'Kaashmora', allegedly made at a cost of Rs. 60 cr, hits the screens across AP and Telangana in over 600 screens.  Here is our review:

Story:

Kaashmora (Karthi) is a trickster claiming to shoo away the most stubborn evil spirits.  The town's gullible residents believe he and his family members (father, mother, sister, grandma) possess occult powers, whereas in reality Kaashmora fakes miracles by secretly orchestrating scary machinations.

As he grows in stature, Yamini (Sri Divya as a researcher exploring spirits) seeks to expose his true colours.  Mysteriously, he, his family and Yamini come to be trapped in a dilapidated bungalow.  It's here that a 800-year-old spirit Raj Naik (Karthi, again), craving for deliverance, has a scheme that can put Kaashmora & Co to death.

The second half is about why Raj Naik has been locked up in the bungalow for several centuries, why he has chosen Kaashmora for his selfish ends, and how the potential victim Kaashmora saves himself and his family from falling prey to Raj Naik's devious plans.

Analysis:

The shooting of this movie was called off for a period of two months for a particular reason.  Guess what is that?  'Baahubali' came and allegedly raised the bar and the makers got into a huddle to rethink, learning lessons from Rajamouli & Co's visual detailing, etc.  It turns out that director Gokul & Co learnt only half the lesson.  The other half, they ignored, consciously or otherwise.  It pertains to the quality of being intense.

In a curious way, the narration is so laid-back that the average audience is not excited about the two things which ought to have been most exciting: the flashback, and the climax.  The fairly crisp flashback falters in presenting Raj Naik as a maniacal lecher whose unfulfilled desire is intense enough to be of mythical proportions.  The characterization goes for a toss when his meanness comes with cliches and even caricaturish undertones.  (So, 800 years ago, the ruthless warrior used 'katthi' to refer to the women he lusted).  As if this defective characterization was not enough, Ratna Mahadevi's (played by Nayanthara) character is given a superficial treatment.  In effect, Ratna's character has no positive role in elevating Raj Naik's character.

After a decently engaging and properly humorous first half, the film should have had a mood makeover.  Instead, it continues to indulge the same Karthi, thereby stunting his character evolution.  The comedy (which is no more funny, much less proper, in the second half) should have given way to first steps toward climactic heroism.  When the expressions of those in danger don't reflect their existential threat, how on earth are the audience expected to buy into larger-than-life visuals/graphics?  Those about to die do comedy in front of the bloodthirsty evil, an unfleshed character arrives from nowhere to save, and there is no sense of urgency/racing against time even in the climax.

As if all this was not enough, there is an inconsequential politician character wanting to get back his black money trapped in the bungalow.  Give us a break.

The first half comes with its dose of rib-tickling situations, especially the interval bang stands out.  The episodes involving Sri Divya, the cop, the politician may work for a large section of audience.  Karthi's knack for carrying whole scenes on his shoulder comes to the fore in these portions.  Some of the scenes have it in them to amuse children, not in the least because of the visuals, and in good measure thanks to Karthi.

Episodes with potential - like the TV show scene - begin well, but end improperly.  The songs are good when heard aside from the film, but as part of the flow, they come off as jarring notes.  This is ironical.  ‘Thakida Thakida’ number should have been placed a few moments into the flashback, after establishing Raj Naik's character.

Karthi's performance could keep many from complaining about things.  If he is entertainingly frivolous as a fake abracadabra specialist, he steals a march over the rest as a rapacious Raj Naik.  Gokul's visualization is pretty impressive here.  Vivek comes next in terms of the impact.  Nayanthara and Sri Divya leave no impact.

Santosh Narayan’s background score is sophisticated and sounds easy on ears.  Cinematography by Om Prakash is first-rate.  The visuals are pleasing, thanks to the VFX team.   VJ Sabhu Joseph has given clean and crispy cuts. Art director Rajeevan is the backbone as his sets in the fantasy portions are done with excellent detailing. At a comparatively lesser budget, the computer graphics are more than fairly well done. The 3D Face Scan technology used for the third getup makes an impression right away.

Verdict:

'Kaashmora', touted as a dark fantasy, turns out to be an overcooked comedy.  A hotchpotch of genres, it loses the opportunity to deliver a serious-minded horror-period-fantasy involving a whole family.  It's not as if the comedy holds ground as it overstays its welcome.  Karthi's good performance is noteworthy.  The visuals work.

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