Charlie Chaplin is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Sakthi Chidambaram, starring Prabhu and Prabhu Deva. Abhirami, Gayathri Raguram and Livingston play other supporting roles. It was released on 15 February 2002, and became a commercial success. Prabhu won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for his performance in the film.[1] The film's commercial success led to remakes in several languages, such as in Telugu as Pellam Oorelithe, Hindi as No Entry, Malayalam as Happy Husbands, Kannada as Kalla Malla Sulla,[2] Marathi as No Entry Pudhe Dhoka Aahey and in Bengali as Kelor Kirti.
| Charlie Chaplin | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Poster | |
| Directed by | Sakthi Chidambaram |
| Written by | Sakthi Chidambaram |
| Produced by | M. Kajamaideen K. Ayisha |
| Starring | Prabhu Prabhu Deva Livingston Abhirami Gayathri Raghuraman |
| Cinematography | Siva |
| Edited by | Anil Malnad |
| Music by | Bharani |
Production company | Roja Combines |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editRamakrishnan is a rich businessman in Ooty who owns an advertising company and tea estates. He is married to Mythili who is very possessive about her husband. Mythili always suspects her husband fearing that he would end up having an affair with some other girl as they are childless after 5 years of marriage, and this brings frequent quarrel between the couple. But Ramakrishnan is a kind hearted honest man and he takes care of his wife with great love.
Thirunavukkarasu is a poor photographer in the same town and initially, Ramakrishnan misunderstands Thiru to be a rogue. Later understands his good nature and provides him a job in his own company. Thiru, who was orphaned after his mother died 3 years ago, is very loyal to Ramakrishnan and Mythili and respects Ramakrishnan as his brother. Ramakrishnan is also very kind to Thiru. One day, Thiru meets a girl Susi and the two fall in love with each other. Susi is a social activist who voices for women empowerment, and daughter of a district judge.
Vishwa is a close friend of Ramakrishnan and is married to Amudha. But Vishwa is a playboy and has affairs with many girls. One day, a small quarrel erupts between Ramakrishnan and Mythili following which Ramakrishnan worries thinking about his wife's continuous suspecting behaviour. Vishwa plans to relax Ramakrishnan by engaging a call girl Thilothama.
Ramakrishnan although not interested in it, finally decides to spend some time with Thiliothama when Mythili is away to Tirupathi. Thilothama comes to Ramakrishnan's guest house where Thiru lives. Suddenly, Mythili cancels her trip and returns home. On the way, she finds Ramakrishnan's car in Thiru's home and she also comes to Thiru's home. Mythili gets shocked to see Thilothama and Ramakrishnan in Thiru's home. Ramakrishnan suddenly manages the situation by lying that Thilothama is none other than Thiru's lover. Mythili believes this while Thiru does not reveal the truth knowing that it would separate Ramakrishnan from Mythili.
Then it is cat and mouse game where Thiru tries to act as Thilothama's love in front of Mythili, at the same time tries hard not to get caught by Susi as she is short-tempered and hates someone lying to her. Finally, Mythili and Susi get to know about the lies told by Thiru and Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan and Thiru try hard to find Thilothama and make her tell the truth that nothing happened between them. But to their surprise, Thilothama committed suicide and they have no other proof now.
Susi decides to break up with Thiru while Mythili applies for divorce with Ramakrishnan. Finally, in the court, Ramakrishnan expresses how much he loves Mythili and tells all the truth and requests her to believe him. Also, Amudha and Vishwa convince Susi and Mythili whereby Amudha says that she very well knows about Vishwa's affair with so many girls but she still lives with a hope of getting him back as a loyal husband someday. Mythili and Susi understand Ramakrishnan and Thiru's good nature and they unite in the end.
