In Kanchana 3, everything is loud (eardrum-splitting music), exaggerated and playing widely to the gallery. Raghava Lawrence was Rajinikanth’s favourite choreographer in the late '90s before he turned actor and director of mass commercials. Lawrence is the “moving spirit” behind south India’s biggest horror franchise, Kanchana. It is structured around his 2007 film Muni. Four year after Kanchana 2, which grossed over Rs 100 crore from domestic and international theatricals, Lawrence is back with Kanchana 3 (also called Muni 4) in Tamil and Telugu. Lawrence is, in a way, the father of horror comedy, Kollywood’s most popular genre which works well with mass audiences. He follows the pattern of a horror specialist of the 1970s and '80s, Vitalacharya, who ruled the box office. Kanchana 3 is a template Lawrence horror comedy and is largely targeted at family audiences. Yes, Lawrence's Kanchana series has a huge fan base among ladies and kids. These films even have a U/A certificate despite the horror and violence. The story is virtually the same in all the films in the series. It is about how hero Raghava (Lawrence), a nice friendly neighbourhood guy who plays with kids, is scared of ghost stories. He needs his mother (Kovai Sarala) by his side most of the time to tackle any spooky situation that he comes across. Once again, Raghava gets possessed (like in the first two parts) by a 'ghost', who uses his body to take revenge on villains. The regular set of comic actors, who play his mother, elder brother (Sreeman) and sister-in-law (Devadarshini), are there along with three skimpy dressed glamour girls (Vedhika, Oviya and Nikita), who come as his relatives and prospective brides, trying to woo him. Lawrence plays a dual role as the nice guy Raghava, who is scared of ghosts, and Kaali, a tough guy who is a philanthropist and runs an orphanage (In real life, Lawrence is known for his philanthropist activities, including running an orphanage for children). Kaali runs afoul of a minister and his brother (Kabir Duhan Singh), who wants to use the Ashram to launder their black money. When he protests, all hell breaks through. In the nearly three-hour film, everything is loud (eardrum-splitting music), exaggerated and playing widely to the gallery. There are also crass jokes and gimmicks along with three girls who go to great lengths to woo the hero. Add to that creaky doors, rocking chairs, exorcism scenes (including exorcists from Russia! ), rituals to ward off the evil, and some characters getting possessed in a funny manner. Plus the mandatory “Amma” sentiments and a so-called social message. There are also a few songs (composed by different music directors) and some deadly CGI fight scenes in the climax to complete the formula Critics can go take a walk, as proved by the audience's (mostly families) reaction to Kanchana 3 at the theatre where I watched the film. There was loud whistling and clapping as Lawrence and his screen mother Kovai Sarala brought the house down with their antics. It is aptly summed up by the character Kaali’s punchline to the villain: “Nee mass aana, naan double mass!” (If you are mass, I am double mass). The only question that remains is whether Kanchana 3 will join the Rs 100 crore club as well. Rating: **1/2<doc-sep>'Kanchana 3' review: Raghava Lawrence's latest is a crass, stale horror comedy All the tropes from the previous three films are there, making us wonder what the point is in making a new one. Flix Kollywood Ever since Muni released in 2007 and became a huge success, actor/director Raghava Lawrence has taken it upon himself to keep the series alive, releasing an installment every four years (2007, 2011, 2015 and now 2019). When the hero, usually a man who can single-handedly take on a group of goons and not break a sweat on a normal day, stutters and shakes for a silly ruse, the hilarity in the scene becomes endearing and fresh all at once. Rajinikanth's paambu jokes, for example. And it is perhaps this style that Raghava Lawrence, who is also a die-hard Rajini fan, had in mind when he sketched his character Ganesh in the first film. We have seen several horror comedies since - the Aranmanai series, cringe adult horror comedies like Iruttu Arayil Murattu Kuthu, Dhilluku Dhuttu series and more. But over 10 years since Muni, the idea of horror comedy in Tamil cinema has completely fizzled out, turning into a ājokeās on you palā for the audiences. Kanchana 3 is a sequel to the first Kanchana (Muni 2) and we see Kovai Sarala reunite with her on-screen son and daughter-in-law, Sriman and Devadarshini respectively. The three characters are the only redeeming factor in this tiresome film. If not for them and their antics, it would have been a completely unbearable experience. The pre-interval portion with the three of them in the haunted house is one of the funniest scenes in the film. Talking about the film's story is a pointless exercise - not because of spoilers but because there isn't a new story to write about. At this rate, the question "What will Kanchana 4's story be?" can be answered with the famous Rajinikanth song, "Chinna kozhandhayum sollum! ". ALL the tropes from the previous three films are there. People scrambling about and toppling over each other? Check. Ragahva hopping on to his motherās hip? Check. Ghost with a sob story? Check. Characters excessively slapping each other? Check. Broomsticks, footwear and god photos? Ting, ting, ting. The climax song-dance-killing is also there, donāt worry. The first half is an exact reenactment of Kanchana. The only reason it works and makes us laugh or at least smile is because Kovai Sarala, Devadarshini and Sriman do a great job of it. So much so that we are willing to forgive the fact that whole charade is now stale. But what of the horror, you ask? Let me get to it. Kanchana 3 has three woman actors doing the most forgettable roles in their careers. Vedhika, Oviya and Nikki Tamboli play Raghavaās cousins. The entire family is quite creepy, with the grandparents and parents egging on Raghava to āchooseā among the three. If the idea wasnāt icky enough, the distasteful dialogues and the weird clothes the women are made to wear objectifies them further. The three actors have only been written into the script to boost Raghavaās ego and thereās also a dance number where Raghava asks āHow are you girls going to impress me?