Kishkindhapuri is produced by Sahu Garapati of Shine Screens. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.
Plot:
The story is set in a small town named Kishkindhapuri. Raghava (Bellamkonda Sreenivas) and Mythili (Anupama Parameswaran) are associated with a Ghost Walking Tour company, making up false narratives about ghosts that never existed. In a shocker for them, they are asked to do their next tour at a dilapidated bungalow where Suvarna Maya Radio Station was run three decades ago. Legend has it that the FM station's six founders were brutally killed there. Since then, nobody has dared to venture into its premises. And those who were foolish enough to go there, never survived a few days after their return. The Raghava-Mythili tour with six gullible tourists turns into a nightmarish experience. Raghava, who can never put others in danger, resolves to unravel the mystery behind the Survarna Maya.
Post-Mortem:
Kishkindhapuri, directed by Koushik Pegallapati, is least interested in emotional value. This becomes evident when it chooses comedians like Hyper Aadi, Bhadram and Srikanth Iyengar as tourists who are in danger of being hunted down by the blood-curdling ghost, the film's spiteful antagonist. Now, had these characters been played by actors with no baggage or image, the film would have been moody right from the word go. Take the case of Tanikella Bharani's casting. At first, it looks like a conventional choice. But a twist makes the casting choice seem smart. Smart casting is half the battle won if you are setting out to make a spooky horror-thriller. If your conceit is a horror-comedy in the garb of a thriller, that's a different story.
The ghost has so much personality. It's not your conventional revenge-seeking bio-entity, but an apparition with a sentimental bent of mind. It has a moving backstory, too. Yet, in the way it chases down its targets, there is little to no novelty. You don't feel for its helpless state of being. It makes its own random rules (like killing its targets in a particular order), something others can figure out in no time. And yet, it doesn't bend those rules to pull off a surprise.
There are too many coincidences to help Raghava become the hero of the story, the saviour of a kid, and the heartbeat of his girlfriend. Had a clever screenplay been woven to achieve the results these coincidences bring out, Kishkindhapuri would have been a really above-average endeavour. The hero, right in his introduction scene, does something that gives him access to something. And this something stays with him to strengthen him at the most difficult times. This is such an old-fashioned way of narrating a story.
The love track is a cliche. It's also bizarre that two good-natured individuals don't mind scaring others by telling fabricated ghost stories and then justify it by saying, "We are selfless individuals who scare people to help them overcome fear."
Many convenient turns of events (like the consequences of breaking a mirror) make the screenplay feel contrived. Makrand Paranjpe's character is chanced upon at the nick of the moment. And this chance happenstance is because Raghava chanced upon a clue leading him to a gas station. Many scenes in the second hour are more of an investigation track rather than a series of jump scares.
Chinmay Salaskar's cinematography is basic. Niranjan Devaramane lets the run-time not exceed 125 minutes. Chaitan Bharadwaj’s background score is average. The first song, a romantic duet, can be trimmed down.
Closing Remarks:
Kishkindhapuri presents an interesting premise with a ghost that has a sentimental backstory and a talented cast, but it's held back by a predictable and contrived screenplay. The film's attempt to blend horror with comedy falls flat due to uninspired character choices and a lack of emotional depth.
