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''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
-language comedy horror film written and directed by
P. Vasu Vasudevan Peethambharan, known professionally as P Vasu, is an Indian director, writer and actor who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam language films. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 64 films. ...
. A remake of Vasu's
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
film '' Apthamitra'' (2004), which itself loosely based on the
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
film '' Manichitrathazhu'' (1993), the film stars Rajinikanth,
Prabhu ''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/ Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appen ...
, Jyothika, Nayanthara and Vadivelu with an ensemble supporting cast. It revolves around a woman, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder that affects a family, and a psychiatrist who intends to solve the case while risking his life. ''Chandramukhi'' was produced by Prabhu and his brother Ramkumar Ganesan through their company Sivaji Productions, and is the company's 50th film. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by
Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People *Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) * Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director * ...
. Cinematography was handled by
Sekhar V. Joseph Sekhar V. Joseph is a cinematographer in the Tamil and Telugu film industries. He is known for his collaborations with Gunasekhar and P. Vasu. Filmography Awards * Nandi Award for Best Cinematographer - Okkadu (2003)(in Telugu language, Telug ...
and editing was done by Suresh Urs. Principal photography began on 24 October 2004 and was completed in March 2005. The film was made on a budget of 19 crores. ''Chandramukhi'' was released on 14 April 2005 on the eve of the
Tamil New Year Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cale ...
. The film became a major box office success, with a theatrical run of 890 days at Shanti Theatre. The film won five
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...
, four Film Fans' Association Awards and two
Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
. Jyothika and Vadivelu were each awarded a
Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government o ...
Award for their work on the film. A sequel entered production in 2022.


Plot

Saravanan, a psychiatrist from the United States, comes to meet his friend Senthilnathan, and his wife Ganga while on vacation. Senthil's mother Kasthuri wanted Senthil to marry Priya, the daughter of his father's cousin Kandaswamy, to reunite the two branches of the family after 30 years of separation because Senthil's father chose to marry Kasthuri instead of Kandaswamy's sister, Akhilandeshwari, who is also his cousin. Saravanan learns that Senthil had bought the Vettaiyapuram mansion, despite attempts by the local village elders to dissuade them, and moves in with them. Akhilandeshwari is jealous of Saravanan and plots to kill him with the help of her assistant Oomaiyan. When the family visits their ancestral temple, the chief priest reveals the reason everyone fears the mansion. Around 150 years ago, a king named Vettaiyan travelled to
Vizianagaram Vizianagaram is a city and the headquarters of Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is central Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapatnam. The city has a population of 22 ...
in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, where he met and fell in love with a dancer named Chandramukhi. However, she did not reciprocate his feelings as she was already in love with another dancer named Gunasekaran. As a result, Vettaiyan took her back to his palace by force. Unknown to him, Chandramukhi made Gunasekaran stay in a house opposite and met him secretly. When Vettaiyan discovered this, he beheaded Gunasekaran on
Durgashtami Durga Ashtami or Maha Ashtami is one of the most auspicious days of the five days long Durga Puja Festival celebrated in the honor of mother goddess Durga. Traditionally, the festival is observed for 10 days in Hindu households but the actual pu ...
and burnt Chandramukhi alive. As a result, Chandramukhi's ghost tried to take revenge on Vettaiyan, who with the help of various priests and sorcerers from all over the country, tamed the ghost by locking it in an urn, which is kept at the shelf up in a room located in the palace's south-west corner which is guarded by a king cobra. Vettaiyan too died after a few days. Priya is in love with Vishwanathan, a dance professor who reciprocates her feelings. Their love is supported by Saravanan, who requests Kandaswamy to arrange their marriage. After hearing Chandramukhi's story, Ganga, who thinks that the story was fabricated to keep thieves from stealing treasures in the room, wishes to go there. Saravanan receives an email to attend a patient and assures Senthil to call him if anything happens before leaving. Ganga gets the duplicate room key from the gardener's granddaughter Durga and opens the door to the room. Subsequently, strange things begin to happen in the household: a ghost frightens the people in the house, things inexplicably break, and Ganga's ''
sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...
'' catches fire. Suspicion turns towards Durga. Senthil immediately calls Saravanan to solve the case. As soon as Saravanan returns, a mysterious being tries to kill Priya. Saravanan also investigates other incidents such as the attempts to kill Senthil are made with poisoning his coffee and by pushing a glass fish tank to fall on his head. Also another mysterious happening is the sound of someone singing and dancing coming from Chandramukhi's room during the night. Ganga mysteriously disappears during Priya and Viswanathan's engagement. Saravanan notices her absence and searches for her, but is attacked by Oomaiyanwho has been sent by Akhilandeshwari. Saravanan subdues Oomaiyan and with Senthil's help finds Ganga, who is supposedly being sexually harassed by Viswanathan. Saravanan reveals to Senthil and Viswanathan that Ganga suffers from split personality disorder, following the death of her parents. He also reveals that she heard stories from her grandmother, which worsened her disorder. Ganga's mischievous behaviour made her enter into Chandramukhi's room and Chandramukhi possessed her after the urn fell down and broke while she was cleaning the room. Saravanan tells them that Ganga who turned into Chandramukhi tried to kill Priya and Senthil, as they are the only obstacles and that the former was Viswanathan's fiancee and the latter was Ganga's wife. She framed Viswanathan for sexual harassment, as she thinks that Viswanathan is her lover Gunasekaran since he stays at the same place Gunasekaran did. By framing Vishwanathan and also framing Durga via possession, Chandramukhi planned to stop the engagement. The only way to stop Chandramukhi is to make her believe she killed Vettaiyan on Durgashtami since Saravanan impersonated Vettaiyan and disrupted one of the ''pujas'' conducted by the exorcist Ramachandra Acharya by conversing with Chandramukhi to know its wish. Before carrying out his plan, Saravanan asks Senthil to trigger Ganga to see for himself whether she turns into Chandramukhi or not. When Senthil does so, she turns into Chandramukhi, which shocks him. A worried Senthil shouts at Ganga, turning her back to normal. Akhilandeshwari overhears Saravanan's idea of self-sacrifice and apologises to him. On Durgashtami, in the dance hall, the family and Ramachandra Acharya allow Chandramukhi to burn Saravanan alive. Ramachandra Acharya then blows smoke and ash on Ganga's face when she is given a torch to burn Saravanan. Senthil then opens a trapdoor to let Saravanan escape, and an effigy of Vettaiyan gets burnt instead. Convinced that Vettaiyan is dead, Chandramukhi leaves Ganga's body, curing her. The two families are reunited after 30 years, Saravanan and Durga fall in love, and the couple Swarna and Murugesan become parents after eight years of marriage.


