The horror comedy Conjuring Kannappan is written and directed by Selvin Rax Xavier in his directorial debut. Sathish and Regina Cassandra head an impressive cast that includes Saranya Ponvannan, Nassar, VTV Ganesh, Redin Kingsley, Anandraj. Jason Shah, Benedict Garret and Hella Stichimair.
Kannappan, played by Sathish, has had a long list of failures in job interviews and has virtually given up hope in finding a job. He spends a lot of time gaming and is hopeful that he would one day find a career closely related to his favourite pastime. One day, he finds a dreamcatcher and accidentally removes a feather from it. This begins a series of events that threaten to forever trap him in another dimension. How he escapes from this forms the rest of the story.
Although the film does not have a perfect screenplay, it certainly provides delightful entertainment. The humour is frequent and includes wit, puns, satire and, of course, slapstick comedy – all of which generate a lot of laughs.
Sathish handles the role brilliantly with a convincing portrayal of Kannappan. Saranya Ponvannan once again shows impeccable timing in her humorous scenes. VTV, not by an measure my favourite actor, is quite impressive in this film while Redin Kingsley rediscovers his comedic charm for the first time since Sivakarthikeyan’s Doctor.
Regina Cassandra is in an unusual role but she plays it to perfection. Nassar once again shows his versatility in his role while Anandraj proves that is equally adept at comedy as he is with villainy.
Yuva’s cinematography plays a major role in creating a brilliant balance between horror and comedy, ably supported by some snappy editing by Pradeep E Raghav.
Conjuring Kannappan has an intriguing story and a relaxed screenplay, allowing the comedy to dominate the horror. It is wholesome entertainment and therefore scores 7 points out of 10.