Movie review 'Tripura': A one-time watch
Tollywood is quite taken by the horror genre these days
By : suresh kavirayani
Update: 2015-11-07 01:07 GMT
Cast: Swathi, Naveen Chandra, Rao Ramesh, Saptagiri, Sriman, Pooja and Shakalaka Shankar
Director: Raja Kiran
Rating: 3 stars
Tollywood is quite taken by the horror genre these days. After the successful Geethanjali, director Raja Kiran has once again gone back to the genre with Tripura, with Swathi playing the lead. The movie opens with Esha (Pooja) getting a call and going to a farmhouse to meet someone. She is killed there. Meanwhile, the parents of a young girl Tripura (Swathi), who lives in a village, are looking for a match for her. However, getting her married is a problem because of a strange phenomenon - most of her dreams turn out to be real. Her parents take her to Hyderabad for treatment where she meets Dr Naveen (Naveen Chandra).
The two fall in love and marry. At this point, a police officer, a friend of Naveen’s, enters the scene. He is enquiring into Esha’s death and everyone, including Tripura, suspects Dr Naveen for her murder. After their marriage, they have moved to the farmhouse, owned by Dr Naveen, and a few incidents there scare Tripura. Meanwhile she has another dream, this time it is about her husband. What is the dream and who killed Esha is the crux of the story.
This is the season of horror comedies and the recent Raju Gari Gadhi was also a hit. Playing it safe, director Raja Kiran too has gone back to the same genre. But the first half drags as the plot unravels too slowly. The second half is interesting as the characters are developed and the plot thickens. He maintains the suspense till the end about who killed Esha. But the first half’s screenplay should have been better and the director should have concentrated on the subject instead of going overboard with Saptagiri.
Swathi fits the role perfectly and has come out with flying colours. She shows her prowess and pulls off the climax scene too with ease. This is the first time she has done this genre but doesn’t seem to have any problems. Naveen Chandra has matched her step for step. Rao Ramesh plays a professor and manages to make his character interesting with his performance.
The highlight of the second half is the comedy scenes by Shakalaka Shankar and Jayaprakash Reddy. It gives a much-needed relief and boost to the film. Saptagiri has a full-length role, but sometimes he goes overboard, though he manages to evoke a laugh most of the time. Pooja in a cameo looks neat. The music is average though the dialogues are catchy. Given the suspense in the second half and the popular genre, Tripura manages to tick the right boxes, though it is more of a one-time watch.
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