Barely before a month of dishing out the improperly funny horror comedy 'Anjali', Tollywood turns out another horror comedy (whether stated or not). In 'Boochamma Boochadu', the victims are less and less scared of the situation they are in. As the dreaded D-Day approaches, the victims are relaxed. They even try playing pranks on each other to the point of blasphemy. But that is just one aspect of the film's silly soul.
After a point, the entire film is all about much used and abused comedians (read Brahmanandam, Vennela Kishore, Posani Krishna Murali, Venu, Tagubothu Ramesh, Dhanraj and, not to forget, Chammak Chandra) having their tryst with the devil - the tryst can be mildly fearsome or sexually dangerous.
What begins as a serious-minded horror film makes a mockery of itself. What happens when our directors' creativity reaches a point where comedy scenes (ranging from vulgar to juvenile) are force-fitted into a film, regarless of the genre? It results in the main characters themselves reduced to caricatures.
It all starts off on a good note, with Karthik (Shivaji) being shown to have no better responsibility towards his wife Sravani (played by Kainaaz Motiwala) than indulging in creative romance with her. And vice-versa. Their happy days of sensual honeymooning in their new farm house are punctuated by an aberration - ominous signs of the palatial house (that looks like the bungalow from the notorious 'Ice Cream') being haunted. The newly married couple end up physically harming each other when they are possessed by the spirits.
Why are spirits possessing them and what do they want to achieve through them? Answers to these are revealed in the rest of the story.
There are limits to a genre where there is more 'comedy' than thrill. Such a screenplay is shorn of earnestness because of the tendency to resort to light-touch horror.
Shivaji plays a role which wants him to occasionally be scared in the first half and scare in the second half. In the meantime, he is his dutiful comedy hero self. Kainaaz Motiwala sizzles when she is doing the seductress act and pulls off the role of scaring the day lights out pretty well.
The writer could have marshalled his creativity to bring out the emotional part well instead of being content with scratching the surface. The song describing their emotional trauma is good but the same intensity is absent in scenes.
The focus shifts to making us laugh and this proves to be a disastrous template. Whether it is Brahmi shivering like a kid or all the vulgar comedy being played out, the scenes end up betraying the poverty of imagination rather than giving us enjoyment. Vennela Kishore arrives with a bang and does some subtle comedy. Posani Krishna Murali's one scene sounds the bugle, announcing that we are in for a caricature of a horror film.
Technically, the film is well-made, considering the budget. The cinematography is convincing and the RR passes muster.
Verdict: With a wafer-thin storyline and a screenplay that borders on the asinine, this film falls flat.
Rating: 1.5/5
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