**This is not a review**
It was 9 years ago – Malayalam director Kamal released his football-based film Goal in 2007. The movie had newcomers in the lead roles, but that did not deter my college gang, which has two hardcore Kamal fans, from watching the movie. We watched it from different theaters as it was vacation time, but Goal left us all with the same emotion – disappointment.
Holidays were done with, we were back in our college in Bengaluru and soon, this little Tamil film on Chennai's local cricket caught my attention for the wide praise it had earned – Chennai 600028. This film too did not have any familiar faces for us, except Aravind Akash, whom we had seen in a number of Malayalam films. The director was Venkat Prabhu, a debutante. The movie was produced by legendary singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and his son S.P. B. Charan. So, there has to be something special about the movie, I told myself.
I got myself a copy of the movie's DVD and, fun unrolled – the filmmaking was nothing like I had seen before in Tamil films. Chennai 600028 had SPB presenting the characters. And 15 minutes into the movie, with this hilarious scene where Rockers Raghu's (Jai) family is seen shifting to Visalakshi Thottam, Venkat Prabhu got me hooked to his unique storytelling technique. It was off-beat, highly quirky (big plus of the film) and had a strong story-line that did not derail. Chennai 28 had me in splits for its take on the innumerable cliches of Tamil cinema and I was mighty impressed.
In no time, I made my friends watch the movie and we had a gala time. Everyone pointed to the fact that local league cricket matches were convincingly and realistically portrayed in the film. Chennai 28 helped us overcome Kamal's forgetful Goal. Though none of us were from Chennai, our group of friends could easily connect to the Tamil film, and repeat screenings followed. Not to forget, the music of the film, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja was a big hit within our gang. Premji Amaran's 'enna kodumai sir idhu' line was uproarious. Chennai 600028 was a revelation and went onto achieve a cult classic status in Tamil cinema later. Venkat Prabhu upped his game with Saroja, Goa, Mankatha among other films. But, Chennai 28 remains his best film.
Now, after 9 years, when the team got back with its sequel Chennai 600028: II Innings, how could I miss it? After spending two quality days at the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) with the best of world cinema, the first thing I wanted to do upon reaching back home was watch Chennai 28 part 2. And I'm glad that I could catch the movie at a theater this time.
In the sequel, Venkat Prabhu plays wisely knowing the impact his first film had on moviegoers. He throws in a great number of references to Chennai 28 that is loved by many. Actor-director Vineeth Sreenivasan had once said that he was inspired by Venkat Prabhu's filmmaking style in Chennai 28. In the sequel, the characters have grown up and the problems they face this time seem an entirely different ballgame. They've stopped playing cricket as a team for Chennai Sharks even though they remain as best friends. However, you will see them playing more cricket as the script convincingly takes them there.
It is amusing to see how Venkat Prabhu tells us why certain characters we saw in Chennai 28 are not part of its sequel. For example, actor Sampath Raj who played Guna in the original, is not in the sequel. The reason? The director shows us clips from Telugu films Sampath has acted in and tells us that he now took the screen name Sampath and is acting as a baddie in Tollywood. Such chucklesome references are aplenty. The Usilampatti Bad Boys team entry is whistle-worthy, when you realize who they are. Watch the sequel if you liked Chennai 600028, you will not regret it even though the laughs are trimmed a bit.
So, if you like Tamil films, give these two movies a try, preferably with your friends in company. Chances are high that you'd laugh your heart out.
N.B: Kamal, who directed Goal back in 2007, was the IFFK festival director this year.