Cast

* Rajinikanth as Dr. Saravanan / Vettaiyan Raja * Jyothika as Ganga Senthilnathan / Chandramukhi *
Prabhu ''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/ Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appen ...
as Senthilnathan * Vadivelu as Murugesan * Nayanthara as Durga * Nassar as Kandaswamy * Vineeth as Viswanathan / Gunasekaran * Vijayakumar as Durga's grandfather * Sheela as Akhilandeswari * K. R. Vijaya as Kasthuri * Avinash as Ramachandra Acharya * Suvarna Mathew as Swarna Murugesan * Malavika as Priya Viswanathan * Vinaya Prasad as Lakshmi Kandaswamy * Manobala as a fake exorcist * Sonu Sood as Oomaiyan * Thyagu as Kumar * Mohan Raj *
Madhan Bob S. Krishnamoorthy (born 19 October 1953) professionally known as Madhan Bob, is an Indian actor and comedian, appearing in many Tamil films in supporting roles. Madhan Babu is known for his amusing facial expressions, laughter and protruding ey ...
as a car owner * T. P. Gajendran as Senthilnathan's assistant *
Sudha Rani Jayashree, known by her screen name Sudha Rani, is an Indian actress, voice artist and a former model. She has primarily worked in Kannada films.she also acted in a few Telugu, Tulu and Malayalam films. At the age of three, Rani was chosen a ...
as Ganga's mother * Sujibala as Kandaswamy's youngest daughter * Unnikrishnan Namboothiri as the temple priest (uncredited) *
Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji G ...
as Senthilnathan's father (uncredited, only shown in photo) * Praharshitha as Bommi Director
P. Vasu Vasudevan Peethambharan, known professionally as P Vasu, is an Indian director, writer and actor who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam language films. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 64 films. ...
, producer Ramkumar Ganesan and Raj Bahaddur make guest appearances in the song "Devuda Devuda".


