Chandra Mukhi 2
Directors: P. Vasu.Mahendran
Chandramukhi 2 Movie Synopsis: A rich family moves into the Vettaiyapuram palace to renovate their ancestral temple and perform a puja. But doing so might bring back the ghost of Chandramukhi, and let loose the cruel Vettaiyan, too.
Chandramukhi 2 Movie Review: In 2005, when P Vasu's Chandramukhi hit screens, horror comedies were novel to Tamil cinema, and with the film marking the return of Superstar Rajinikanth after a three-year sabbatical, it had a lot going for it. Now, 17 years later, horror comedy as a genre has almost reached its saturation point. This sequel is led by Raghava Lawrence, who built his stardom with another horror comedy franchise - the Kanchana films! So, how does that work out for this new film?
When the film begins, it almost feels like we have been taken back to the early 2000s on a time machine. We get a hero-introduction fight and song, something that has almost gone out of fashion these days. The comedy falls flat, and it is painful to watch the once-great Vadivelu's desperate attempts to inject humor into the scenes with his antics. The only bits that make us laugh are, sadly, the attempts that the film makes at drama. Like the scene where Raghava Lawrence makes a case for setting aside religious differences.
The plot does away with the progressive aspects that the first film had, thanks to it being an adaptation of the acclaimed Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. While the ghost in the first film has everything to do with psychology, this one does away with that angle entirely and is content to be a standard issue pei padam, with mumbo jumbo about aatma and deiva shakti. The characters are merely archetypes, and the performances are strictly functional. Even a strong personality like Radikaa Sarathkumar just comes across as an ordinary presence because of weak character writing.
And yet, the film somehow manages to be not bad! Credit for this has to go to the smart manner in which P Vasu expands the backstory of Vettaiyan and Chandramukhi. These episodes, which form the major portions of the second half, build on the legend established in the first film. We see events that we have either heard about or witnessed as imaginary scenes in Chandramukhi play out as minor variations of what we know from the first film. Keeravani's music, too, mirrors this approach, capturing the spirit of Vidyasagar's work in the original. And while Kangana Ranaut and Raghava Lawrence may not match up to Rajinikanth, being stars in their own right, they manage to hold our attention with their screen presence. In the end, it turns out to be the kind of film that will mirror the mood the viewer is in. Those who just want a momentary diversion might find it passable while those looking for something more will feel underwhelmed.
When the film begins, it almost feels like we have been taken back to the early 2000s on a time machine. We get a hero-introduction fight and song, something that has almost gone out of fashion these days. The comedy falls flat, and it is painful to watch the once-great Vadivelu's desperate attempts to inject humor into the scenes with his antics. The only bits that make us laugh are, sadly, the attempts that the film makes at drama. Like the scene where Raghava Lawrence makes a case for setting aside religious differences.
The plot does away with the progressive aspects that the first film had, thanks to it being an adaptation of the acclaimed Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. While the ghost in the first film has everything to do with psychology, this one does away with that angle entirely and is content to be a standard issue pei padam, with mumbo jumbo about aatma and deiva shakti. The characters are merely archetypes, and the performances are strictly functional. Even a strong personality like Radikaa Sarathkumar just comes across as an ordinary presence because of weak character writing.
And yet, the film somehow manages to be not bad! Credit for this has to go to the smart manner in which P Vasu expands the backstory of Vettaiyan and Chandramukhi. These episodes, which form the major portions of the second half, build on the legend established in the first film. We see events that we have either heard about or witnessed as imaginary scenes in Chandramukhi play out as minor variations of what we know from the first film. Keeravani's music, too, mirrors this approach, capturing the spirit of Vidyasagar's work in the original. And while Kangana Ranaut and Raghava Lawrence may not match up to Rajinikanth, being stars in their own right, they manage to hold our attention with their screen presence. In the end, it turns out to be the kind of film that will mirror the mood the viewer is in. Those who just want a momentary diversion might find it passable while those looking for something more will feel underwhelmed.
