Kishkindhapuri Review

Bellamkonda Sreenivas is back again in a very short time after Bhairavam with a Horror Thriller movie Kishkindhapuri. Anupama Parameswaran is pairing up with him once again after their successful film Rakshasudu. Koushik Pegallapati is directing this movie after his unconventional debut Chaavu Kaburu Challaga. The movie created some decent buzz in the last few days before release, and the team was successful in grabbing some attention from the audience thanks to its genre. Let’s see if it satisfied or matched the expectations.

Setup:

Raghava (Bellamkonda Sreenivas) and Mythili/Mythu (Anupama Parameswaran) are part of a Ghost Walking Tour company in a town called Kishkindhapuri. They form groups of people interested in ghosts and paranormal activities and take them on tours to haunted places. While most of the places are actually setups with effects and prior arrangements, during an unexpected turn where the place is selected through chits by the customers they end up at a haunted place called ‘Suvarna Maya Radio Station’. What happens at that old, haunted radio station? How does it affect the people who visited? Is it really haunted and does it have paranormal activity? If so, how do they overcome the problem? All these form the rest of the story.

Technicalities:

Cinematography by Chinmay Salaskar is decent. Though at times the lighting feels artificial, it carries the eerie vibe throughout the first half as needed. Art Director Siva Kamesh did a good job in creating the Suvarna Maya Radio Station set. Other locations of the film look artificial, like sets, but they do the job. Editing by Niranjan Devaramane is gripping through the first half. However, the initial part of the second half feels dragged, and towards the end it feels rushed.

Chaitan Bharadwaj’s background score works well. The only romantic song Undipove Nathone feels reused and doesn’t add any impact to the movie proceedings. Other bit songs go along as background fillers. Koushik Pegallapati, who made his debut with a unique concept, once again comes up with a different treatment for a regular horror mystery. The twists are fine, but the horror element is missing in the predictable second half. Screenplay-wise, he did a good job until the first half, but it falters later.

Performances:

Bellamkonda Sreenivas delivers a decent performance as Raghava. The character suits him well and he carried it with ease, though a few over-the-top scenes in the climax could have been avoided. Anupama Parameswaran goes well as Sreenivas’ partner and does a good act in the possessed sequences before the climax. Sandy did well in his surprise role. Hyper Aadi was fun in his limited scenes. Sudarshan and the rest of the cast were adequate.

Positives:
•⁠ ⁠Engaging First Half
•⁠ ⁠Few Twists
•⁠ ⁠Production Design
•⁠ ⁠Background Score

Negatives:
•⁠ ⁠Predictable Second Half
•⁠ ⁠Lack of Strong Conflict
•⁠ ⁠No Emotional Highs
•⁠ ⁠No Proper Horror Elements

Analysis:

The makers promoted Kishkindhapuri as a very serious Horror Mystery that will “scare you.” But the scare factor is lacking in the movie. Though the first half is engaging, the horror part is lackluster. The second half completely misses that too.

The mystery aspect is very predictable as well, giving a feeling that the movie is done by intermission. The search for the problem and how Sreenivas cracks down the ghost all seem very convenient. For such stories, the thrill or investigative part has to be more captivating. It feels like the director tried to include way too many elements and rushed to present them all. If he had concentrated on one thread properly and connected it emotionally, it would have made a big difference.

The good part is that they did not try to force in unwanted scenes or fillers, and stuck with the story throughout. The production values are strong and the first half sets up an intriguing premise with good atmosphere. Performances from the lead pair also hold the film together to some extent. If only they had made it more engaging, it could have been a great watch.

Overall, Kishkindhapuri serves as a very mediocre horror thriller with a few engaging moments in the first half.

Verdict: Not Scary Enough!

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Tags Kishkindhapuri