ON HOME TURF - Kalakalappu Review

 by Bharath Vijayakumar 

After a brief hiatus Sundar C is back to his roots in directing a full length comic caper. Kalakalappu is his 25th directorial venture and you can call it a typical Sundar C movie.
 

Plot

The movie is about how two brothers try to regain the lost glory of their ancestral hotel "Masala Cafe" which was ruling the roost at the time of their forefathers. The second half drifts away from the main plot and the sole intention seems to be to make us laugh. So we have several plots running parallel and it all ends in a rib tickling chaotic climax that reminds us of yesteryear movies. 
 
Cast

The huge star cast of Kalakalappu is an asset. Vimal as the innocent and honest youngster is adequate. But it is Shiva and Santhanam who walk with honours with their one-liners. Shiva with his unique dialogue delivery and deadpan expressions is a scream. Santhanam enters the screen only in the second half and his role is similar to the one he had played in Kandaen Kadhalai. Illavarasu with his varied get ups also tickles the funny bone. Anjali and Oviya play the typical heroines of commercial cinema.

The songs seem unwarranted and also pop up at inappropriate times.Thought the tunes by Vijay Ebenezer are hum-worthy, the song picturisation leaves a lot to be desired. Both Vimal and Shiva seem to be caught in the wrong foot in the song sequences. Anjali and Oviya have gone overboard with the glamour quotient. We often hear film makers say that there is difference between glamour and vulgarity. The songs in Kalakalappu definitely border on the latter. 

Bottomline

It is strange that we have very few full length comedy movies in Tamil these days. Kalakalappu helps to fill the void. It has it’s flaws. In fact  some of the jokes in the first half fall flat. But the movie as a whole has quite a few laugh-aloud moments and provides decent time pass.