Mr. Chandramouli

Mr. Chandramouli
Theatrical release poster
Directed byThiru
Written byThiru
Produced byG. Dhananjayan
Starring
CinematographyRichard M. Nathan
Edited byT. S. Suresh
Music bySam C. S.
Production
companies
  • Creative Entertainers
  • Kesavan
  • Aarthi
  • Maharajothi
Release date
  • 6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Mr. Chandramouli is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language sports comedy thriller film written and directed by Thiru and produced by G. Dhananjayan. It stars Karthik as the title character, his son Gautham Ram Karthik, Regina Cassandra, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Santhosh Prathap. The film revolves around a professional boxer who finds himself in a quandary when an unexpected turn of events gets him tangled in a battle between his passion, family and his love interest.

Mr. Chandramouli was announced in October 2017. The film, shot between November 2017 and March 2018, was released on 6 July the same year.

Plot

Raghav wakes up severely injured in a hospital. The next scenes form a flashback to events that took place several weeks previously.

Azhagar, the CEO of an online taxi company, wins an industry award. Vinayak Kanakasabai, a rival CEO, challenges him that his company, GoCabs, will overtake Azhagar's company. Azhagar orders his assistant Pugazhendhi to do something to stop this. Pugazhendhi hires criminal suspects to commit crimes in GoCabs taxis as drivers, and news of these incidents goes viral, leading to a police investigation and a lawsuit against Vinayak.

Raghav is a talented boxer who lives with his father, Chandramouli. He seeks sponsorship from Azhgar for a major fight, but is rejected; he then approaches Vinayak and is successful in securing sponsorship. Raghav wins and gives the prize, a new car, to his father. Moved by the gift, Chandramouli invites him out for a drive at midnight. The car is run over by a truck, killing Chandramouli and severely injuring Raghav.

Upon waking up in hospital, Raghav learns that his father died and that his nervous system is incurably injured, severely restricting his vision. Several days later, an officer calls at his house with Chandramouli's signature on the death certificate of a woman named Bairavi. Raghav, his girlfriend Madhu, and his friend Padmani initially tell the officer that he has the wrong house, but after reviewing the papers, Raghav confirms that the signature is his father's. It transpires that his father hosted Bairavi's funeral days before his own death, because he was the only person connected with her.

Chandramouli's close friend Ramamurthy confirms that Bairavi, a single woman with no children or parents, was Chandramouli's friend. They got to know each other when she tried to buy his car at a high price because it reminded her of her deceased father, who had the same car. She also helped Raghav get Azhagar's sponsorship because she was the financial manager of Azhagar's company. Bairavi was then apparently killed by a GoCabs driver. However, Chandramouli told Ramamurthy that Bairavi was not killed by the driver, but by someone else he knew. He asked Ramamurthy's help to reveal the truth, so Ramamurthy took him to a senior police officer to report it. The officer warned him not to get involved in this case because important people were behind it. Chandramouli is seen confused on his final day, when he asked Raghav for a late night drive.

Raghav finds and confronts the driver, who tells him that he accidentally lost control over the vehicle. However, Raghav later overhears the driver speaking to Pugazhendhi about their conversation, and chases him, only to find him hanging dead in an isolated factory. Later, Padmani informs him about Bairavi's phone found in Chandramouli's car, which contains evidence of Bairavi's murder. To find out who the murderer is, Raghav plots to trap the next murderer from GoCabs and sends Madhu and her colleagues in GoCabs. Everybody reaches their destination safely except Madhu, who alerts Raghav when the cab driver stops the car in a remote area. Raghav arrives in time to catch the driver, who confesses that he was instructed by Pugazhendhi to do so. Raghav finds Pugazhendhi in a bar and chases him, but he escapes. The next day, he is found dead after he uploads a video of his confession about the murders, blaming Azhagar. Raghav then visits Vinayak, who it turns out is the real culprit. Raghav fights with Vinayak and finally burns him to death. The next day, news channels report that Vinayak had escaped, no one knows his whereabouts, and police are searching for him.

Finally, Raghav is seen smiling happily in Chandramouli's restored car.

Cast

Production

In early October 2017, Thiru was announced to be directing a film starring Karthik and his son Gautham. The film was produced by G. Dhananjayan via Creative Entertainers.[1] It is the first film where Karthik and Gautham acted together.[2] Regina Cassandra and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar were announced as the lead actresses the same month, while Sathish was cast in a further supporting role.[3] Shortly thereafter, the team announced the film's title as Mr. Chandramouli, derived from a dialogue spoken by Karthik in Mouna Ragam (1986).[4][5] Thiru also cast veteran directors Mahendran and Agathiyan in pivotal acting roles, with the latter being the director's father-in-law.[6] Principal photography began in Chennai in late November 2017,[7][8] and wrapped in March 2018 in Thailand, where two songs were filmed.[9] Cassandra dubbed for the first time in her own voice.[10][11][12]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album of Mr. Chandramouli was composed by Sam C. S. and released by Sony Music on 25 April 2018.[13][14][15] The title track was co-sung by actor Sivakumar's daughter Brindha, who made her playback singing debut with this film.[16]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Kallooliye"Sam C. S.Sam C. S., Swagatha S. Krishnan03:53
2."Kandapadi"LoganSam C. S., Guna04:50
3."Yedhedho Aanene"VivekSam C. S., Chinmayi05:03
4."Raajadhi Raja"VivekMukesh Mohamed, Ranjith Govind03:22
5."Theeraadho Vali"Sam C.S.Haricharan04:43
6."Mr. Chandramouli Theme"Vithya DamodharanSam C. S., Brindha Sivakumar03:13
Total length:25:04

