Katha Review

Just Yellow's movies are eagerly awaited by buffs of intelligent cinema.  Though their films in the recent years, Aithe and Anukokunda Oka Roju, did not rake in moolah despite being very good, its producer Gunnam Gangaraju has been undeterred.  This time, after a super flop Amma Cheppindi (which, nevertheless, was a bad one), he has come up with a good thriller film, where you have a murder mystery superimposing heroine's unhealthy mental status.

Starring Genelia in the role of a single girl, whose recent past was full of tragedy and phobia, the aftermaths of which still haunt her, Katha is a film to watch out for.  Debutante director Srinivasa Ranga hones an interesting story around Chitra, whose twin fears - Autophobia and Hemophobia, do not allow her to lead a normal life.  Her bloody past evokes sympathy amongst the audience.  Added to it, her troubles begin to become worse when she comes to Araku to work as a school teacher.

Chitra joins a convent school as a teacher and is soon befriended by her headmistress' daughter-in-law who accommodates her in a palatial house (one wonders how all leading ladies, who are single, manage to get costly residences in our films, every time!).  A lonely girl, the character is a mystery to the audience from the very beginning.  Even in her second scene, we see her taking out a bunch of tablets and a knife from her luggage.  For those who know the kind of psychological disorders characters in Gangaraju's films suffer from (Charmme in Anukokunda.. and Sarwanand, who is mentally retarded in Amma.. ), they can quickly analyse the reason.

In the same scenic town is Arun (Arun Adit), a budding director suffering from director's block.  For him, it is 'direct or die.'  Splashed on his gypsy are a couple of interesting lines (story, screenplay, direction, driving and 'The End' at the back), which show off his flair for being fresh.  He is currently making a murder film with five killers in the lead.  Though he has scripted major portions of the thriller, he is yet to pen the romantic part of it.  That is when the school teacher enters his life.

On a walk down the lane, the director happens to narrate the storyline of his film Hathya, in which a beautiful girl gets maimed.  Chitra rues that her sensitivities cannot bear listening to such stories.  Few days later, she happens to witness a girl being murdered in the valley.  After Chitra and Arun bring it to the notice of the cops (Prakash Raj in the role of a Circle Inspector and Shafi as his assistant), the CI meticulously investigates into the curious case of Chitra. 

The CI tells Arun that Chitra suffers from a psychotic disorder and that she was treated in a 'mental' asylum for one year.  Soon, everyone around Chitra start believing that she undergoes hallucinations and that her nocturnal traumas are anything but true.

Is there any thing wrong with Chitra?  Does she share a pathetic story?  Will she ever be able to live a normal life with the muse of her life Arun?  These questions are answered in the second half of the movie.

Katha is a simple film made on a shoestring budget.  The screenplay is good and all actors, including the newcomer act well.  Genelia carries the show on her shoulders and she delivers an efficient performance.  Prakash Raj's role is interesting.  Giri Babu as Co-producer Koko tries to tickle the funny bone.

Though everything seems well because of the suspense factor that is revealed with dexterity, there are some loopholes in the script.  Katha sounds understated and at a time when technical finesse is not a value-add but a prerequisite, the film lacks the technical oomph.  (It is not to suggest that every thriller has to be made on a budget an RGV or Ravi Babu support, but gone are the days when the audience can be mesmerised with sadha-seedha production values).  This is a kind of story the repeat audience is not very much excited about.  You are eager while it is unfolding before your eyes, but are not bamboozled by it later.  After all, the film is about a mind game.

Even the dialogue sounds too urbane.  Placing unique characters requires a distinct directorial touch, but there is nothing of that sort in the film.  Scenes involving the boy and the girl in the first half fall flat.  Nocturnal scenes in the second half sound repetitious.

Yet the film is watchable for its sheer simplicity and the suspense factor.  Along with the character of Chitra, you are manipulated too.  Despite its shortcomings, Katha is definitely more watchable than any other December release.

Released on: 12th Dec, 2009