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Chaarulatha

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Chaarulatha
File:Charulatha Kannada and Tamil posters.jpg
film posters of Charulatha (Kannada/Tamil)
Directed byPon Kumaran
Produced byRamesh Krishnamoorthy (Tamil)
Dwarakeesh (Kannada)
Starring
CinematographyPanner Selvam
Edited byDonmax
Music bySundar C Babu
Production
company
Global One Studios (Tamil)
Distributed bySax Pictures
Release date
  • 21 September 2012 (2012-09-21)
CountryIndia
Languages
  • Tamil
  • Kannada
Budget₹60 million (US$720,000)

Chaarulatha (also spelled as Charulatha) is a 2012 Indian horror film, simultaneously made in Tamil and Kannada languages. The film was directed by Pon Kumaran, a former associate to K. Bhagyaraj and K. S. Ravikumar, and features Priyamani in the lead role.[1] The film was an adaptation of the Thai horror film Alone.[2] Sundar C Babu composed the film's music.[3] The film’s story is about conjoined twins.[4][5] Produced by Global One Studios and distributed by Hansraj Saxena's Sax Pictures, Charulatha released on 21 September 2012 with dubbed Telugu and Malayalam versions with the same title.

Plot

The story takes off showing the conjoined twins Charu and Latha (both played by Priyamani). Charu and Latha lived in Vizag as one body and soul until Ravi (Skanda) comes into their lives. Ravi falls in love with one of the twins which creates differences between the two. Finally, their mother (Saranya) plans to separate their attached bodies through surgery and during which Latha dies. However, mysterious incidents take place as the dead twin seeks revenge on the other. Several twists take place in line as the story unfolds. She also sees the dead twin playing the violin they used to play in the past and the twin starts to come forward to reach her and disappears as Ravi touches Charu. Later, in the hospital, Ravi visits the twins' mother (Saranya) where she tries to tell Ravi something but is unable to do so. As the problems began to go down, Ravi again visits the twins' mother and she tells him something at the graveyard. Ravi goes to the cemetery, only to find that the real person who died was Charu and that Latha was impersonating Charu. Flashbacks reveal that after falling in love with Charu, Ravi comes to visit Charu finally as he was leaving town which makes Latha angry. Latha refuses to follow Charu to the balcony to see Ravi for the last time. Ravi leaves after giving a paper to the guard containing a picture of Charu, delighting Charu but leaves Latha outraged. Latha tears the picture angrily and this creates problem between the twins. Latha fights with Charu on the stairs and both of them fall from the stairs. In this, Charu dies and Latha calls her mother to help. After this, both of them are separated. In reality, after fighting with Ravi, Latha disguised her back as Latha. She ties him up in chair and tells him the truth that she also loved him. Later, Charu burns the place to make Ravi escape and Latha stays inside there, refusing to leave unless Ravi tells that he, too, loves her. Latha's mother scolds and begs Ravi to save her only daughter. Ravi sacrifices his love to save Latha. The film ends with Ravi and Latha keeping flowers for Charu and Ravi sees Charu's soul smiling at him as Latha walks towards him.

Cast

Production

Priyamani was recruited to enact dual roles as conjoined twins in a film loosely based on the Thai horror film Alone.[6] Malayalam actor Skandha was signed to play the male protagonist. Actors such as Saranya Ponvannan, Seetha and Vettaikaran Sai Sasi were signed on for crucial roles.[7] Yoganand, Shabari and Kalidas penned the dialogues. The budget of the film was reported to be ₹60 million (US$720,000).[6] Priyamani denied that the film was based on the Hollywood film Stuck on You, asserting that it had an "original storyline".[8]

The film went on the floor on Ugadi festival day at Kanteerava studio Bangalore.[9]

Soundtrack

The audio and trailer release function of Charulatha was held at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai. Hansraj Saxena, Dhananjayan Govind, Priyamani, Saranya Ponvannan, composer Vijay Antony, lyricist Madhan Karky alongside directors K. Bhagyaraj, K. S. Ravikumar and R. Kannan graced the event. Ravikumar released the audio and Bhagyaraj received it.[citation needed]

Release

The film was supposedly being made in Telugu.[6] While the Malayalam version would be dubbed from Kannada, the Telugu version was dubbed from the Tamil print.[6][10] The Tamil version received a "U" (Universal) certificate, while the Kannada version received a "U/A" (Parental Guidance).[11]

The film was released on 21 September 2012.

Controversies

BBMP officials had filed a case against Kannada actor-director Dwarakish after he allegedly pasted the posters of Charulatha [sic] at public places. Nagaraj, an assistant revenue officer in BBMP west division, filed the case under the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act against the producer in Magadi Road police station on Friday.

Later, the High Court had pulled up the BBMP for not taking action against those pasting posters in public places. The BBMP officials were inspecting public places on Friday found three posters of ‘Charulatha’ near a bus stop on West of Chord Road and took its pictures and filed a case against the producer.[12]

Reception

Charulatha received mixed reviews. In.com wrote that it "works in parts" and added that it was not a "bad movie in a horror genre".[13] News Track India called it a "poorly executed film with no thrills", while stating that "Charulatha is proof to how a pathetic film can sabotage the ability of a talented actress".[14] The New Indian Express' reviewer A Sharadhaa claimed that director Pon Kumar "does not hit the bull's eye but he does show signs of his hold on film making", further adding that it did not "seem to keep up to the hype", although Priyamani was lauded for her "splendid" and "stellar" performance.[15] Srikanth Srinivasa from Rediff labelled it as "Priya Mani's show all the way" and that it was is a "brilliant film that could have been more emotionally appealing".[16] Sify's critic noted that the film "turns out to be a watered down Indian remake which is neither spooky nor entertaining", going on to add: "The saving grace of the film is Priyamani’s twin role as otherwise the script and presentation is shoddy".[17] Behindwoods rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying "For a horror film, there is not much of spookiness or eeriness but for the oft-repeated ‘spirit’ual sojourns. Nevertheless Charulatha gets its brownie points for the novelty factor, good performance and fitting visual effects coupled with a fairly engaging narration."[18]

Accolades

Ceremony Category Nominee Result
2nd South Indian International Movie Awards Best Actress Priyamani Pending

References

  1. ^ "Priyamani plays Siamese twins?". Times of India. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Priyamani is back with a bang". Behindwoods. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  3. ^ "Priyamani to act in Kannada horror film". CNN-IBN. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Priyamani excited". DeccanChronicle. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Priya Mani to play conjoined twins in Charulatha". Rediff. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d Christopher, Kavya (5 August 2012). "No comparisons please!". The Times of India. Tiruchirappalli. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Priyamani is 'Chaarulatha'". IndiaGlitz. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Priya Mani to essay her most difficult role". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  9. ^ "'Charulatha' launched". IndiaGlitz. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Priyamani dubs in 4 languages for Charulatha!". IndiaGlitz. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Different Certificates for 'Charulatha' - Why?". Supergoodmovies.com. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  12. ^ News, Express (22 September 2012). "Case against Dwarakish on 'Charulatha' posters". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2013. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "Chaarulatha works in most parts!". In.com. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  14. ^ "'Charulatha' - Neither scares nor entertains". Newstrackindia.com. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  15. ^ By A Sharadhaa (22 September 2012). "'Charulatha' (Multilingual)". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Review: Chaarulatha is Priya Mani's show all the way". Rediff. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Movie Review : Charulatha". Sify. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Charulatha Review". Behindwoods. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
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