Aravind Kaushik, known for films like Nam Areal Ond Dina, Thuglak, and Huliraaya, had wanted to experiment with some fresh fear in his latest film Shardhoola, which has been in the pipeline for a long time now. The horror-thriller, which is out after a delay of about three years, tries to debate the existence of ghosts.

Cast: Kriuthika Ravindra, Raviteja, Chethan Chandra, Aishwarya Prasad
Director: Aravind Kaushik

Horror films are indeed a work of intrinsic art. The genre is inextricably associated with fear, darkness, creepiness, and trauma, and trying to bring all elements together convincingly without confusing the audience is a task. However, Aravind Kaushik, unfortunately, fails to do so.

The film tells the story of four friends, Deeksha (Kruthika Ravindra ), Darshan (Raviteja), Sunny (Chetan Chandran), and Sakshi (Aishwarya Prasad), who are on a vacation ahead of beginning their start-up company. Like many horror films, things take a dark turn when they encounter a strange place during their trip. The film scores big in the technical aspects of the movie like the excellent cinematography and equally decent sound design. However, the director fails to do the same with the script. He is unable to come out of the puzzles that he creates for himself, which are amateurish and disappointing in the first place.

With numerous unanswered questions, Shardhoola tests one's patience and is not remotely thrilling or scary. The story, which could have been wrapped up in over an hour, is stretched with redundant sequences. On top of that, the dots getting connected in the end with a social message makes little sense. The director also fails miserably in bringing out some genuine performances from the actors, which further disinterests the audience for most of the film's runtime. With a jarring plot, somber atmosphere, and poor performances, Shardhoola does not spook the viewer and makes it difficult to sit through.