Tamil Month - Charli Chaplin

I do not know why the film Charli Chaplin (2002) is called “Charli Chaplin.” Granted, if Bollywood is to be believed, Chaplin is a surprisingly popular figure in India; it seems that in the early nineties every college campus on the subcontinent featured a class clown named “Charlie” with a silly moustache and a penchant for bowler hats, and Sridevi’s unexpected (and unexplained) Chaplin impression in Mr. India is a moment of pure transcendent cinematic bliss. Said class clowns don’t appear in Charli Chaplin, however, and sadly, Sridevi is also nowhere to be seen. Chaplin is mentioned once, in a song lyric, and that is the entire connection. (Charli Chaplin was later remade in Hindi as No Entry, a title which makes perfect sense because the dialogue makes frequent use of traffic as a metaphor for marriage.)

Ramakrishan (Prabhu) has a good life. He has a great job running a modelling agency, a lovely home, and a loving and beautiful wife, Mythili (Abhirami.) He has only one problem - Mythili is very jealous, convinced that every woman who comes into view is after her chubby hubby. (Technically, Ramakrishan has two problems; he and Mythali have tried and failed for years to conceive a child, but what are the odds of that becoming a major plot point at the climax of an Indian movie?) Ramakrishan’s best friend, Vishwa (Livingston), is a serial philanderer, and constantly tries to convince Ramakrishan to try out other women, but Ramakrishan loves his insanely possessive wife.

Meanwhile, Thiru (Prabhu Deva) is a mild mannered photographer trying to make ends meet. He keeps bumping into Ramakrishan and Mythili, and thanks to a series of misunderstandings, he is nearly beaten by an angry mob, has his camera destroyed during a brawl in the temple, is arrested for a crime that he not only did not commit but actively prevented, and finally is given a job at Ramakrishan’s company and a place to stay in the couple’s guest house.

That’s not the only running misunderstanding Thiru is involved in, however. Plucky college student Susi (Gayathri Raghuram) and her friends have formed a sort of roving vigilante suicide prevention squad; they track down people who are about to commit suicide and berate them until they agree to live. Susi and her friends leap to the conclusion that Thiru is suicidal (he’s not) and hound him in the hopes of easing his despair over the loss of a girl named Shantih (whom he has never met.) Ever the gentleman, Thiru eventually falls in love with her, thus sparing her from having to make a very awkward apology. Then they dance in front of talking red sheep and he dresses up like Ming the Merciless.

Vishwa takes Ramakrishan to a nightclub, where they meet high class prostitute Thilothama (Monal). Suddenly, adultery doesn’t seem so bad to Ramakrishan, and at Vishwa’s urging he makes an appointment to meet her at his guest house. He sends Thiru and Mythili away on errands, but when Thilo arrives he has second thoughts. He’s trying to send her away when Mythili unexpectedly returns, so in a flash of desperate inspiration he claims that Thilo is Thiru’s new wife. It’s the sort of ill-conceived lie that can easily spin totally out of control, and to no one’s surprise, the lie spins totally out of control, leading to wacky hijinks.

There are many things that I liked about Charli Chaplin. Thiru and Susi have a sweet, if utterly bizarre, relationship. The songs are bright, colorful, fun, and frequent. While I didn’t get many of the Tamil puns, there are some very funny moments in the film; my favorite involves Thiru bumping into the camera, saying “excuse me”, and then walking away as if nothing had happened. Still, the morning after I felt guilty for laughing. I’m clearly not the target audience for this one; even in the best of circumstances, I don’t find adultery at all amusing, and the happy ending to this film requires the women to accept that the entire situation is all their own fault. It’s a sweet, silly movie with a nasty aftertaste.