73. Kalakalappu 2; movie review

KALAKALAPPU 2
Cert 12A
154 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence

Such was the hospitality of the staff at Birmingham Piccadilly, I am loathe to write anything negative about my experience.
It really isn't the fault of its staff that Tamil cinema seems to be going through a bit of a difficult period.
In recent years, southern Indian movies have given their cash-rich Bollywood rivals a run for their money.
Sadly, this year's offerings so far have reminded me more of Punjabi films which seem bedevilled by shouting and slapping.
However, I also have to accept that Sundar C's Kalakalappu 2 was not aimed at me and certainly seem to hit the mark with the family who were laughing uproariously behind me.
Indeed, my smiles were inspired more by their enjoyment than what I was witnessing on the big screen.
Over many years, I have immersed myself into very different cinema cultures with great reward but I still struggle with the shouty, slappy comedy which seems to be so popular in the East, from Turkey to Hong Kong.
I don't think I have ever seen more slapping than during Kalakalappu 2 and the shouting was so loud I feared my ears might bleed.
Fortunately, it offers relief through its imaginative and very colourful song and dance routines and a catchy soundtrack.
In common with many Indian movies, Kalakalappu 2 tries to cover too many bases.
There is a strand which surrounds a corrupt politician (Madhusudhan Rao) being blackmailed, one in which a poor man (Jai) finds himself entitled to the lease of a hotel and one in which a potential groom (Sathish) is trying to get out of a marriage to become a sage.
Actually, that is a very short precis - there are many tangents with romance, comedy and violence attached in part to some or all of them.
Jiva, Catherine Tresa and Nick Gairani are also among a cast which is so extensive that none could be described as the star of the show.
But the problem with such a big ensemble is that I didn't really plug into any of them.
That said, that may have been because of the speed of the script delivery and, consequently, the subtitles.
Those behind me who didn't need to read them were clearly lapping it up.

Reasons to watch: probably funny if you don't need to read sub-titles
Reasons to avoid: too shouty and slapping for Western tastes

Laughs: a couple of chuckles from me but unrestrained laughter from the native speakers
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4.5/10

The big question: Why do Indian comedians have to shout?

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