Durgamati: The Myth Movie Review Rating: 2/5 Stars (Two stars)
Star Cast: Bhumi Pednekar x two times the disappointment, Arshad Warsi, Mahie Gill’s Bengali Accent, Karan Kapadia & supporting cast which didn’t lend any support
Director: Ashok G
What’s Good: For those who were skipping this thinking it’s a horror film, can now skip thinking it’s not a horror film!
What’s Bad: I had to sit through the entire film to review, whereas you guys will have an option to switch it off anytime.
Loo Break: I don’t think you’ll be watching this till the time you think to take a break
Watch or Not?: I’d prefer to sit down in a dark corner and stare it for 155 minutes!
User Rating:
In a too abrupt start, we see a certain village getting attacked by a group of people. Cut to Ishwar Prasad (Arshad Warsi), Minister of Water Resources, is seen addressing the media over the issue of stolen antiques from the ancient temples. He promises to quit politics if the government fails to track down the people behind this.
CBI Joint Director Satakshi Ganguly (Mahie Gill) is called in from the ruling part’s side to find some dirt on Ishwar. Enters Ishwar’s former personal secretary IAS Chanchal Chauhan (Bhumi Pednekar), who’s spending her time in prison for shooting her husband dead. Satakshi takes her to an abandoned ‘haveli’ to question her.
Enters Durgamati (Also Bhumi Pednekar but way too melodramatic). Durgamati is the spirit of the dead queen of that ‘haveli’ & like every other horror flick, the spirit is here for some kind of revenge. What revenge? That’s the final 30 minutes and are indeed the only bearable ones.
Durgamati: The Myth Movie Review: Script Analysis
The major problem with the story of this film is that it exists only in the last 30 minutes. Totalling to 2 hours & 35 minutes, Ashok’s script takes 2 hours to establish what could’ve been achieved at half of its time. The drastically stretched narrative shatters very few good things the movie possesses. There’s a dialogue in the start which goes as, “we’re starting this on a wrong note”, little did they know that they’re starting the entire film on a disastrous note.
There comes no high moment in the first 120 minutes, and that says a lot about how it’s a patience-tester. Though the biggest takeaway for me will remain to be this one epic dialogue which should be known by one and all: Guy A gets sh*t-scared from the ghost, Guy B says, “Tere angoor kyun kaanp rahe hai?” (Literal translation: Why your grapes are grooving?). Comedy of the film is filled with ‘WTF?’ moments.
Durgamati: The Myth Movie Review: Star Performance
Durgamati to Bhumi Pednekar will prove to be what Bhoot was for Vicky Kaushal. Despite the weak script, Bhumi had the potential to pull this off just by doing her part. Bhumi’s energy as Durgamati is duller than the chances of getting my life straight. It never matches the voice she has dubbed for. This conflicting nature between what she says & how she expresses it is a major turn-off.
Arshad Warsi sleepwalks 90% of the time through his ordinary character. No matter how subtle he is, the ‘wow’ factor is missing. The twist helps him to bring out his quirks & that’s where he owns the film.
I haven’t seen the original version, but was it really important to cast Mahie Gill with a Bengali accent? I’m not a proficient critic of accents, but whatever Mahie did definitely seemed off-track. Karan Kapadia manages to stay for an extended period with just a single expression & that’s really commendable.
Durgamati: The Myth Movie Review: Direction, Music
First Laxmii & now this, no matter which route you take to direct these adaptions, the local aura of the script somehow remains in the film. If this trend continues, we’ll soon be able to gauge without knowing if it’s a remake of a South film or not. Just like Raghava Lawrence, even Ashok fails at removing that feel. Backed with some smart screenplay tweaks (like smooth transitioning between the flashbacks), Ashok’s direction is pretty much average. He can definitely do well with a better script. He should try his hand at exploring the commercial cinema in Bollywood.
Ashok ditches S Thaman, bringing in Jakes Bejoy for the background score in this one. The BGM is exceptionally controlled and surprisingly doesn’t go much loud despite the over-the-top drama. Thankfully apart from a couple, there are no more songs to the already extended duration.
Durgamati: The Myth Movie Review: The Last Word
All said and done, Durgamati is an all-over-the-place horror-drama. The intent of adapting and remaking a good story is clearly missing. It’s a horror of a film!
Two stars!
Durgamati: The Myth Trailer
Durgamati: The Myth releases on 11 December , 2020.
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The post Durgamati Movie Review: For Those Skipping This Thinking It’s A Horror Film, You Can Now Skip It Thinking It’s Not A Horror Film! appeared first on Koimoi.
December 11, 2020 at 08:35AM
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