An overdone spooky drama

Like the World Cup events in games like football and cricket, Raghava Lawrence, the dance master-turned- super hero (who has managed a niche fan following of his own) has come up with his 'Muni' franchise, every four years, beginning from 2007.

His fourth version of the original released 12 years ago- 'Muni 4: Kanchana 3' - has released alongside Nani's much-awaited 'Jersey' this Friday.

Hyping up the thrill and ghost quotient, Lawrence has four heroines – two of them better known ones like Vedhika and Oviya - to prance around him like bimbos, having no other scope to do anything better other than brazen skin show, aimed at keeping the frontbenchers hooked.

He continues to make faces at the camera , like how he has been doing over all his four films in this series, with the unbearable Kovai Sarala on one side and Devadarshini – Sriman duo on the other, hamming to the point of it turning tortuous.

Combining a typical Robin Hood story line with a spooky revenge theme, which is how the franchise has worked, Lawrence clearly panders to the audience in the smaller towns of south India which has often been kind to his ventures.

The standard imagery of whispering aliens with gruesome features, fear-inducing godmen with mumbo jumbo mantras combating the spirits, sexual innuendos and overacting passing off for natural expressions are all present through the 160-odd minute film.

With his super quick moves and trademark steps, Lawrence keeps the audience glued to his screen presence, not even once pretending to live the role of a man who is possessed by not one but two ghosts.

He has everything worked out well in a customised sort of way – which is how his fans would want him to be seen, it looks.

Challenging rational mindsets and throwing caution to the winds with a whimsical storyline which wants the audience to experience the chill time and again in the film, the actor who is also its director has the weight of Sun Pictures behind this latest output.

That said, with such kinds of flicks enjoying a minimum guarantee at the BO, Lawrence stays content and ratchets up the masala components to attain an optimal satisfaction for his kind of an audience. Critics, however, would want to have a different take on his endeavours.