Dulquer Salmaan's Charlie review: A crazy girl's search for a mysterious man

Dulquer Salmaan, the young heartthrob of the South Indian entertainment industry, had a dream run in 2015 as his movies "100 days of Love" and "OK Kanmani" did good business at the box office.

His third movie of the year created a lot of hype, as it marked the comeback of "Bangalore Days" couple Arjun and RJ Sarah. The movie also raised the expectations of the audience as it is the second outing of director Martin Prakkat and Dulquer Salmaan after the hit movie "ABCD". But, has it lived up to the expectations of the audience?

Dulquer and Parvathy's starrer, directed by Martin Prakkat, revolves around the story of a mysterious young man, who catches the fancy of a crazy girl for leading a carefree life and for being a favourite among everyone he meets.

Plot

Tessa (Parvathy), who doesn't want to get married, runs away from home and stays in a house that was previously owned by Charlie (Dulquer Salmaan). She finds a comic strip sketched by Charlie that tells the story of a thief and Charlie. Since the comic strip ends abruptly, Tessa is tempted to find its conclusion and to know more about the person behind the sketch. On her journey to meet Charlie, she comes across many people, who explain to her how the young lad has influenced each of their lives.

Casting

Dulquer's flawless acting is one of the major highlights of the movie, which proves that he is getting better and better with each film. He portrays the role of a carefree man, who loves travelling and bringing a smile on the faces of everyone he meets.

Parvathy has now become one of the bankable actresses in Malayalam and the transformation that we see in her characters in each of the new releases is worth appreciating.. After seeing her traditional look with long hair in "Ennu Ninte Moideen", she has smoothly carried off the role of the crazy young girl Tessa in "Charlie", who might become a trendsetter among teenage girls.

Technical aspects

Jomon T John, who is one of the promising cinematographers of the industry, has once again proved his skills behind the camera by capturing the scenic beauty of Kerala in the best possible way. The climax scene, which was shot during the popular Thrissur Pooram, needs a special mention as shooting during the actual festival time is a tough task.

Music

Gopi Sunder's background score and music have blended well with the moods of the movie. Even though the movie has six songs, "Pularikale", "Sundari Penne" and "Puthumazha" are the only ones that stood out among them.

Costumes

Sameera Saneesh's costumes are one of the plus points of the movie and we won't be surprised if we soon see youngsters wearing gypsy hippie shirts, trousers and different sets of sandals on each foot, as Charlie and Tessa have already become trendsetters among the teenagers. Tessa's costumes and accessories are kind of new to the industry. Sameera's experimentation with new fashion for the characters in "Charlie" makes it different from other movies in recent times.

Drawbacks

Due to the presence of many characters, we are left with some unanswered questions as the movie doesn't have a proper storyline. The cameo appearances of Joy Mathew and Ranji Panicker, who are part of many hit movies these days, does not really do much for the movie. Overall, "Charlie" is a movie made to show the stardom of Dulquer or to be precise, to highlight the good deeds of character Charlie from the perspective of many people.

Since the movie lacks a meaty storyline, some of the scenes  lagged without proper continuation. A crisp editing could have made the movie better.

"Charlie" is been targeted at the new generation, as the concept of the movie seems to be not acceptable for people of all generations. It was evident from the reactions of some of the family audience who left the theatre looking bored and confused. Compared to many new gen movies, "Charlie" doesn't promote anything bad and that is worth a mention.

Final words: If you are a person who loves to lead a carefree life, then "Charlie" will impress you. But if you are looking for a proper romantic family entertainer, the film might disappoint you as it doesn't have a strong storyline and romance is not the central idea of the movie. "Charlie" is a watchable movie if you go to theatre without much expectations.