‘Kalakalappu 2’ review: Comedy of errors

There were many things to savour in Kalakalappu, which released in 2012. The comedy of errors worked big-time, with an assortment of comedians – including the likes of Santhanam – contributing to a rib-tickling film that we can mindlessly watch, and re-watch, whenever it plays on television.

Director Sundar C tries to achieve the same with the next part. He casts Jai as Raghu, who’s in search of his ancestral property in Kasi. He casts Jiiva as Seenu, a mansion owner in Kasi who doesn’t mind lying to get customers. On the other hand, there’s a politician whose secret-filled laptop has been swindled away by his auditor, who takes off to Kasi and tries to blackmail him. And then, there’s the track of Shiva, who enters in the second half to add flavour to the already-confused storyline.

Kalakalappu 2 certainly looks much richer than the original. The colours are brighter (cinematographer Senthil Kumar makes Kasi and its buildings look exotic) and the heroines are perkier (Catherine Tresa and Nikki Galrani).

However, the director seems to have missed a trick by introducing a character too many. Just when you warm up to the core storyline, he introduces sub-plots (several of them); one involves a crooked godman (Yogi Babu) and his assistant. Sample this: Yogi Babu plays asaamiyar who gets a “signal” whenever a woman tickles his feet.

The first half just about saunters, but the second half redeems things a bit. There are a few laughs here and there – the ones set in Karaikudi, for instance – but they are far and few in between.

You’d be a duffer to expect logic in a Sundar C comic caper, but the romantic portions (there are four of them – involving Jiiva, Jai, Satish and Shiva) are incredulous. Nikki falls in love with Jai because he attempts to commit suicide in front of her, after a few days of relentless pursuit. His attempt doesn’t succeed; he instead falls on a handful of sacks that contain Holi colour powder. And everyone ends up dancing to a funky song, ‘Thaaru Maaru’, that sounds tailor-made for a pub. Mind you, all this is happening in Kasi on the banks of the Ganges. Everyone seems to be having fun on the big screen. At our expense, of course.