Why does a Tamil film that released in 2002 (Charlie Chaplin) need a sequel in the first place? I tried to answer that question by looking the film up on Google; Wikipedia states that “it was the first Indian film to be officially remade in six Indian languages.” Now, did you know that?
- Genre: Comedy
- Cast: Prabhu Deva, Prabhu, Nikki Galrani, Vivek Prasanna
- Storyline: A youngster must delete a message he has accidentally sent to his girlfriend
Probably its commercial success back then promoted its director (Sakthi Chidambaram) to conjure up a sequel, retaining Prabhu Deva and Prabhu as part of it. Charlie Chaplin 2 starts off with an incredulous fight – one that has no place in any film, and especially not in a comedy – featuring Thiru (Prabhu Deva). He’s with a group of friends who’ve lost their way, and get caught by a gang of criminals. What follows is an off-key action sequence against a stereotypical villain.
There’s another similar action sequence later, but thankfully, Charlie Chaplin 2 is actually your routine average Kollywood story involving mistaken identities and complicated situations, something that will neatly fall under the Sundar C-oeuvre of filmmaking (think Kalakalappu).
Thiru (Prabhu Deva) works in a matrimonial site but is unlucky when it comes to his own marriage. That is until he meets Sara (Nikki Galrani) and falls for her. Things are going fine until he drunk-texts her a few days before their proposed marriage. Will he able to erase that message?
The entire film seeks to answer that single question. Writing a comedy of errors is no easy task, and Sakthi Chidambaram looks to have what it takes to do one. He falters, though, by going overboard with the number of characters, introducing them for a single sequence and dumping them. There’s a politician, a prostitute, a mobile shop owner... but all of them have very little screen time. The songs, by composer Amrish, are sometimes too loud for its own good. ‘Enakku Romba Pudichuruku’ sounds like the singer’s voice was put inside a mixer grinder – the result is unintentionally funny – but the composer makes up for it with the melodious ‘Kadhal Oru Kannadi’ and the ‘Chinna Machan’ remix.
As long as Charlie Chaplin 2 sticks to comedy, it is passable. The making is sluggish – sometimes reminding you of a TV serial – but the comedy of errors, especially in the second half, brings about smiles here and then. Prabhu is among the more hilariously-written characters; he’s a doctor who is also a foodie. In a tense scene when a cellphone in missing, he hears the call of ‘lunch ready’ and quickly sneaks out. He’d certainly know the answer to the viral question these days: Sangam mukkyama Sapaadu Mukyama?