Title: Jatadhara
Director: Venkat Kalyan, Abhishek Jaiswal
Cast: Sudheer Babu, Sonakshi Sinha, Divya Khossla (special appearance), Shilpa Shirodkar, Indira Krishna, Ravi Prakash
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 1.5 stars
The film starts off with an AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated flashback of events which leads us to the introduction of ‘Dhana Pishaachini’ (Sonakshi Sinha, presented like never before) and ‘Pishaacha Bandhan’. Amid all this, the story leads us to the introduction of the businessman Shiva (Sudheer Babu), who is also a never-say-never ghost hunter by choice.
Shiva, who gets a recurring dream of a lady wanting to kill an infant with a knife, sets on a mission to decode it while unearthing myths associated with ghosts and demons.
A chance meeting with the archaeological researcher’s character played by Divya Khossla (special appearance) gets translated into their romance. Eventually, she also becomes Shiva’s partner in crime in ghost hunting. Due to a certain unexpected turn of events, Shiva finds himself a few explanations away from decoding his haunting dream.
Shiva’s parents drop a truth bombshell on him about his real parents. Shiva gets the shock of his life when he discovers something extremely unexpected about his parents. Around this time, Shiva also gets entrusted with the uphill responsibility of overpowering ‘Dhana Pishaachini’ from casting her evil spell!
What’s the startling truth Shiva discovers about his parents and does he manage to overpower ‘Dhana Pishaachini’ are some of the mysteries which unravel in the rest of the film.
Jatadhara Review: Actors’ performance
The film is out and out a Sudheer Babu film. The way Rakesh Roshan had left no stone unturned in flexing all of Hrithik Roshan’s talent in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, Jatadhara does the same for Sudheer Babu. Right from his emotional moments, flexing his physique, dance, romance, action, drama… the film has it all… but in disproportion, which is what spoils the beauty. Even though Sudheer Babu looks sincere in his efforts, the film’s convoluted narrative fails it.
While Divya Khossla is in a special appearance, she has absolutely nothing to offer. Ditto for a seasoned actress like Shilpa Shirodkar as well. It really feels sad to see talent like theirs being wasted.
Another talent that has been not utilised to the fullest potential is that of Sonakshi Sinha. Even though she has never been presented so beautifully in any of her earlier films, ironically… it's her character that takes away the beauty from it! The only thing that you would remember about her character in the film are for her screechy screams! Rest of the characters carry the film’s narrative forward.
The film has been directed by Venkat Kalyan & Abhishek Jaiswal, who seem to be in a hurry to infuse everything possible to make the narrative gripping and hard hitting. In an attempt to do so, they land up making a mess of the film, which, otherwise could have been handled beautifully. It's a clear case of ‘Two many cooks spoil the plot’! They fail in taming the film’s narrative from going astray.
Except for the Pallo Latke (remix), none of the film’s tracks have any recall value. The film's background score blends itself with the narrative, which adds value to the film. Additionally, the film’s cinematography also helps in gaining a few brownie points. A special mention to the film’s VFX creators, who definitely have walked that extra mile to bring the narrative alive!
The film’s editing is not at all on-point. Two jarring wastages in the film stand in the form of the item song (looks totally thrusted) and the cameo of the film’s producer Shivin Narang! Editing them could have helped the film a bit.
Jatadhara Review: FPJ Verdict
Even though the film may find its audience down south (as it's originally a Telugu film that has been dubbed in Hindi), it looks seemingly difficult for it to make the cut with its Hindi version.
