Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
Bhaagamathie

Anushka Shetty‘s much-awaited Bhaagamathie is finally out in the theatres and it seems like another film with a dilapidated house, a ghost, a hapless young woman, and a gut-wrenching backstory. But the director Ashok has carried it all out in such a way that even with a familiar plot a more engaging ride could be looked forward to.

Bhaagamathie is about a woman who is imprisoned in a haunted house where she is interrogated by law enforcers investigating a politician they suspect of corruption.

The various twists that come throughout the film are good. Some twists and turns can be expected easily; some are not so easy to guess. The slow familiar start is made up for by a terrific scene right before the interval which gets the audience going crazy. The pre-climax where the main twist is revealed elevates the film quite nicely.

As expected Anushka is the highlight of the movie and makes up for the minor chinks in the armor. She clearly steals the shows with her on and off characters as both Bhaagamathie and Chanchala with this being one of her best performances.

The real triumph of the movie owes a lot to the technicians, the narration and how well it was staged. Production designer Ravinder and music director Thaman works were impossible to overlook. The music makes every inch of the movie something to be on the edge of the seat for. Apart from the camera work and artwork, it is Thaman’s background score that is a major asset. He has elevated the movie in many places.

The film largely has Malayalam actors in the cast who have carried out their performances well with Jayaram and Asha bringing out the various shades of their roles that shine in their respective ways. Unni Mukundan as Anushka’s partner is okay.

A typical revenge drama, Bhaagamathie had pinches of Drishyam and seemed as though an inspiration was taken from the hit Malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu. Even with the familiarities of the Telugu films clinging on, it has been directed and narrated in a way that keeps it going and showed that with an existing trope of horror-thriller an entirely new presentation can be made in a different manner.

By anoop