Tuesday Apr 21 2009, Thiruvananthapuram

They are back!

Genre - Comedy

Directed by - Lal

Produced by - PNV Associates

Music by - Alex Paul

Casts - Jagadish , Ashokan , Salim Kumar , Praveena

Starring - Mukesh, Siddique

A sequel to 'In Harihar Nagar', the trailblazer comedy superhit of the '90s, 'To Harihar Nagar' is as rib-tickling an affair as the original. The sequel, written and directed by Lal of the Siddique-Lal duo, who had directed the original, is all set to reap a bumper haevest at the B.O.

The four loveably naughty young bachelors in the original--Mahadevan (Mukesh), Govindan Kutty (Siddique), Appukkuttan (Jagadeesh) and Thomas Kutty (Asokan)--who made us laugh till we cried, come back to Harihar Nagar housing colony after almost two decades. Three of them, except Thomas Kutty, are married and are in responsible positions. They have made the trip in order to attend the marriage of Thomas.

In favourable conditions, the naughty fun loving youths in them surface again. Another Maya (Lakshmi Rai) emerges to give them 'hopes' of romance. What ensues is a laugh-riot. The specialists in shooting at their own feet land in soups one too many, giving way to much merriment.

The four 'musketeers' perform as though the intervening years haven't made a dent in their youthfulness. Jagadeesh, as the enthusiastic blockhead, evokes quite a few laughs and nostalgia. Lakshmi Rai is impressive as Maya.

Though the film is not as sunny or classy as the original, it is worth a good laugh. Sometimes, the film is too loud; the climax is predictable. The remixed version of the superhit song, "Unnam marannu..." is peppy, but not as good.

Venu's cameramanship and Alex Paul's music give admirable support to Lal's simple narration.