Charles Enterprises Movie Review: Balu Varghese and Kalaiyarasan Can't Do Much to Save This Forgettable Entertainer (LatestLY Exclusive)

Charles Enterprises Movie Review: When the flag of Malayalam cinema is waving high, sometimes a jerk happens to that wave which reminds the industry that there is still work to be done. Films like Charles Enterprises exist to remind that not all films that come from the industry need to smell flowery, some would be so dead on arrival. Romancham Movie Review: Soubin Shahir's Spooky Buddy-Comedy is an Absolute Laugh-Riot!

The protagonist of Charles Enterprises is Ravi (Balu Varghese), a youngster who works at a cafe and has some serious financial difficulties. He also suffers from a condition of night blindness that the doctors blame on his blood-related parents (Urvashi and Guru Somasundaram) marrying and conceiving him. I thought this was a nice dig at Malayalam cinema's once-favourite trend of glamourising the incestuous murapennu system, where cousins are married to each other. Could have worked, if that night-blindness condition is proven to be crucial to the plot. The only thing it does is that Ravi has something to blame his estranged parents, and one marriage alliance for him breaks off for this reason. Apart from that, the subplot has nothing much with the main premise. It could have still worked if Ravi was just shown as a meek guy. At one point, he even gets a correction glass, which again adds very less to the plot.

Anyway returning to the plot, there is an ancient Ganesh idol at Ravi's house, that his mother dearly takes care of, which is also eyed by his self-centred relatives. Ravi is approached by a shady duo who wants him to sell that idol for a huge price. While he rejects their offer at first, Ravi finally had to agree for the deal when his debts rise. The only problem is, he needs to steal it out of his own house and away from his pesky, cramped neighbourhood.

Watch the Trailer of Charles Enterprises:

To help in this act, Ravi takes the help of a pickpocket (Kalaiyarasan) whom he showed some mercy earlier in the film. And it is this pickpocket whose name forms  the first part of the film's title - Charles. Why the movie is called Charles Enterprises is something you want to wait for till the very end. By then, you care very little for the reason, and also, it is simply saddled upon - as with Ravi's night blindness, the name has even more little to do with the movie.

I may sound harsh in the earlier portions - after all, Charles Enterprises has a somewhat interesting plot, and both Balu Varghese and Kalaiyarasan (who along with Guru Somasundaram, have now become Malayalam Cinema's go-to guys when it comes to playing Tamil characters) are good actors. However, a meandering first half makes it difficult to invest into the problems of Ravi's life. The director had try to add some quirky elements like Ravi's mother's vow of silence and her obsession with antiques, and his father trying to make it to movies. They aren't enough to spice up the screenplay. It's like plot elements are set up, but there is no commitment to fulfil them. When the idol gets 'stolen', I expected the greedy relatives of Ravi to blame him and his mother for their carelessness and create more mess. While there are snarky comments, it doesn't build up to anything and those characters just pop and leave for some feeble attempts at amusement. Saudi Vellakka Movie Review: Tharun Moorthy's Film on the Flawed Legal System is Heartbreakingly Good!

The second half when the plot actually kicks in fares better naturally, but that doesn't make Charles Enterprises a better movie. The film doesn't allow the sudden friendship between Ravi and Charles to breathe, and adds forced tension through its weak villains. I expected the finale to save the day for the film, but sadly, there is nothing much to talk about there. Even the depiction of COVID-19 in the movie feels stacked on. I mean, people talk about it and I see masks here and there, but otherwise Charles Enterprises show little justice to having the film set in the period.

A few months ago, there was a Malayalam movie called Sabaash Chandrabose, that also had a protagonist trying to steal a valuable from his own house. While that was no shakes either, at least there was Johnny Anthony in scene-stealing form. No such luck here.

I think there is some sort of messaging about finding God not in idols but in people inserted in by the end of Charles Enterprises. I think it was a nice idea, except save for the fact that we have a hero who is rewarded for stealing something his mother has been keeping so close to her heart. But hey, look happy ending!

Final Thoughts

Charles Enterprises may try to infuses elements of a heist film into a slice-of-life comedy, but the resultant version is very cumbersome and ordinary that none of the elements matter. While the actors are decent, the film fails to impress with its writing, lack of surprises and a mundane finale that couldn't even justify why it's named so.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2023 04:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).