Production


Development

During the success meet of '' Mannan'' (1992), Rajinikanth announced that he would act in Sivaji Productions' 50th film, which would eventually become ''Chandramukhi''. In September 2004, Rajinikanth congratulated P. Vasu on the success of his
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
film '' Apthamitra'' (2004) and was impressed with the film's screenplay. Vasu then requested to remake the film in Tamil with Rajinikanth, who in turn, called Ramkumar Ganesan and asked him to produce it under Ramkumar's banner, Sivaji Productions. Ramkumar telephoned Vasu, who was offering worship in a temple in Guruvayur at that time, informing him of Rajinikanth's wish to do ''Apthamitra'' in Tamil under his direction. Vasu reworked the script he wrote for ''Apthamitra'' to suit Rajinikanth's style of acting. The film dealt mainly with the concept of dissociative identity disorder, commonly known as "multiple personality disorder" (MPD) or "split personality disorder". Another film titled '' Anniyan'' (2005), which was released two months after ''Chandramukhi'', was also based on the same disorder. Thota Tharani was the film's art director, and also designed the costumes. Regarding the designing of the Vettaiyapuram palace, he watched both ''Apthamitra'' and its source Malayalam film '' Manichitrathazhu'' (1993) to get the basic idea of the film's plot. Vasu wanted Tharani to make the sets more colourful and grand and did not want the realistic look of the original film. Tharani designed Chandramukhi's room and placed a corridor in it, which was quite different from the original and its Kannada remake. The corridor resembled those commonly seen in palaces in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
. Sidney Sladen did additional costume designing in the film.


Casting

Rajinikanth played the roles of Dr. Saravanan and King Vettaiyan. He sported a wig for his role. Both Rajinikanth and P. Vasu discussed every scene featuring the former and added necessary inputs before they were shot. Rajinikanth appears in the beginning of the film unlike ''Manichitrathazhu'', where the same character, played by
Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...
, appears in the middle of the film. Rajinikanth requested Vasu to change the dancer's name from Nagavalli, which was the name of the danseuse in ''Apthamithra'', to Chandramukhi since the latter sounded more royal. While Vishnuvardhan uttered "Haula Haula" in the original, Rajinikanth used "Lakka Lakka", which was based on the mannerisms of a villain in a Marathi play Rajinikanth watched in his childhood days. Ramkumar's brother Prabhu played Senthilnathan, a
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and owner of Ganesh Constructions. Prabhu co-produced the film with Ramkumar. For the roles of Ganga and Chandramukhi, Soundarya was initially selected to reprise her role from ''Apthamithra'', but her death led the director to choose Simran and he shaped the character to suit her. In November 2004, Simran refused to do the project, as her role required a lot of dancing and cited her pregnancy at that time as another main reason for her refusal. Aishwarya Rai was offered the role but she declined the offer due to schedule conflicts. Sadha and Reema Sen were also considered as replacements. The role finally went to Jyothika, who allotted 50 days of her schedule. Vasu wanted her to perform her scenes in a manner different from that of
Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...
in ''Manichitrathazhu'', enacting the scenes himself before they were shot featuring Jyothika. Nayanthara was selected to portray the role of Durga after Vasu was impressed with her performance in the Malayalam film '' Manassinakkare'' (2003). Vadivelu portrayed the comic role of Murugesan. Rajinikanth, at the film's 200th day theatrical run celebration function, said that it was he who recommended Vadivelu to Vasu for the role and had asked Ramkumar to get Vadivelu's dates before planning the filming schedules. Sheela played Akhilandeswari, the intimidating older sister of Kandaswamy ( Nassar) and Murugesan. When Sheela was signed on for the role, she was requested by the producers not to divulge details about her role to the media.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
commenced on 24 October 2004 with a '' puja'' ceremony for the
muhurat shot In the Indian film industry, the muhurat shot or muhurtam shot is the first shot (or take) of a film marking the commencement of the principal photography. It is preceded by a pooja (religious rites). Muhurtam is a word from the Rig Veda and me ...
at Annai Illam, the residence of
Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji G ...
. Ramkumar Ganesan said the filming would be finished by 15 February 2005, giving the crew two months to complete the post-production work, including
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
. The first shooting schedule began two days later with a fight scene choreographed by Thalapathy Dinesh and filmed at Ramavaram in Chennai. More than 25
Toyota Qualis The Toyota Kijang is a series of pickup trucks, multi purpose vehicles and light commercial vehicles sold mainly in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and India by Toyota. It was first introduced in Indonesia in 1977 and had become the most popular car in ...
and 30 stunt artists were involved in the fight sequence that featured Rajinikanth. The Vettaiyapuram mansion was erected in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
. The song sequences, one picturised on Rajini alone, two songs in which he appears with the other principal cast members, and the climax song, which was picturised on Jyothika, were filmed in Ramoji Film City. Vasu said the film had taken only 78 days to be completed instead of the planned 120 days. The picturisation of the song "Devuda Devuda" focused on a variety of professions, especially janitors, sewage cleaners, farmers and washer folk. According to Ramji, who helped the production unit look for locations for the song "Konjam Neram", Australia and Russia were the initial choices for filming locations for the song sequence, but Ramkumar Ganesan and Vasu chose Turkey, making ''Chandramukhi'' the first Tamil film to be shot there. The production unit flew to
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
from
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
via
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
on 25 February 2005. The filming of the song was completed after the audio launch. "Konjam Neram" was shot in segments in
Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built i ...
and
Pamukkale Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The area is famous for a carbonate mineral left by the flowing of thermal spring water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, ...
. Shooting in Ephesus took six hours. The segment in Pamukkale was filmed in an amphitheatre in the ancient city of
Hierapolis Hierapolis (; grc, Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in clas ...
, which is located close to Pamukkale. The last segment was shot in the
Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
region, a 10-hour drive by bus from Istanbul. "Raa Raa" was choreographed by Kala and took four days to be completed instead of the planned seven days.


