Kaani Review

Horror films are the flavor of the industry. Even though fans do not seem to have given a thumbs-up to the genre, filmmakers are churning out spooky-spirited films with gay abandon.

Kaani, obviously a lift from Manoj Night Shyamalan's Sixth Sense, neither aspires to thrill you nor keeps the tempo going. In the event, what you have is a flat and tepid narration that leaves you horrified --- at the mediocrity of the whole thing.

The film is about Karthika (Sai Kiran), a clinical psychiatrist whose marriage with Anjali (Jyoti) runs into rough weather because of one patient Priya (Meera).

Now, Priya is no ordinary person, she is credited with the ability to seen and talk to the dead. So now Karthik has two problems --- an eerie patient and an eerier marriage.

The movie is about how he does both.

Sai Kiran brings to the role of the psychiatrist the right amount of dignity. But his role is not etched properly. Meera, who plays the girl with the extra sense, is good. She is the equivalent of the young in Sixth Sense. She plays her role with understanding and maturity. Jyothi is okay as the wife of Sai Kiran.

With the film primarily revolving around the three, doesn't have the emotional center to hold your attention. In a sense, it neither evokes the fear element nor the curiosity factor in you. It is horror, only for effect. The director Abhinav does not seem to possess the craft and art to handle such specialized themes. He just let the film take its course.

The technical departments do not seem to have supported him fully. Only the camera work passes muster. The saving grace is that there are no dances and song in the movie.

Kaani, on the whole, ends up as a funny sort of film, which in the context of its genre and intent, is a major failing.