Durgamati: The Myth Lacks The Power And The Punch, Thriller Element Is The Saving Grace

• Reviews
• Updated:December 11, 2020 01:15 IST

• Authors: Zinia Bandyopadhyay
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Back in 2019 when the remake of Anushka Shetty starrer 2018 horror-thriller Bhaagamathie was announced, we had been excited! But, the trailer proved that we are basically signing up for a more or less frame-to-frame copy of the original, with the language changed. Well, that's not a deterrent, as Kabir Singh had proved earlier. But sadly, Durgavati: The Myth starring Bhumi Pednekar in the lead, falls flat and lacks the power and the punch that we had been expecting from it.

While comparing with the original would be unfair (though that's what a film signs up for when it's a remake), we have to add that it doesn't have the spark that the original did! But does that straightaway make this film bad? Of course not! It has its elements and its good moments. In fact, further on, I would be refraining from comparing the film with Bhaagamathie and view this separately.

The film is about IAS officer Chanchal Chauhan, who has been convicted for murdering activist and fiance Shakti. She is placed out of jail and taken to a deserted mansion- Durgavati Haveli- to collect evidence about politician Ishwar Prasad who has to be brought down because he seems to be too clean for politics. While Chanchal is in the haveli, she faces some mysterious circumstances. Is it the work of Durgamati or is it Chanchal acting it out to prove something? That's what the film is about.

This is a horror-thriller and while the thriller is actually pretty spot on, we can not say the same about horror. The genre is difficult, and it looks like Bhumi Pednekar does falter, just in some parts! It's a make-believe world that requires the actors to invoke a willing suspension of disbelief from the audiences and Bhumi fails to do that, in just a couple of scenes though. She is earnest and in the scenes involving the asylum, she's impeccable. One can neither dismiss her here, nor laud wholeheartedly, but full points to the earnestness!

Arshad Warsi plays politician Ishwar Prasad and in this film, he once again proves that he has been an underrated actor. He does a brilliant job and he is the person to look out for here. Karan Kapadia plays Shakti- Bhumi's love interest in the film. Throughout the film, his voice would strangely remind you of Suniel Shetty. His performance needed more punch and in scenes where he should come across as a man driven by passion- his act falls flat. There is a lot that he needs to work on and develop, but there's also scope. Jisshu Sengupta is playing an ACP in the film and he puts up a good act! He has a meatier role in this one than his previous outings and we hope we get to see him more often in Bollywood.

Mahie Gill plays CBI officer Satakshi Ganguly. Blame it on my Bengali genes, but I could not get past the fact that she would deliberately speak bad Hindi in parts and be fluent in other, just to prove that she has a Bengali surname. She would also drop Bengali words in between, and well, I felt damn annoyed because those pronunciations were just as botched up. I mean, great that Bengalis get a representation in Hindi films, but hey, what's up with the deliberate bad Hindi and throwing Bengali words here and there just to prove her roots! We don't find Chanchal throwing Marwadi words around, do we? Isn't it high time that we actually start to do away with that? I mean either do it with consistency, perfection and without botched Bengali words, or just don't do it, please!

The horror in the film is weak, and the thrill will come only in the last 15 mins or so. Surviving 2 hours and 35 mins can seem tad bit too long. But if you actually have the patience, you will find something good. Also, with the pause-play convenience that we have on OTT, one might lose interest. So the advice would be to watch it in one go. It's a decent one time watch, even if you have watched Bhaagamathie.