Music

Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People *Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) * Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director * ...
composed the soundtrack album and the background score of ''Chandramukhi''. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks. Vaali,
Yugabharathi Yugabharathi is a Tamil poet and lyricist. His birth name was "Santhanam Desan" and he was known as "Santhanam" by his family and friends. During the early 1990s when he began writing poems for magazines he started using the pen name "Yugabharat ...
, Pa. Vijay,
Na. Muthukumar Nagarajan Muthukumar (12 July 1975 – 14 August 2016) was a Tamil poet, lyricist, and author. Best known for his Tamil language film songs, he received the most Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist in Tamil and was a two-time recipient of the Nat ...
and
Bhuvana Chandra Bhuvana Chandra is an Indian lyricist, renowned for his work in the Telugu cinema. He served in the Indian Air Force for 18 years before turning into a lyricist. He penned lyrics for more than 2000 songs. He also wrote more than 100 stories, a no ...
wrote the lyrics. The track "Raa Raa" was based on the ''Surya'' raaga, which is also known as the ''Sallabham'' raaga.
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
was engaged to sing a song for the film and to attend the film's audio launch. The audio rights for the film were sold to Sanjay Wadhwa of AnAK audio, later known as AP International for 11 million.
Tata Indicom Tata Tele Business Services Limited (TTBSL), formally known as Tata Tele Services Limited (TTSL), is an Indian broadband, telecommunications and cloud service provider based in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group, an Indian conglome ...
and Sunfeast Biscuits were the sponsors for the audio launch and marketing. The album was released on 5 March 2005 at the
Taj Connemara Taj Connemara, Chennai is a five-star hotel in Chennai, India. It is a heritage hotel in Chennai. Classified under the Taj Group's business hotels section, the 127-year-old hotel is considered the oldest hotel in the city. History The prope ...
hotel in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. An overseas audio launch took place the next day in Malaysia. At the Music World shop in Chennai, 437 cassettes and 227 compact discs were sold on the first day of its stock release. The cassettes were priced at 45 each and CD's at 99 each. The original soundtrack of the film and a
video CD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
titled "The making of Chandramukhi", were released on 27 September 2005 in Chennai. The film's background score was released as a separate album. The album received positive reviews from critics. Siddhu Warrier of
Rediff Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
said that "Devuda Devuda" "finds S. P. Balasubramanian in top form". He called "Konjam Neram" "melodious in a forgettable kind of way", "Athinthom" a "soft, melodious song", "Kokku Para Para" as "insipid", "Raa Raa" "a rather listenable track", and said "Annonda Pattu" is "vintage Rajni, and gets your feet tapping. One can almost picture Rajni brandishing his trademark cigarette and sunglasses as he gyrates to the beat. If one is a die-hard Rajni fan, then one is likely to go dancing to this." Singer Charulatha Mani, writing for ''The Hindu'' called the song "Konjam Neram", which was based on the Sriranjani raga, an "attractive take on the raga" and said the song "is contemporary in feel and traditional at the roots".


