Chandramukhi 2 Movie Review
Rating: 2.5/5
Starring: Raghava Lawrence, Kangana Ranaut, Vadivelu, Radhika Sarath Kumar, Mahima Nambiar, Lakshmi Menon etc.
Cinematography: RD Rajasekhar
Music: MM Keeravani
Production Company: Lyca Productions
Producer: Subaskaran
Writer, Director: P. Vasu
Release Date: September 28, 2023
'Chandramukhi 2' is a horror comedy directed by the combination of Raghava Lawrence and P.Vasu. This is the sequel to the Tamil Nadu industry hit 'Chandramukhi' released in 2004. While Rajinikanth played the lead role in the first part, horror film specialist Raghava Lawrence will be seen in the sequel. Kangana Ranaut played the title role in 'Chandramukhi 2'. This movie has good expectations in Telugu and Tamil languages. And how is this movie?
Chandramukhi 2 Movie Story:
Ranganayaki's (Radhika Sarath Kumar) family is huge. But as it is, their family will be surrounded by problems. Swamiji (Rao Ramesh) says that if the whole family worships in the temple of their caste deity, the troubles will be removed. Due to this, the children of a daughter who fell in love with a person of a different religion have to be brought.
Madan (Raghava Lawrence) also comes with them. Close to their Kuladaivam temple is the Chandramukhi Palace (the house where the story of the first Chandramukhi movie took place in 2005). Kailash (Prabhu in the first Chandramukhi) family leaves after that incident.
Basavayya (Vadivelu) is the owner of the whole house. Basavayya warns Ranganayaki's family not to go south at home. But some go unheard. What happened after that? What is the role of Vetayya Raju/Sengotayya (another Raghava Lawrence) in this story, you have to watch the movie to know.
Chandramukhi 2 Movie Analysis:
'Chandramukhi' is a classic in the horror genre. A horror film becoming a hit in the South Indian industry is both the beginning and the end. A mass hero like Rajinikanth playing a role different from his image was the biggest plus point of the then 'Chandramukhi' movie. Seeing a superstar in such a role was quite new back then. But 'Chandramukhi 2' lacks that freshness.
Horror comedy movies are named after Raghava Lawrence. Almost all the hits that Raghava Lawrence got from 'Muni' were horror comedies. Apart from that, Raghava Lawrence's horror films are different from 'Chandramukhi'. But they tried to make 'Chandramukhi 2' in the middle of both. It even worked out to some extent.
Especially in terms of screenplay and characters, they followed 'Chandramukhi' like agitators. In the first part, Jyothika's character gets a bit of a thrilling factor in knowing that Chandramukhi's spirit is haunting her. But after seeing the first scene of this movie, you can easily guess who Chandramukhi is going to fall for this time.
The hero's introduction fight, the song when he immediately arrives at the palace, facing insults from this family, the hero's liking for the girl who lives in the poor man's house next to the palace, and the build-up of the girl wandering around the palace as if she is possessed by a ghost, all these are same to same as the first 'Chandramukhi'.
It is not our fault that the first part has replaced the script and only replaced the characters. Great writing and directing. If there are any changes made in this part in terms of screenplay i.e. bringing the soul of Raju's character from the first part, introducing the character of Chandramukhi to the interval, changing the length of the flashback, these are the only ones.
At the beginning of the movie, Raghava Lawrence's action episode was a bit scary, but later he was careful not to go in that direction again. The story moves very slowly in the first half. Vadivelu's comedy has not worked out much. In the first half, the scene where Raghava Lawrence explains to Vadivelu about the types of ghosts is around five to 10 minutes. It reminds me of the episode in Mallishwari where Venkatesh and Sunil narrate the story. But this scene is boring rather than funny.
Also, Manobala's roles of the painter and thief Swamiji in the first part have been repeated in this one as well. Even if these two characters appear in the same scene, they don't give a nostalgic feeling, they don't make you laugh, they don't scare you. If there is, if there is. As we progress towards the interval, the pace of the narrative picks up. Interval bang is a great workout. Even if you can guess the twist that will come there, you will be impressed with the performance of the actress in that role.
At the start of the second half the graph comes down again. Raghava Lawrence, Mahima Nambiar's love track, the songs are amazing. In the first part, we wanted to make it similar to Rajinikanth and Nayanthara's track, but it didn't work out properly. Whenever Vetaiya Raju's flashback starts, the pace gradually picks up from there. Let's show a new angle to the flashback in the first part of 'Chandramukhi'.
But it also increased the length of the film. The reason why the flashback doesn't have a lot of drama is the performance of Raghava Lawrence and Kangana Ranaut. The climax is again concluded in the same manner as the first part. At the end, the lead given to 'Chandramukhi 3' seems very silly.
Oscar award winner MM Keeravani is good...songs and background music are not down to her level. Kangana Ranaut's introduction song in the second half is pleasing. The background score during the war scene in the flashback is reminiscent of Baahubali. In terms of production values, Lyca Productions has not gone down anywhere. The cinematography by RD Rajasekhar is impressive.
Chandramukhi 2 Movie Actors Performance:
Raghava Lawrence is no stranger to doing such roles. Lawrence has been doing similar roles since 'Muni' which came out in 2007. We are watching. But the role of Vetaiya Raju/Sengotaiya in the periodical portion was completely new to him. It can be said that his performance in this role is amazing.
Kangana Ranaut also entertains in the role of Chandramukhi. The actress who played the role of Chandramukhi Soul was impressive initially... Later her performance was not so effective. All the other characters have done justice to their roles.
Overall... If you go with the feeling that you are watching a normal horror movie without focusing on 'Chandramukhi', you can watch 'Chandramukhi 2' once. If you make expectations at the level of the first part, you will be disappointed. The idea also comes that the sequel should continue the first part but not with different actors. P. Vasu said that if 'Chandramukhi 2' is a hit, they will do 'Chandramukhi 3' again with Rajini. After watching this movie, let's see if Rajini will do that adventure!