Kalakalappu 2 - Laughathon
Director Sundar C's touch is evident in handling an ensemble and justifying every actor's presence but has fallen short in measuring up to his own cult classic,.
Jai a frustrated young man comes to know from his sanyasi father that their ancestral property worth rupees 10 Crores exists in Kasi and he sets out to retrieve it. There he stays in a dilapidated mansion owned by Jiiva who is desperate for money to marry off his sister. Jiiva is in love with his brother in law to be Sathish's sister Catherine Tresa and Jai too takes a liking for the local Tahsildar Nikki Galrani. Elsewhere an ex-minister Madhusoodhanan is desperate to retrieve his laptop that contains all his secrets from his auditor Muniskanth who has gone rogue and lands up in Kasi. Mirchi Siva returns as the con-man from the original and all these characters collide in a free for all tussle. Add to this mix Yogi Babu as a godman, VTV Ganesh as Nikki's dad, Radha Ravi as a cop turned assassin, Robo Shankar as a bungling villain, George as a werewolf and the mayhem you get is 'Kalakalappu2'.
It is a return to form for Jiiva who gets to be the perfect commercial hero with space to shine in the colourful songs, romance sequences, comedy and some high flying action. Jai as the emotional hero as usual gives an impeccable performance and fits neatly into the ensemble. The Agila Ulaga Superstar Siva appears near the interval and the waiting theater crowd erupts for him and he does not disappoint one bit mouthing funny one liners and delighting with his signature expressions. Both the girls Nikki Galrani and Catherine Tresa flow through their scenes in provocative atttires and are an eyeful in the colour splashed song sequences. Yogi Babu is a scream as the replica of a popular real life godman and watch out for some high octane action comedy from him in the climax. George who played the funny policeman in the original gets the meatiest role in his career as a man suffering from a werewolf like mania and poor Radha Ravi is his victim and they bring the house down with their antics. Robo Shankar, Muniskanth, Manobala, Sathish, Madhusoodhanan, Singampuli and the rest of the cast including the hencmen provide many funny moments.
Sundar C's forte is comedy and he does not disappoint in that area and as usual it is the last half an hour or so that turns out to be virtually a non-stop laughathon. The first half takes its time to build up and introduce the huge starcast and the drama and the colourful frames keep it going.
On the downside 'Kalakalappu2' has been stretched to no end and in spite of the laughs is tiring. While the original had a variety of situational and slapstick comedy on display this one depends on actors like Yogi Babu, Robo Shankar, VTV Ganesh and Muniskanth repeatedly being beaten up and the repetitiveness is mind numbing. The film could do without a couple of the similarly shot songs in the first half. A few sequences that lag also need trimming to make the screenplay tauter.
Hip Hop Tamizha has tuned in some peppy numbers with a mix of rap, folk and gaana that are good to hear and watch on screen but without recall value. His background score compliments the scenario. The veteran U.K. Senthil Kumar grabs the splash of colours with finesse, sets angles to enhance the laughs and also does not forget to linger on the assets of the heroines. N.B. Srikanth's cuts keeps up the tempo even though the screenplay is no help to him. Venkatraghavan, Badri and Sundar C are credited with the writing and as mentioned earlier most of their jokes work but the screenplay sags. Director Sundar C's touch is evident in handling an ensemble and justifying every actor's presence but has fallen short in measuring up to his own cult classic,.
Verdict : Go for 'Kalakalappu2' whose ensemble cast takes turns to keep you in splits.
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