Cast
edit- Prabhu as Ramakrishnan
- Prabhu Deva as Thirunavukkarasu (Thiru)
- Livingston as Vishwa
- Abhirami as Mythili Ramakrishnan
- Gayathri Raghuraman as Suseela (Susi)
- Vindhya as Amudha Vishwa
- Monal as Thilothama
- Pyramid Natarajan as Judge Samandham, Suseela's Father
- Chinni Jayanth as Thirupathiraj
- Mahanadi Shankar as Police Inspector
- Pandu
- Besant Ravi
- Priyanka as Lakshmi, Home maid
Production
editSakthi Chidambaram revealed that the story was based on a real life incident that had happened to his friend, but altered the happenings to present it in a comedy format.[3] Despite that, some critics noted the film's similarities to the 1975 Tamil film Yarukku Mappillai Yaro.[4] The film was initially called Uthama Purushan, but was later changed to Charlie Chaplin.[5] The initial choices for the two leading female roles had been Gayatri Jayaraman and Sanghavi, but the two were replaced due to date issues.[3]
Soundtrack
editThere are 7 songs in this film composed by Bharani.[6]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ava Kannapaatha" | Pa. Vijay | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Harish Raghavendra | 5:05 |
| 2. | "Kannadi Selai Katti" | Palani Bharathi | Krishnaraj, Swarnalatha, Karthik, Harini | 5:39 |
| 3. | "Mammu Mammu" | Pa. Vijay | Tippu | 2:42 |
| 4. | "Mudhalaam Sandhippil" | Pa. Vijay | P. Unnikrishnan, Swarnalatha | 5:06 |
| 5. | "Ponnu Oruthi Summa" | Snehan | Tippu, Anuradha Sriram | 5:09 |
| 6. | "Shansha Shalpashaa" | Sakthi Chidambaram | Tippu, Harini | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Vaarthai Thavari Ponathanaley" | Kabilan | Harish Raghavendra | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 30:53 | |||
Reception
editChennai Online wrote, "It is a laugh riot that will drive away your blues. Prabhu with his perfect timing and penchant for comedy, and Prabhu Deva the perfect prop, strike a good chemistry on screen to provide some unpretentious fun-filled time to the viewers, leaving them no time to think or get bored. Livingston pitches his own bit to form the comic-trio".[7] The Hindu wrote "A Comic fare with a clear storyline, a neat screenplay that has no gaping loose ends and witty dialogue with all the essential punches make watching Roja combines' Charlie Chaplin an enjoyable experience".[8] Cinesouth wrote "After 'Ullathai Allitha', this is one film that had tickled the audience so much. So, lets hear it for director Shakthi Chidhambaram".[9]
Remakes
editThe film's commercial success led to remakes in several languages, such as:
| Year | Language | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Telugu | Pellam Oorelithe | |
| 2005 | Hindi | No Entry | |
| 2010 | Malayalam | Happy Husbands | |
| 2011 | Kannada | Kalla Malla Sulla | [10] |
| 2012 | Marathi | No Entry Pudhe Dhoka Aahey | [11] |
| 2016 | Bengali | Kelor Kirti |
Legacy
editIt is the one among the second highest remade film in Indian cinema after Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (nine languages) along with Anuraga Aralithu, Poovinu Puthiya Poonthenal, Kireedam, Pavitra Bandham, Don, Vikramarkudu, Shutter, Brindavanam, Drishyam, U Turn, Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam, Kaadhal and Okkadu– all of which have been remade six times. A sequel titled Charlie Chaplin 2 released in 2019.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Tamil Nadu announces film awards for three years". IndiaGlitz. 1 October 2004. Archived from the original on 24 October 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Srivani, B S (16 September 2011). "Kalla Malla Sulla". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ a b ""For a film to succeed, its music must become a massive hit"". Tamil Guardian. 3 April 2002. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ "'Charlie Chaplin 2' review: Did 2019 really need this dated Prabhu Deva sequel?". The News Minute. 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ Swamy, A. "Prabhu: The comeback story". cinematoday2.itgo.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ "Charlie Chaplin". JioSaavn. 1 January 2002. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ Mannath, Malini. "Charlie Chaplin". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 13 March 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (22 February 2002). "Charlie Chaplin". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 October 2003. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Charlie Chaplin". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 11 April 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ "Kalla Malla Sulla". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Vyavahare, Renuka (23 July 2012). "No Entry gets Marathi makeover!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Sundar, Mrinalini (7 November 2017). "Prabhudheva and Nikki Galrani team up for Charlie Chaplin 2". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