Release

The film was released on 14 April 2005, a Tamil New Year's Day release, alongside Kamal Haasan-starrer ''
Mumbai Xpress ''Mumbai Xpress'' is a 2005 Indian bilingual black comedy film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and produced by Kamal Haasan. It stars Kamal Haasan himself in the lead role alongside Manisha Koirala. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, w ...
'' and Vijay-starrer '' Sachein''. ''Chandramukhi'' was released in 37 theatres in Malaysia, 15 in Europe, nine in Sri Lanka, seven in the United States, four each in Canada and the
Persian Gulf countries The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
and two each in Australia and Singapore. The film was released with 23 prints in
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbat ...
, 12 more than Rajinikanth's '' Padayappa'' (1999). ''Chandramukhi'' was screened at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival in Japan on 23 October 2005 and 28 October 2005 as part of the 'Winds of Asia' section. It was the first public screening of the film in Japan. It was met with positive response from audiences there. The film opened the 7th IIFA Awards Film Festival held at the
Dubai International Convention Centre The Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre was built in 1979 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The complex comprises the original 39-story office tower, the ...
in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
, United Arab Emirates, becoming the first South Indian film to open the Film Festival. In November 2011, it was screened at the International Tamil Film Festival held in Uglich, Russia alongside '' Thillana Mohanambal'' (1968), '' Sivaji: The Boss'' (2007), '' Angadi Theru'' (2010), '' Boss Engira Bhaskaran'' (2010), '' Thenmerku Paruvakaatru'' (2010) and '' Ko'' (2011). Though the film was a remake, Madhu Muttam, who wrote the story for ''Manichithrathazhu'', was not mentioned in either the opening or closing credits. Instead, the story was credited to the director P. Vasu. Vasu defended himself by stating the script was not a scene-by-scene remake of the original and that only the basic plot was used.


Marketing

The producers entered into a business dealing with
Tata Indicom Tata Tele Business Services Limited (TTBSL), formally known as Tata Tele Services Limited (TTSL), is an Indian broadband, telecommunications and cloud service provider based in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group, an Indian conglome ...
to promote the film; ringtones of the songs from the film's soundtrack and special screensavers were issued. Sunfeast Biscuits also helped in the film's promotion; They launched special merchandise which consists of cards, featuring Rajinikanth and some stills of ''Chandramukhi''. Giant cutouts of Rajinikanth and movie release posters were posted all over the state as a run-up for the release. The promotional campaign started in early March 2005 and continued mid-May that year. The film was screened in eight city theatres in Chennai. The theatrical rights of the film in the
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbat ...
and Nilgiris districts combined were sold to local theatre owners Tirupur Balu and Seenu for .


Home media

The film's original negative was damaged because of poor care and ill treatment. AP International started a restoration project, which scanned the film frame-by-frame in a 2K workflow. They were able to remove all wear and tear and retain the natural film grain. This restored version was released on 2 August 2012 on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
format. The satellite rights of the film is sold to Sun TV.


Reception


Critical response

Writing for ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...
'', Malathi Rangarajan said, "As you watch the film you cannot but admire the ingenuity of writer-director P. Vasu in choosing a story that is bound to sell and at the same time helping Rajini maintain his image of an invincible hero", before concluding that, "The 'Mannan' team proves a winner again". Another critic from ''The Hindu'',
Sudhish Kamath Sudhish Kamath is an Indian film critic working with the daily newspaper ''The Hindu'' and also an Independent filmmaker. He started working as a Chief reporter with a tabloid called Metro Ads in 1995. Then, from 1997, he worked for A.M.Plus, t ...
, said Rajinikanth is "at his vintage best". A reviewer from ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...
'' called the film "Entertaining, stylish, respectful of ritual, and always massively larger than life". Arun Ram of ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...
'' said, "With ''Chandramukhi'', Rajnikant revives his fading career and fortunes of Tamil cinema". G. Ulaganathan, writing for the ''
Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Print ...
'' praised the chemistry between Rajinikanth and Vadivelu, saying "Rajinikanth is back in full form, comedy comes naturally to him and he finds an able ally in Vadivelu. Some of the best scenes in the movie are when both are together." Tamil magazine '' Ananda Vikatan'' said in its review, "Rajni's films normally revolve around him but in this case, Rajni is in a script which goes around several people ... Rajni as Vettaiyan is the highlight of the film ... After many years, Rajni has shown that he does not confine to his personality cage through this film." and gave the film 40 marks out of 100. The
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
reviewer wrote that ''Chandramukhi'' was simply "a remake of P. Vasu's ''Apthamitra'' from Kannada with some additional songs, fights and comedy scenes thrown in to further boost the superstar's image" but like Ulaganathan, commended the comedy scenes of Rajinikanth and Vadivelu, terming them the film's highlight. A. Ganesh Nadar of Rediff said the film would become "a certain hit" and," e star will be happy, his fans will be happy and producer Prabhu will giggle all the way to the bank". V. Gangadhar of '' The Tribune'' wrote, "As in all Rajni films, ''Chandramukhi'' is a one-star attraction and Rajni plays to the gallery, There are no political messages in the film and that should come as some relief. With Nayan Tara and Jyotika in the female leads, there is plenty of glamour in the film. But the message is clear, King Rajni is back. His legion of fans can not ask for more." Karthiga Rukmanykanthan writing for '' Daily News Sri Lanka'' said, " ... the long anticipated delight ''Chandramukhi'' has made itself the box-office hit of the year". Grady Hendrix of '' Slate'' appreciated Rajinikanth's characterisation in the film, calling the character, Saravanan's ability to read minds "well-trained" before concluding, "Rajinikanth's movies are crammed with comedy, action, and musical numbers and they take great delight in kicking narrative logic in the face."


