Jatadhara Review: Sudheer Babu’s much-eagerly awaited horror drama, Jatadhara, has finally come into the theatres trying hard to blend mythology, a strong dose of the supernatural, and spirituality. Directed by Venkat Kalyan, who co-produce it along with Prerna Arora and Umesh Kumar Bansal, the movie promised an eerie juxtaposition of ghost-busting and divine intervention. Sadly, though, with a tremendously exciting premise, Jatadhara fails to develop on any of the scares and retains any interest in the audience.
The film is about Shiva (Sudheer Babu), who calls himself a ghost hunter and claims to prove that spirits do exist. While on this journey, he finds himself at Rudraya Nagaram, a ghost town where the evil Dhana Pishachi (Sonakshi Sinha) is held captive due to an ancient ritual. When, due to greed, the locals break the seal containing her, hell breaks loose, forcing Shiva to face horror about his own past and family and about the supernatural.
Mythological undertones and the spiritual angle hold promise, but the screenplay loses steam halfway through. From there on, the script begins to meander, plodding on with scenes that revel in their redundancy, slowing the dramatic tension requisite of a good horror film.
Sudheer Babu tries to feel thunderous in his part but is undercut by an equally weak screenplay. Although the emotional scenes do not evoke conviction, the actor’s physical change for the part felt wasted. Sonakshi Sinha had little chance to show herself in a role that is more interesting visually than actually.
Divya Khosla Kumar is a misfit in the cast, while Shilpa Shirodkar manages an effective performance that somewhat salvaged her character. The inconsistency showed by the direction: the first 20 minutes build curiosity, but from then on, the narrative succumbs to predictable tropes and some forced spirituality.
Technically, Jatadhara has deficiencies as far as post-production completion goes. The VFX is below par, while many sequences are too dialogue-driven in building their tension. The background score could have worked much better, but in the end, it did not help with the scares.
An opening extremely well set up, with an intriguing premise.
Shilpa Shirodkar could deliver a nice acting.
Few mythological references being used in a somewhat creative way.
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A weak screenplay and absolutely no emotional connect.
Second half lame and predictable twists.
VFX substandard, bad and rushed post-production.
Sonakshi’s character was wasted.
Never felt the actual horror or thrill.
Despite an eclectic mix of mythology and horror, Jatadhara misses the point of an earnest cinematic experience. Poor storytelling and pacing, plus a lack of emotional depth, spell yet another disappointment for Sudheer Babu.
Rating: 1/5 — A missed opportunity that neither thrills nor terrifies that ends up as another box-office flop in Sudheer Babu’s filmography.
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