Chandramukhi 2 movie review: Raghava Lawrence starrer is a repurposed and stale horror with juvenile comedy

Director: P Vasu

Cast: Raghava Lawrence, Kangana Ranaut, Lakshmi Menon

Language: Tamil

I would give spoiler alert for the film, but if you have watched Chandramukhi starring Rajinikanth, Nayanthara and Jyothika, you already know what is set to take place in Raghava Lawrence and Kangana Ranaut’s Chandramukhi 2.

Actor Raghava Lawrence made a name for himself by working on a series of films that belonged to the horror-comedy genre, and the most popular of them all is the Kanchana series. Considering his previous batting average in this genre, I had expected Chandramukhi 2 to cover at least the bases — the comedy. What I did not expect was to see the film be packed with a story that is entirely repurposed from Chandramukhi, which in turn is a remake of the 1993 Malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu. Even if I had to give the benefit of the doubt to this film and pin the hopes on the comedy that is steered by ‘Vaigai Puyal’ Vadivelu, there is not much to look forward to here.

Let’s start by speaking of the brand of humour in this film. In a word, it is juvenile. For instance, the biggest laughs in the theater came from the children present. The comedy is childish to the extent that it leaves the adults grappling with boredom, waiting for the stretch to end, and for people to get a move on with the story. Initially, a good chunk of the film is used up in establishing the characters. These are none other than the members of Ranganayaki’s family.

Now let’s talk about the crux of the horror setting. Ranganayaki (Radhika Sarathkumar), like many people in our country today, cut off all ties with her daughter for falling in love with a man belonging to another religion. Unfortunately, her daughter and her son-in-law passed away in a flight crash, leaving behind two children. Pandian (Raghava Lawrence) is their guardian and security personnel, because the children’s parents left behind a huge amount of assets as inheritance. Ranganayaki, on the other hand, lives in a joint family with her younger daughter, and her brother’s family.

After a series of misfortunate events occur, a guruji that she trusts implicitly tells her to conduct a pooja at her ‘kula deivam’ temple. This is the temple where their ancestors must have prayed to their family deity many years ago. The family, including the two children gather at the infamous palace where the spirit of Chandramukhi is still imprisoned. So, unlike Bhool Bhulaiya 2 which had a completely different plot line, Chandramukhi 2 drops new characters in an old setting. The only change is Vettaiyan, the cruel king who killed Chandramukhi is actually a lieutenant named Sengottayan. There is just a tiny bit of change here, and this revelation takes place in the most tedious manner possible.

The reason why I felt that the movie was stale and repurposed, is not only due to this familiar storyline, but also the constant callbacks to certain iconic moments of Chandramukhi featuring Rajinikanth and Vadivelu. It is clear that the filmmakers have largely depended on repeating the success of the previous movie by using it as a formula. Even certain shots, like the close-up of the eyes when one of the family members is possessed by Chandramukhi, or the shot of three people peeping out of a small window to see the possessed Chandramukhi dancing, is all the same. Even the role of a house help, which was played by Nayanthara in Chandramukhi is back. Only, in this film, the young woman is played by Mahima Nambiar. She is paired opposite Raghava Lawrence.

Forget refreshing storyline, with such lazy writing, it truly would be better to tune into the previous film on OTT, instead of spending currency on the ever-rising ticket prices.

On a side note, Kangana Ranaut doesn’t really make an impression as Chandramukhi in the film. It is not really about the screen time for her character, but more the style of acting that she has decided to inculcate for the film. In a word, melodramatic. I am looking forward to some creative memes, especially of the scene in which she is forced to witness her lover get beheaded.

Rating: 1.5 (out of 5 stars)

Chandramukhi 2 is playing in cinemas

Priyanka Sundar is a film journalist who covers films and series of different languages with a special focus on identity and gender politics.

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