Box office

''Chandramukhi'' was a box office success, selling 20 million tickets worldwide and earning 150 million in salary and profit share for Rajinikanth. The film's distributors made a 20 per cent profit over the 25 million for which they bought the rights to the film. Its 365th day was celebrated at Sivaji Ganesan's family-owned Shanthi Theatre in Chennai; the celebrations were organised by
Life Insurance Corporation of India Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian central public sector undertaking headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The Life Insurance Corporation ...
. The film's 804th day celebration function was held at Kamaraj Arangam in Chennai on 25 June 2007. The then
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the  Indian state of  Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the  Constitution of India, the  governor is a state's '' de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests w ...
,
M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...
, director K. Balachander, film producer and owner of AVM Productions M. Saravanan, Kamal Haasan and
Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Fem ...
attended the function. Karunanidhi presented the "
Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...
" sword to the film's cast and crew, and awards were given to everyone involved in the film.


India

''Chandramukhi'' grossed 8.4 million in 11 days in eight screens in Chennai. In the Santham screen of
Sathyam Cinemas SPI Cinemas is an Indian multiplex chain originally owned by the SPI Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The company is often lauded for its premium quality and inexpensive pricing. Its theatres, primarily Sathyam, are often used by ...
, around 22,000 tickets were sold for the first 10 days of its release. ''Chandramukhi'' grossed 30 million in
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbat ...
, beating the 24.5 million record set there by ''Padayappa''. ''Chandramukhi'' received 60 million as Minimum Guarantee (MG) from theatres in North Arcot, South Arcot and
Chengalpattu Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away ...
districts collectively. It was also a hit in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
where it grossed 711,545 in four days, doing better than the
Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...
starrer ''
Chandrolsavam ''Chandrolsavam'' is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film written and directed by Ranjith. It stars Mohanlal with Meena, Ranjith, Cochin Haneefa, VK Sreeraman, Santhosh and Jagadish in supporting roles. V. Dakshinamoorthy make ...
'', which also released on 14 April 2005, but grossed 523,340 during the same period of time. The film's theatrical run lasted 890 days at Shanthi Theatre, beating the 62-year record set by the 1944 film '' Haridas'', which ran for 784 days at the Broadway theatre, also in Chennai. According to Krishna Gopalan of '' Business Today'', the film grossed 750 million (US$16.6 million in 2005) in its lifetime run. ''
The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
'' estimates that it grossed 650 million (US$14.3 million in 2005). It was the longest running South Indian film, until surpassed by the Telugu film ''
Magadheera ''Magadheera'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Allu Aravind's Geetha Arts, on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev ...
'' (2009), which completed a theatrical run of 1000 days in April 2012.


Overseas

''Chandramukhi'' was screened in Tokyo in October 2005 to packed houses. ''Chandramukhi'' completed a 100-day theatrical run in South Africa. It collectively earned 43 million in Malaysia, UAE and the US during the first month of its theatrical run. The film collected 62.78 million (US$1.4 million in 2005) in Malaysia; it was the only Indian film to feature in that country's top ten grossing films of the year.


Accolades

The awards for the film mainly went to Vadivelu and Jyothika for their performances. Rajinikanth won a
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...
for their roles. In an interview with ''The Hindu'', Binny Krishnakumar said:


Scientific accuracy

In an August 2005 seminar on revisiting psychiatric disorders which centred around ''Chandramukhi'' and ''Anniyan'', psychiatrist Asokan noted that there were many logical faults in both films; Vasu said he knew nothing about psychiatric disorders. Writing for ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television ...
'' in 2014, Kumuthan Maderya criticised Vasu for confusing "spirit possession with Dissociative Identity Disorder, conflating both to create pop psychology" and "Ostensibly fusing modern science and demonology for the sake of intellectualism".


