Diary Review

Do you believe in ghosts? What happens when you start reading a diary and slowly things around begin to look a bit strange. Something like this happens to the practical and realistic hero who comes to a new home that he has bought. How does he react, let us see.

Story

Vamsi (sivaji) is the spoilt brat of a rich man but then he is bold and fearless. After getting involved in a issue, he goes to Vizag and decides to buy a property. He takes the help of K K (siva Prasad) and buys a home just on the outskirts of the city. He decides to spend the night at the place and due to a small scuffle, he meets Maya (shraddha), the local dancer. The story takes a turn when Maya has no choice but to spend the night at Vamsi's place and there he comes across a diary. Written in a very interesting manner, the story is about Albert (Sridhar) and his wife Mona (sajitha) and the diary also talks about how Mona gets murdered and has become a ghost. Meanwhile, Vamsi starts experiencing some unusual things and even his strong willed nature turns a bit shaky. What is the mystery behind the diary? This forms the essence of the story.

Performances

Sivaji has come up with an energetic and lively performance and though his character was etched weakly, he stole the show with his dialogue delivery. Shraddha Das also was neat and did not look brittle unlike her earlier movies. She also looked seductive in few poses. Sridhar Rao has to improve in his acts, Sajitha did her bit well. Jeeva did not have much to offer, Dr Siva Prasad managed few laughs. The others came and went.

Technical aspects

The dialogues were written without much confusion and the even the script was penned smoothly, the screenplay was okay. Background score and the songs scored well and though there were just two songs, they were hummable. Full marks to the cinematography department and that brought a lot of mileage to the film. Editing could have been better, costumes were alright and art department did an impressive job.

Director's portrayal

The director came up with a good storyline but then he could not narrate the plot convincingly, too much time was taken on explaining the contents of the diary and though the technical side was good, he could not really get the real impact from the artistes or create those shock moments on the audience. The script was not handled well by the director and there were few obvious flaws that a layman also would notice.

Critic's view

The film could have been an interesting thriller if only the pace of the film and few crucial moments were handled well. Frankly, the entire first half just goes about in a dull manner and though there was a good chance of creating more twists and some scary moments, the makers were not able to do it. Given the hype that this is from the `Manthra' team, the film had good expectations but then it must be said that due to the lack of energy in the film and a poor handling of the content part, the film fizzles out in no time.

Verdict

Mild and slow, just okay

Release date: 29/05/2009