Jatadhara Movie Review: A painful attempt

Actor Sudheer Babu is in need of a good break, as his last few films didn’t do well at the box office. Though he puts in all his efforts into his films and is also consistently experimenting, unfortunately, nothing seems to be clicking for the actor, and the latest to join this list is Jatadhara. Directed by Venkat Kalyan and Abhishek, the film marks Sonakshi Sinha's Telugu debut. 

Cast: Sudheer Babu, Sonakshi Sinha, Shilpa Shirodkar, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Divya Khossla

Director: Venkat Kalyan, Abhishek Jaiswal

Shiva (Sudheer Babu) is a ghost hunter, who also wants to prove that there are no spirits. He gets strange dreams where he sees an infant, and a woman, who is out to kill him. One day, he goes to a remote village where people feel that there is a ghost in a big house. As Shiva investigates the paranormal, his parents reveal his background and their mysterious past. In the meantime, Shiva falls in love with Sitara (Divya Khossla), who shows Shiva’s horoscope to a guru (Subhalekha Sudhakar). With the Guru predicting that Shiva’s life is in serious danger, the rest of the film is about what transpires after this revelation, the real identity of Shiva and family, and how the paranormal meets the world of Shiva. 

The film begins with a narration about how ancestors stored their gold and other wealth by burying it underground. After that, the protagonist enters as a ghost hunter, and when you think things will get interesting, it just goes downhill from there. 

The narrative is slow, and the visuals are also not appealing as the graphics are not up to the mark. There is no chemistry between the lead pair, and the overall entertainment quotient is also missing. The film progresses without a proper story or any interesting plot, and the narration isn't engaging either. When Shiva’s parents reveal his back story in the second half, it doesn't just extend its welcome, but also plays out like a silly sketch that doesn't do any good to the film. 

Sonakshi Sinha is introduced as the Dhana Pisachi, but her scenes aren't staged well, and the execution leaves a lot to be desired, too. The final act of the film is riddled with cheap graphics and is burdened by the complete lack of appeal. The visuals are tacky and jarring to the eye. The music doesn't register, and the background score is loud and annoying. The film falters on multiple departments, including cinematography, production design, and editing. Apart from all these, there is also a jarring special dance number that adds no value to the narrative. 

When it comes to the performances, Sudheer Babu, as always, has given it his all, but the writing lets him down. Even Subhaleka Sudhakar, who has a starring role and a bass voice to boot, leaves little impact. Actors like Sonakshi and Shilpa are wasted in the film, and the same can also be said of actors Jhansi and Rajeev Kanakala, who play Shiva's parents.

Without a neat story, a proper narrative, and subpar visuals, Jatadhara ends up as a film that is clueless and, unfortunately, boring.