Mr. Chandramouli is a Tamil comedy film written and directed by Thiru and produced by G. Dhananjayan. Mr. Chandramouli features Karthik, Gautham Karthik, Regina Cassandra and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar in the lead roles.
Gautham Karthik is a passionate boxer. Karthik is a peacefully retired father of his. Regina is Gautham’s girlfriend and Sathish is his family friend. Suddenly, a problem arises for the family through strangers. How Gautham saves his best ones forms the crux of the story.
Karthik has done his measured role nicely with his own trademark mannerisms. He has been given an important role as the main plot revolves around him, but unfortunately due to weak writing, his character fails to create an impact at end of the day.
Gautham Karthik has improved a lot as he has delivered a matured performance, especially towards the end when his life turns complicated. He has also scored well in certain single shots.
Regina Cassandra gets a decent role, unlike the regular commercial heroine mode. But, her character does not make any big difference to the progression of the story. She was sizzling in the beach song ‘Yedhedho Aanene’.
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar is the saving grace. For the first time, she has come up with a charming role that is quite subtle and innocent. In spite of less screen space, her character has the much-needed depth.
Sathish misses out to utilize the comedy portions as his humor does not work out well in most of the parts. Also, he doesn’t impress much as Gautham’s sidekick towards the climax.
Villain characters were shaped up neatly, but sadly they had only a tiny scope to shadow the protagonist. Supporting artists like Mahendran, Agathiyan, Mime Gopi and Santhosh Pratap played their parts nicely without any mistakes. Climax twist was also good.
The relationship between Karthik and Varalakshmi was not explained properly and lacked a major justification. Hence, there is no clarity in the core storyline. Although the conflict is serious, the connection is flat.
First half was extremely slow and took plenty of time to establish the main characters, but it wasn’t done in a fulfilling manner also, as none of the characters make us emotional at any point of time. The love angle was over-stretched without taking us to the main content directly.
Direction is decent and certain innovative ideas like the hero’s eye damage were incorporated and executed well. The story is generic and doesn’t really excite. Screenplay is just average overall, even though the latter had a convincing flashback and watchable 30mins with a cat & mouse game. But, by the time the movie gets engaging, it becomes too late.
Dialogues are somewhat weak and there are certain cinematic additions to provide a dramatic experience to the viewers. Logic loopholes are pretty high and some other common factors attribute to giving an artificial sense.
Clash between cab service companies seem to be fresh and the factor actually warns the public to be aware. Stunt sequences are powerful and Gautham’s unique problem has made way to some interesting fight scenes. But, his boxer role is not conveyed clearly, as the boxing scenes looked lethargic.
Presentation is neat due to strong technicalities. Richard.M Nathan’s cinematography delights the viewing experience. The quality is rich and the colors used are attractive. T.S.Suresh’s editing is apt for the commercial genre as the cuts made are appropriate. But, he could have forced to chop some not so impressive moments.
‘Yedhedho Aanene’ song from Sam.C.S is pleasant, but the other numbers are normal. The placement of the songs don’t match the flow of the movie, hence appears to be speed-breakers. His background music is superb and tries to elevate the situations.
Storyline does matter, but the engagement matters even more. Though the plot is usual, the movie could have been executed in a much better interesting manner with all the commercial freedom the team has got.
Thumbs Up
Varalakshmi’s innocent character
Interesting elements in the final 30mins
Strong technicalities
Thumbs Down
Much seen emotional revenge script
Sluggish first half and average flow
Weak characters leads to no big impact being created
Commercial ingredients are artificial and the overall package is monotonous
Verdict: Half-baked commercial drama that could have been executed in a far better manner.
