Kalakalappu 2 review: The sequel is funny but no where close to its predecessor, Kalakalappu

Sundar C is probably one of those few director who have a holistic understanding of filmmaking. The man played the part of a producer, director, actor and distributor at some point or the other. Therefore, he has a clear understanding of what his audience expects from him and more or less knows how to deliver it to them. 

Kalakalappu was a massive hit and Sundar C tried to replicate the film with the sequel, Kalakalappu 2. The sequel is not a continuation of the earlier story but a completely different one with different characters.

Kalakalappu 2 starts with a politician's (Dharmaraj played by Madhusudhan Rao) house being raided by government agencies. To save himself, the politician manages to give laptop, containing secrets of his ill-gotten wealth, to his chartered accountant (Muneesh Kanth).

The accountant escapes to the holy town of Kashi with the laptop. Once he gets there, he backstabs Dharmaraj and threatens to pass on the laptop to the investigative agencies if he is not paid a ransom of Rs5 crore.

Left with no option, Dharmaraj sends a top cop (Radha Ravi) to successfully complete the deal and recover the laptop. The cop comes to Kashi to carry out the deal.

Even as this is happening, three other characters enter the plot. The first is a street-smart businessman, Seenu (Jiiva), who is just about managing to keep his hotel business afloat and supporting his sister and grandmother in Kashi.

Interestingly, the hotel that he runs does not belong to him. The structure, we are told, was leased to his forefathers by someone who hasn't returned to claim it. Therefore, Seenu and his family make a living by renting out rooms in the unclaimed structure, which they pretend belongs to them. 

The next is a character called Raghu (Jai), a desperate youngster in Tamil Nadu, who is struggling to make ends meet because of his dad's folly. His dad has lost all the wealth bequeathed to them by the forefathers. At a desperate stage, Raghu learns that there is still one property that belongs to him in Kashi that is yet to be reclaimed after having been leased out. Intent on reclaiming and selling it, he sets out for Kashi. Although he knows that he owns property, Raghu does not know its address.

He arrives in Kashi and gets in touch with Aishwarya (Nikki Galrani), a Tahsildar, asking her to help him locate his property. Eventually, he finds out that the hotel he is lodging in is actually property he has been searching for. 

When he confronts Seenu, he admits that the property is not his and agrees to hand it over to him. With Seenu's gesture, the two become friends. But then, they also learn that they have something in common apart from the property. They realise that they have both been cheated of their wealth by the same man, Ganesh (Shiva).

The duo decide to reclaim their lost properties by going after him. However, little do they know that by doing so, they will soon be involved in a conflict with a politician who is desperate to get back a laptop that has evidence of his ill-gotten wealth.

Sundar C is a master storyteller, who can narrate a long story in a short span of time. But this time around, even he seems to have floundered. Primarily because the number of characters in the plot is far too many. Each character has a separate story, which in some way links him/her to another character in another story.

Despite having far too many characters, Sundar's deft touch and expert story telling make the first half of the film enjoyable. But with more characters joining in a plot that is already overburdened with characters, the second half of the story becomes exhausting to follow.

Nevertheless, the director manages to make one smile at the end of it all. The fun quotient in the sequel might not be as much as one expected after Kalakalappu, however, it is not completely disappointing either.

Yogi Babu as the holy man and Sathish as the mendicant succeed in making audiences laugh. Shiva and Jiiva manages to entertain too. Nikki Galrani and Catherine Tresa provide the glamour quotient in the film. 

The film's cinematography is by Sundar C's trusted cameraman UK Senthil Kumar, who does a clean job this time too. 

The music, however, is unbearable. Hip Hop Aadhi, who impressed in his earlier films, has come up with numbers that do not go well with the plot of the film. Be it the songs or the background score, the music is a big let down and sticks out like a sore thumb. 

On the whole, the film requires a labourious effort to enjoy. It is funny, but no where close to its predecessor.