Chandramukhi 2 review: Raghava Lawrence, Vadivelu and Kangana Ranaut deserve a much better screenplay

2/5

Story: Members of an affluent family shift to a palatial house to offer worship to their ancestral god after they face repeated setbacks personally and professionally. Little did they know that the house was possessed by a two-century-old spirit that is currently dormant. However, a series of unexpected incidents make the revenge-seeking spirit active like never before and cause trouble to the family. The evil spirit is also connected to one of the family members, leaving them distressed. How are they going to deal with the terrible situation?

Review: Those who enjoyed P Vasu's Chandramukhi, starring Rajinikanth and Jyotika in lead roles, didn't expect even in their wildest dreams that the movie would have a sequel with a completely different cast almost two decades after its release. Vadivelu is an exception though. In fact, the sequel's announcement had his inclusion as one of its selling points.

The major difference between the first and second parts, apart from the cast, is the limitation associated with the horror-comedy genre in today's times in Tamil cinema. The genre has been explored in different ways in the last decade to the extent that you need a completely out-of-the-box story, treatment and characters to entertain you.     

Chandramukhi 2 lacks these aspects and instead takes the tried-and-tested path, only to offer some deja vu moments. The plot is similar to almost several dozen films made in Tamil in the genre. A family shifts to a huge house owing to various issues. They are asked to worship their ancestral god to avoid their miseries.

An evil spirit starts troubling them followed by a flashback that narrates the injustice meted out to the former. A smart priest and a wise old man offer help to the family. What follows is a series of predictable sequences and drama.  

The film is loaded with clichés from the word go. The done-to-death hero introduction reminds you of spoof films and songs that appear at regular intervals act as speed breakers. Lawrence does what he usually does in most of his films, though some of his portions with Kangana were decent.

Lakshmi Menon is okayish in some of the scenes while Vadivelu's funny antics are let down by poor dialogues. The references to the first part aren't effective and some of the portions in the second half have nothing new to offer except for the flashback.

The interval portion offers some respite. The climax sequence is below par and the shoddy VFX makes things worse. A host of actors like Radhika, Ravi Mariya, Srushti Dange and Subiksha do not have much to do. The background score by MM Keeravani hardly elevates crucial scenes.  

Lawrence's enthusiastic presence, Vadivelu's energy and Kangana's efforts deserved a better screenplay with interesting character designs and engaging conflicts.

Verdict: Those who loved Chandramukhi are unlikely to get entertained with the sequel. But if you are someone who does not bother relishing horror comedies made in the same fashion over the years, you might not regret watching it.