ā The objectification and sexualisation are in your face, and even more objectionable considering it is certified U/A. The world of Kanchana feeds on superstition, but what are horror films without these ideas? Ghosts hate slippers and broomsticks (actually humans arenāt particularly fond of these utility objects either), strange looking dolls placed on rangoli patterns will anger/upset the spirit and of course, ghosts cannot enter places of worship. When I was younger, I remember watching Jaganmohini and making a mental note that ghosts and spirits cannot enter sacred spaces. In my scary-ghost dreams, Iād frantically run in search of temples. Then one day, at the Chottanikkara Bagavathi temple I was shown a tree with nails on it and told that they were marks of exorcism. I was tempted to ask the priest, āIf spirits canāt enter temples, how did you bring them in, to be pinned to this tree?ā But such questions obviously do not rise in the universe where films like Kanchana are made. The biggest horror, however, is revealed right at the end - there will be Kanchana 4/Muni 5. Oh god, WHY? Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.<doc-sep>A dumb villain and dumber characters team up to make a soulless film. There’s very little scope for freshness in the horror genre. And Lawrence knows that. ‘Kanchana 3’ doesn’t follow the usual template of horror films. Instead, it defines its own logic and borrows elements — the ones that keeps the franchise going — from previous Kanchana films. The script of ‘Kanchana 3’ should be taught in film schools — to show how to make a movie that disrespects the audience’s intellect. Kanchana 3 Cast: Raghava Lawrence, Kovai Sarala, Vedhika, Oviya, Nikki Tamboli, Sriman and Devadarshini Director: Raghava Lawrence Storyline: Ghosts, skin shows, and everything in between The story is dated. The humour is offensive and unfunny. The dialogues are tepid. Even Lawrence’s idea of mass moments — slow-motion shots amidst smoky backgrounds — seem pretentious. Kovai Sarala and Devadarshini continue to exist in this universe. More power to them. Since it’s the third part in the series, it has three heroines — Oviya, Vedhika and Nikki Tamboli. Which means, there’s more pomp than plot. A haunted house. Two revenge-seeking spirits. A dumb villain and dumber characters. You get the drift. They team up to make a soulless film. Despite gravity-defying stunts and skin shows, ‘Kanchana 3’ is an exasperating watch. The three-hour-long film, thankfully, ends at some point. When it does, you try hard to crawl out of the theatre. But Raghava Lawrence stops you right there and announces Kanchana 4 aka Muni 5. Now that’s a line that sends chills down your spine.<doc-sep>Kanchana 3 is the latest victim of online piracy. Kanchana 3 is the latest victim of online piracy. The latest Tamil release Kanchana 3 has leaked online by the piracy website Tamilrockers. Kanchana 3 stars Raghava Lawrence, Vedhika, Devadarshini, Sriman, Manobala, Kovai Sarala, Sathyaraj, Oviya, Soori, Kabir Duhan Singh and Yogi Babu among others. Horror comedy Kanchana 3 is the fourth installment in the series that began in 2007. Raghava has amped up the formula that he used in his previous ventures. Recent Bollywood release Kalank has also ended up on the piracy website Tamilrockers. Websites like Tamilrockers provide latest films for illegal download to their users. Though a lot of attempts have been made to stop the menace, piracy websites operate with impunity. Many films that are leaked on websites like Tamilrockers suffer from significant financial losses as the availability of the film online draws lesser people to the cinemas. Kanchana 3, meanwhile, opened to poor reviews. In her review, Indianexpress.com’s S Subhakeerthana wrote, “Kanchana 3 is a frustratingly cringe-worthy piece of work masquerading as “horror comedy” that makes you squirm. Beware, this is a fine example of how sequels shouldn’t be made. It is high time Raghava Lawrence stopped making ill-conceived and badly-executed sequels.” Despite poor reviews, it seems the makers of Kanchana 3 will be laughing all the way to the bank. Film trade analyst Ramesh Bala wrote on Twitter, “#Kanchana3SuperHit @offl_Lawrence ‘s #Kanchana3 takes a Mass Opening all over South.. Housefull shows reported everywhere.. @Vedhika4u”<doc-sep>
Once again, Tamilrockers has struck and has leaked Kanchana 3 entire movie online. A number of times in the past Tamirockers has caused huge financial losses to film-makers by leaking them online. Read to know more. Yesterday, one of the highly anticipated releases of this year, Kanchana 3 released. Now, a day after its release, Kanchana 3 was leaked online by Tamilrockers. The piracy website, Tamilrockers, has done the same in the past with a number of films which has caused huge losses to the producers of the leaked films. The film is the fourth installment of the Muni series which began in the year 2007. Kanchana 3 stars Vedhika and Raghava Lawrence in the lead roles and is a horror comedy which is meant to entertain the audiences. However, before the audiences could enjoy the film in theatres, Kanchana 3 was leaked online by Tamilrockers. Kanchana 3 is helmed by Raghava Lawrence and also stars himself along with Devadarshini, Sriman, Manobala, Kovai Sarala, Sathyaraj, Oviya, Soori, Kabir Duhan Singh and Yogi Babu. A number of Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu films have been leaked online right after their release by Tamilrockers. The producers down South have complained against Tamilrockers time and again, but still, the leaks don’t end. With the film being leaked, the makers incur massive losses as people don’t come to theatres. Though in the past, some steps have been taken to prevent Tamilrockers from striking again, they end up using proxy servers and leak the full movies online. Even the latest Bollywood release, Kalank was leaked by Tamilrockers after it hit the screens. Among other films, Romeo Akbar Walter, Lucifer, Captain Marvel, Badla and more have been leaked by Tamilrockers and are available on the website for download. Despite warnings from the Madras High Court, Tamilrockers continue to cause menace for the producers of the films. Credits :Indian Express Read More