Release

Mr. Chandramouli was initially scheduled to release on 27 April 2018,[17] but vacated that window after Kaala was scheduled for the same date. The film was then indefinitely delayed due to a strike declared by the Tamil Film Producers Council,[18] but eventually released on 6 July 2018 after the 48-day strike ended.[19]

Reception

Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Mr Chandramouli has an interesting casting coup, but doesn't quite come together in its storytelling".[20] M. Suganth of The Times of India wrote, "Despite a promising star cast (including the stunt casting of real-life father and son Karthik and Gautham Karthik) and a competent crew, Mr. Chandramouli is largely underwhelming, mainly because of how formulaic it is. Every beat in the script feels not only familiar but also predictable".[21] Sudhir Suryawanshi of The New Indian Express wrote, "There are a lot of interesting ideas, but in union, they fail to whip up the commercial storm the director must have intended".[22] Anjana Shekar of The News Minute wrote, "While director Thiru has surely improved from Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai, Mr Chandramouli lacks the most important thing that makes a film memorable — a good story".[23]

Ashameera Aiyappan of The Indian Express wrote, "It could have been a film about fatherhood or a sports drama or a societal drama or an unconventional rom-com. Thiru rather throws convenient pieces from all these genres into the pot and serves us clichés".[24] Kirubhakar Purushothaman wrote for India Today, "As the cliche goes, everything looks good on paper with Mr Chandramouli. It lags in execution" He said the film "might have worked had the dialogues been better or if the comedy had worked or if the film didn't aim to tick all the genre boxes".[25] Writing for Firstpost, trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai appreciated the casting coup of Gautham and Karthik, but "director Thiru's formulaic and insipid script isn't exciting enough. The film has a starting problem, just like the old Fiat Padmini car  used by Karthik in the story".[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Karthik and Gautham Karthik to join hands for a thriller". Sify. 2 October 2017. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Lakshmi, V (14 January 2018). "'I remember gathering around the pot and singing aloud on Pongal'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Regina Cassandra, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar join Thiru's next with Karthik and Gautham". The Indian Express. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Thiru's Next Titled 'Mr Chandramouli', Gautham Karthik To Share Screen Space With Father". Silverscreen.in. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Karthik-Gautham Karthik' film titled 'Mr. Chandramouli'". Sify. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Lakshmi, V (10 October 2017). "Two National Award-winning directors in Mr Chandramouli". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Mr Chandramouli starts rolling". The New Indian Express. 30 November 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Mr.Chandramouli starts rolling from today!". Sify. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "It's a wrap for Mr Chandramouli". The New Indian Express. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Regina Cassandra completes dubbing for 'Mr.Chandramouli'!". Sify. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Regina Cassandra dubs for the first time in Tamil". Cinema Express. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  12. ↑ Subramanian, Anupama (5 May 2018). "Regina dubs own voice for the first time". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "Mr. Chandramouli Tamil Film Audio CD". Macsendisk. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Mr. Chandramouli (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 25 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  15. ↑ "'Mr Chandramouli': The audio of the Gautham Karthik-starrer to release on April 25". The Times of India. 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Suriya's sister Brindha debuts as a singer in Mr Chandramouli". The Times of India. 25 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  17. ↑ "Tamil film 'Mr. Chandramouli' to release on 27 April". The Statesman. 31 January 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (20 February 2018). "It's strike season in South Indian filmdom again". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 August 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "Confirmed: Gautham Karthik-starrer 'Mr. Chandramouli' to release on July 6". The Times of India. 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  20. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (6 July 2018). "'Mr Chandramouli' review: cast no bar". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Suganth, M (5 July 2018). "Mr. Chandramouli Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  22. ↑ Suryawanshi, Sudhir (7 July 2018). "'Mr Chandramouli' movie review: Some interesting ideas in a lackadaisical thriller". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 June 2026. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  23. ↑ Shekar, Anjana (6 July 2018). "'Mr Chandramouli' review: A half-hearted drama with unconvincing performances". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  24. ↑ Aiyappan, Ashameera (6 July 2018). "Mr Chandramouli movie review: This Gautham Karthik-Regina Cassandra starrer is a tiring watch". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Purushothaman, Kirubhakar (6 July 2018). "Mr Chandramouli movie review: Underwhelming affair that works in parts". India Today. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  26. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (6 July 2018). "Mr Chandramouli movie review: Gautham Karthik, Regina Cassandra can't save this formulaic, insipid entertainer". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
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