Legacy

Split personality disorder became well known after the film's release. MIOT hospital, in a blog description of the syndrome, called it ''The Chandramukhi syndrome''. Film artist, trainer and film-maker L. Satyanand said ''Chandramukhi'' is a classic example of the subgenre "horror of the demonic" and of "brilliance", ranking it alongside ''
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled '' The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Written while Irving was living abroad in Bi ...
'' and '' Psycho'' (1960). The film became a trendsetter for later horror films such as the '' Muni'' series, ''
Yavarum Nalam ''Yavarum Nalam'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language horror film written and directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra. Produced by Suresh Balaje and George Pius, the film was simultaneously filmed and released ...
'' (2009), '' Eeram'' (2009), ''
Pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...
'' (2012), '' Yaamirukka Bayamey'' (2014), '' Aranmanai'' (2014), '' Darling'' (2015) and '' Demonte Colony'' (2015). Sivaji Productions joined Galatta Media and
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
for an online auction of the film's memorabilia, becoming the first South Indian film to auction film merchandise. Ramkumar Ganesan said the proceeds of the auction would be given to the Sivaji Prabhu Charity Trust and that 300,000 (US$6,650 in 2005) would be given to Papanchatram Middle School. Sophie Atphthavel from France bought Rajinikanth's sunglasses, which he sported in the film, for 25,000 (US$554 in 2005). According to Girish Ramdas, chief operating officer of Galatta Media, all the items had certificates of authenticity signed by the film's producers. Bidding for the items ranged between 10,000 (US$222 in 2005) and 20,000 (US$444 in 2005). In a statement by eBay, the articles made available for bidding were Rajinikanth's blue shirt worn in the song "Devuda Devuda", Jyothika's saree worn for the climax scenes, the peach-coloured saree worn by Nayanthara in the song "Konja Neram", and the Vettaiyan Raja costume and ornaments worn on set by Rajinikanth. Rajinikanth's dress, which he wore in "Devuda Devuda", was sold for 25,000 (US$554 in 2005). His Vettaiyan costume and ornament set were sold for 32,000 (US$709 in 2005). The saree worn by Nayanthara in the song "Kokku Para Para" was also auctioned.


In popular culture

Some scenes, lines and expressions from the film, such as the "Lakka Lakka..." sound that Rajnikanth's character makes, became very popular, especially with children. Vadivelu's expressions and scenesespecially those with Rajinikanthand lines including "''Maapu?...Vachittandaa Aapu!!!''" (Dude?...He screwed me up!!!), also became popular. A line spoken by Rajinikanth to Prabhu, ''Naan gunda irundha nalla irukkadhu...nee elachcha nalla irukkadhu'', which translates into "I won't look good if I put on weight...but you won't look good if you have reduced weight" evoked a lot of laughter among audiences. Prabhu's line, " Enna kodumai Saravanan idhu?", which means "What atrocity is this, Saravanan?" became popular. It is usually used to express irony or surprise. The line was often parodied by actor Premgi Amaren, who altered it slightly to "''Enna Kodumai, Sir Idhu?''" and used it in all of his featured films, subsequently becoming the actor's catchphrase. Prabhu said in an interview with Malathi Rangarajan of ''The Hindu'' that:


