MS Raju is known for his superhit films and has produced several successful movies with stars like Mahesh Babu, Venkatesh, Prabhas, Uday Kiran and Siddharth. He has now stepped away from production and is focusing on direction. His latest film, Agadha, was released this Friday, marking his third outing as a director. This time, he has chosen a horror thriller.
When a film deals with black magic, the supernatural or fantasy, one cannot expect logic in every scene. However, the director needs to engage the audience through his narration. These days, Korean films and web series have become popular, thanks to OTT platforms, and many viewers are also familiar with Korean horror content. Agadha appears to draw inspiration from that space.
Kamakshi Bhaskarla, who has become known for films in this genre following the Polimera franchise, plays the key role in Agadha. Shravan Reddy, Ulka Gupta and Jovika also play important roles. What is Agadha, and how does it affect this family? Here is the story.
Director: MS Raju
Cast: Kamakshi Bhaskarla, Shravan Reddy, Ulka Gupta, Jovika, Vanitha, Bhanu Chander, Shijji and others
The story begins in a dense forest in Chhattisgarh before shifting to a village near the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border. Mahadevi (Kamakshi Bhaskarla) possesses divine powers and uses them to cure people suffering from spiritual possession. She always uses her powers for good and wants to protect people from evil spirits.
Manasa (Sreyarani) and Sanjay (Roshan) want to write about Mahadevi and meet her. During their meeting, she tells them about her background and how she acquired her divine powers. Suddenly, she realises that her family in her village is in trouble and travels there with them.
Mahadevi’s cousin Mahima (Ulka Gupta) commits suicide and warns her uncle (Bhanu Chander) that more spirits could harm other members of the family. What happened to Mahima? What happened to her boyfriend Simha and their friend Babloo (Viva Raghava), who entered a deep forest and got trapped in a cave? Why is Agadha targeting this particular family? How does Mahadevi deal with the spirits possessing the family members and finally solve the mystery?
Before the release, director MS Raju described Agadha as a mystic thriller. Though its thematic elements are not new to Telugu cinema, MS Raju has come up with an interesting title with Agadha. The film starts on an interesting note, with the story beginning in a deep forest before moving into a cave. It then shifts to Mahadevi and her backstory, after which the narration becomes more conventional.
MS Raju does not bring many new ideas to the horror genre and largely relies on familiar tropes. The first half moves along normally with Mahadevi’s background story and her family members in the village. Once she enters the village, Harini’s abnormal behaviour, Mahima’s suicide and the entry of her boyfriend Simha create some interest. However, the flashback portion is predictable and fails to sustain the same curiosity.
When the battle between the divinely supported good and the wicked demons is central to the story, one expects something extraordinary. However, MS Raju narrates these portions in a fairly straightforward manner. There are some interesting clues leading up to the interval, but the second half also has only a few thrilling and scary moments.
Once Simha enters the cave, the film creates some curiosity about what will happen next, but the sequence does not reach its full potential. Compared to the first half, the second half is definitely better, with a few more interesting episodes.
MS Raju, who has also worked on the screenplay, could have focused more on the writing. The connectivity between some scenes is not smooth, and several portions are presented in a cliched manner. The scene where Mahadevi digs up a grave, takes out a skeleton and asks the family members to place the dentures along with it is reminiscent of the Korean film Exhuma.
Kamakshi Bhaskarla is the backbone of the film with her subtle, dignified and intense performance. She is perfectly suited for the character of Mahadevi and has already proven her ability in this genre through the Polimera franchise. She gets a substantial role in Agadha and delivers it effectively.
Ulka Gupta does justice to her role as Mahima. The surprise package is Jovika, who gives an excellent performance as a character possessed by a spirit. She does particularly well in the intense scenes and manages to create fear in a few moments.
Shravan Reddy appears in dual roles, while Shijji plays Baba in a brief role. The rest of the cast performs adequately.
Technically, Agadha is a good-looking film. The cinematography is one of its major strengths, with the forest and other locations captured effectively. The graphics and VFX work also come out well and add to the visual experience.
The background score is effective and elevates the intensity of several scenes. The music has a slight resemblance to the kind of folk-oriented sound heard in films like Kantara. There are no songs in the film, which works in its favour, as the narration moves forward without unnecessary interruptions.
Agadha is a horror thriller with supernatural and divine elements. It is not a great film, but it offers a few thrills and scary moments here and there. Kamakshi Bhaskarla and Jovika deliver strong performances, while the technical aspects, particularly the cinematography and graphics, are impressive. Overall, while the predictable story and cliched screenplay hold the film back, Agadha works as a passable thriller.