Charukesi is a lot of things. It chronicles the end stages of a man's life, it dissects the relationships between various members of a fractured family, it tries to construct a story debating some spiritual and philosophical arguements. But it ends up being a lecture. A lecture from a man, who might mean well, but has morals that is stuck in the past. When a woman is shown in a negative shade, the things that represent her are a chudidhar, or having non-vegetarian food. Even, when one tries to play the devil's advocate and argue that every house has its own rules, terming non-vegetarian food consumption as a wrong thing, is in itself wrong. Idealogical debates aside, Charukesi also goes through a mid-life crisis.
While it is technically strong, the film has flaws when it comes to its screenplay. To avoid going into dramatic zones and leaving the audience with a heavy heart, Madras Matinee undercuts its conflicts, which ends up lowering the stakes for its characters. In a tense scene of the film, we see the full emotions of Dinesh being displayed after his voice has been dismissed repeatedly. But when a solution to the conflict is being played out, instead of maintaining Dinesh’s intensity, the scene fizzles out and turns Dinesh’s plight into humour. In another scene, Deepika, as a child, seeks her father’s comfort after she is bullied. Her father, in jest, replies that he will use violence on those kids. The dialogue plays out in a rather insensitive manner.
In this era where identity crises are rampant and parents are forced to be extremely careful regarding every decision they take with their children, Naangal takes a step back in time to the 90s, to show how even the most fundamental aspects like words and actions towards a child can impact their lives to a significant extent.
Moments. But what should have added gravitas ended up sounding unfinished. When Prabhu faces the antagonist, he delivers a monologue and ends it with a