Parodies

''Chandramukhi'' was parodied in various films. In a comedy scene from ''
Englishkaran ''Englishkaran'' () is a 2005 Tamil-language comedy film. It stars Sathyaraj and Namitha, while Vadivelu, Madhumitha Siva Balaji, and Santhanam play supporting roles. "Englishkaran" with the tagline "Tamizh Vazhga" is a film from the hit combo ...
'' (2005), Theeppori Thirumugam ( Vadivelu) invents an idea to frighten Thamizharasu ( Sathyaraj) but the ruse backfires on him as he witnesses Thamizharasu in a garb similar to that of Chandramukhi's. In a scene from ''
Thalaimagan ''Thalaimagan'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action film starring Sarath Kumar, Nayanthara, Vadivelu and Vijayakumar. This film marked Sarath Kumar's directorial debut. It was the 100th film of Sarath Kumar. The film received mixed to ne ...
'' (2006), Erimalai (Vadivelu), after entering an old abandoned bungalow, gets frightened when he hears the "Lakka Lakka" sound, and says ''Yaaro Telugula Koopuddrangga!'' ( "Someone is calling in Telugu!"). In ''
Vallavan ''Vallavan'' ( ''Expert'') is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Silambarasan, starring himself as the titular character along with Reema Sen and Nayanthara as lead heoines whilst Sandhya, Santhanam, Prem ...
'' (2006), Vallavan ( Silambarasan) is seen singing "Konja Neram" to Swapna (Nayanthara). In '' Sivaji'' (2007), Thamizhselvi ( Shriya Saran) would be seen dancing for the song "Raa Raa", Sivaji (Rajinikanth) and Arivu ( Vivek) are seen uttering the last lines of the song.
Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American customs ...
who appears as a police inspector, utters the sound "Lakka Lakka" which Rajinikanth makes in ''Chandramukhi''. Rajinikanth and Nayanthara's characters act in a
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
titled ''Chandramukhi 2'' in a scene from ''
Kuselan ''Kuselan'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language dramedy film directed by P. Vasu. An official remake of the Malayalam film '' Kadha Parayumbol'' (2007), it was produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages. ''Kus ...
'' (2008), which P. Vasu also directed. In ''
Thamizh Padam ''Thamizh Padam'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language parody film written and directed by C. S. Amudhan in his directorial debut. The film stars Shiva and Disha Pandey. Thamizh Padam was the first full-length spoof in Tamil cinema. It parodies ...
'' (2010), Shiva (
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...
) would be seen imitating the film's introduction scene by stretching his leg when it is revealed that Siva has a split seam in his pants.
Sundar C. Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1966), known professionally as Sundar C., is an Indian film director, actor and producer. He has directed over 34 films in Tamil and acted in 17 movies as the protagonist. His notable films include '' Ul ...
's role in the film '' Aranmanai'' (2014) was inspired by Rajinikanth's role in ''Chandramukhi''. ''Chandramukhi'' was parodied in the Star Vijay comedy series
Lollu Sabha Lollu Sabha is a 2003-2008 Indian Tamil-language comedy series written by Rambhala and starring Lollu Sabha Manohar, Swaminathan, Jeeva, Balaji, Santhanam and Jangiri Madhumitha. It was broadcast on STAR Vijay with 156 episodes. Each e ...
, in an episode named ''Sappamookki''.


Other versions

''Chandramukhi'' was later dubbed in
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
,
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...
and Turkish with the same title and in
Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...
under the title ''Chandramukhi Ke Hunkaar''. It is the first Tamil film to be dubbed into German. It was released in Germany under the title, ''Der Geisterjäger'' (). Despite the release of '' Bhool Bhulaiyaa'' (2007), ''Chandramukhi's''
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
dubbed version was released on 29 February 2008 by Dilip Dhanwani, owner of the production house Royal Film Company. The Hindi version was released in collaboration with producer A. M. Rathnam.


Sequels

A
standalone sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in t ...
to ''Chandramukhi'' titled '' Nagavalli'' was made in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...
. The sequel was also directed by P. Vasu, and was released on 16 December 2010. In April 2020, a Tamil sequel '' Chandramukhi 2'' to be produced by Sun Pictures was announced, but taken over by Lyca Productions by June 2022. Vasu will return as director while confirmed cast members include Kangana Ranaut, Raghava Lawrence and Vadivelu. Principal photography began in mid-July 2022.


See also

*
Muni (film series) ''Muni'' is an Indian horror comedy film series created and directed by Raghava Lawrence who also appeared in lead roles in all the films. The first film is ''Muni'' (2007) and the second is '' Muni 2: Kanchana'' (2011) with the third installme ...
*
Aranmanai (film series) Aranmanai () is an Indian horror comedy film series directed by Sundar C. that consists of the Tamil-language films, ''Aranmanai'' (2014), ''Aranmanai 2'' (2016) and ''Aranmanai 3'' (2021). where Sundar C., Hansika , Manobala and Chithra Laks ...
* List of ghost films


Notes


References


Sources

* *


External links


Official website
* {{good article 2000s ghost films 2000s supernatural horror films 2000s Tamil-language films 2005 comedy horror films 2005 films Films about dissociative identity disorder Films about exorcism Films about telekinesis Films directed by P. Vasu Films scored by Vidyasagar Films set in ancient India Films set in Andhra Pradesh Films shot in Hyderabad, India Films shot in Karnataka Films shot in Kochi Films shot in Turkey Indian comedy horror films Indian ghost films Indian horror film remakes Indian nonlinear narrative films Indian supernatural horror films Religious horror films Tamil remakes of Kannada films Tamil remakes of Malayalam films