over by big companies, then said it flattens all of that into a simple hero-versus-villain fight.
The timing is the bigger problem. FlickOnClick pointed out that the central conflict arrives only about ten minutes before the interval, which leaves far too little room to do anything with it. India Today said the film leans on speeches instead of showing you things.
Direction
2.5Aadhi knows his audience and plays straight to them.
M. Suganth in the Times of India gave it 3 out of 5 and put his finger on why it works for the people it is made for: it knows young viewers want a fun night out and gives them one.
The Hindu was less convinced, saying the underdog story struggles to find its rhythm. DT Next listed constant explaining, uneven humour and a sluggish second half, and also called out a sequence involving LGBTQ+ characters as insensitive.
The split is fairly clean. If you want an entertainer with a message attached, it delivers. If you came for the message, the film keeps getting in its own way.
Acting
3Aadhi in three roles, and a supporting cast that deserved more.
Aadhi plays all three generations — DJ Jeeva, Gaana Das and Tiger Ravi. FlickOnClick, the harshest of the reviews, still said the choice adds real texture.
Only Kollywood, which gave it 3 out of 5, picked out Ramya Ranganathan and said the emotional stretch in the second half is where the acting lands.
Karunas and Baba Baskar bring genuine gaana credibility to their scenes. The recurring note across reviews is that several supporting characters are set up and then left unfinished.
Camera & Visuals
3North Chennai shot with warmth rather than grit.
Balaji Subramanyam catches the colour and noise of the neighbourhoods, and Only Kollywood named the cinematography as one of the film's strengths.
Three time periods are handled clearly enough that you always know where you are, which matters in a film where one actor plays all three leads.
At 140 minutes it is not long by Tamil standards, but the second half is where reviewers felt the pace go.
Music
3.5The best part, as it was in the first film.
Aadhi writes the songs as well as directing, and the music is the one thing almost nobody criticised. Kalaivaniye was already popular before release and stayed the pick afterwards.
For a film about gaana, getting the songs right matters more than usual, and it does. Reviewers who disliked the writing still came out humming.
Audience Reaction
3Young crowds enjoyed it. Nobody is calling it the first film.
Early audience reaction pointed to a light first half aimed at younger viewers and a more emotional second half around the family.
That matches the reviews. The people it was made for had a good time; people who came back for the 2017 original found this one more manufactured.
It is running alongside Dorothy, which opened the same day to far stronger notices, and that comparison has not helped it.
What the critics said
M. Suganth: it knows its young audience wants a fun night out and delivers exactly that.
A decent, watchable musical. Aadhi, Ramya Ranganathan and the second-half emotion carry it.
Akshay Kumar: right to notice how indie music is being corporatised, wrong to flatten it into hero versus villain.
An important story about gaana and caste, undone by flat writing and a conflict that arrives far too late.
👍 Watch it if
- •Hip Hop Tamizha fans, and anyone who liked Meesaya Murukku (2017)
- •The songs — Kalaivaniye especially
- •A family watch. It is certified UA
- •Anyone curious about gaana and where it comes from
👎 Skip it if
- •Films that stop to explain their own message wear you down
- •You want the conflict to start early. Here it barely beats the interval
- •You are expecting the freshness of the first film
- •You would rather wait for streaming, which has not been announced
Cast & crew
- Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi
- Balaji Subramanyam
- Fenny Oliver and Thirumalai Rajan R
- Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi
- Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi, Ketika Sharma, Chaithra J Achar, Ramya Ranganathan, Harshath Khan, Nassar, Yogi Babu, Karunas, Aadukalam Naren, Karunakaran, Bagavathi Perumal