Kalakalappu 2 Tamil Movie
Sundar C directed Kalakalappu 2 is not a sequel to Kalakalappu (Masala Cafe) that was released back in 2012. Rather, it's a testament that the director would like to pass on to the audiences that this movie has a similar thread, with similarly staged goofs, goofy characters and a script that yells out "why the hell worry about characters, arcs, story and narrative?".
While the 2012 movie had a perceived plot about a bunch who were trying to save their ancestral restaurant (cafe) from the bureaucratic and evil clutches, this movie had a similar plot wherein Raghu (Jai) tries to recover his ancestral property in Varanasi. But then there were too many lame subplots like a politician who is behind his auditor who carries his laptop that has evidence worthy of several crores and an evil cop who tries to outsmart the politician and the auditor in order to recover the laptop. On top of it, there is another subplot wherein Ganesh (Siva) and gang pitch in with their con games.
There's no denying that Sundar C has executed such masala mashups in the past with elan. This too seemed like the one right in his zone. But, unfortunately, he has taken a bite so large for him to even chew. There were innumerable characters who were tucked in for little reason and their goofy bits just pass on as mindless slapsticks instead of triggering genuine humour.
At times, we tend to lose track of where we left last and why certain characters were introduced. Also, there were a ton of double entendres and crude misogynistic potshots which were forcefully thrust into the narrative - so much for a movie that has come clean with the censors as a family entertainer!
Even the main characters weren't developed properly thanks to an underdeveloped script. The worst was that of Nikki Galrani who portrayed the role of a 'thaasildhaar'. While the idea of a 'sexy' registrar doesn't sound all that bad, a dumb portrayal of it just killed the pretext. In comparison, Anjali portraying a food inspector in 'Kalakalappu (Masala Cafe)' looked palpable. Siva as the sly con man, sort of pulled what he was good at - acting lame with his signature 'emotions'.
Hip-hop Aadhi's BGM and songs were just fillers and the first half's screenplay just found every chance to colour the screen with songs and dance, even for the most naive reasons. The second half, especially towards the climax, was a real drain, with all the mockery that's been unleashed till then where we end up with only a few laughs.
Sundar C, whose reputation as an 'entertaining' director, could certainly do better than this. Of course, a story could demand slapsticks and humour and it's not the other way around!
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