Chandramukhi 2 - Spoof or not is the question!

Bharath Vijayakumar

In P. Vasu’s Chandramukhi 2, it is often stressed that the events of this film are happening 17/18 years after the events of Chandramukhi (2005).  At first, I was wondering as to why they had to keep repeating this as a reminder so many times in the film. It made sense much later. This is a film that looks and feels more dated than its predecessor from 2005 (I am not a big fan of that film either). Look no further than the hero introduction scene and you will realize this. Unless making a spoof was the intention, some of the scenes from this film would make you to double check if the year is indeed 2023. There are just too many scenes that keep lowering the bar that you stop counting them after a while. The heroine introduction scene amidst a Rangoli would definitely be one of the top contenders for the most romantic scene of the year. Just like this movie that doesn’t seem to be serious about anything, don’t take anything seriously about this review, more so if anything sounds even remotely close to a compliment.

The most striking aspect of Chandramukhi 2 is that the unfunniest scenes are the comedy scenes and anything that is supposed to be serious, has you in splits. I really wished that the entire film was rather serious but maybe the makers realized that you need a breather in between your laughter and kept all those supposed comedy scenes in between. Vadivelu actually isn’t bad. He may not be in his prime form but he does try recreating his antics from his hey days as a comedian. But with very little support, you are left with a chuckle or two. But even Vadivelu in his prime form can never be a match to the fun that we can have in the serious scenes of this film.

Chandramukhi 2 also undoes two important aspects of the first film. The iconic snake which became a meme material for being useless, gets to do at least something in this film. And per my understanding, I assumed that Ganga (Jyothika) in the first film was suffering from a psychological condition and the film did not have anything to do with spirits. But this film implies otherwise. Of all the problems that I had with this film, the most annoying was the stage drama like feel of the period portions. What was with that beard for the Vettayan character. While the other issues could be unintentional and being given the benefit of doubt, may not have resulted from a want of trying, the make up done in the period portions clearly scream complete disregard for the audience. But again, if you are in a certain frame of mind, these scenes offer the most fun.

Bottomline

The bad thing about Chandramukhi 2 is that it is genuinely bad and is almost amateurish right through. The good thing though is that it is so bad that it is good and is thoroughly enjoyable if seen as a spoof!