Hidimbha movie review: Logic goes for a toss in this unique cannibals' story
Cast: Ashwin Babu, Nandita Swetha, Makarand Deshpande, Rajiv Kanakala, and others
Director: Aneel Kanneganti
Rating: 2 stars
Young director Aneel Kanneganti had a good and novel plot on his hand and also triggered some interest with his trailers, but he couldn’t really handle the multi-layered script with conviction and left the audience in despair.
He takes the formulaic route for a theme that deserves some ‘realistic and logical’ treatment and completely overlaps one good interesting twist in his movie. However, Nandita Swetha performs well and gets a meatier role than a hero, while Ashwin Babu scores high in action episodes but falters in emoting. Makarand Deshpande, who plays a cannibal, excels but falls short of looking menacing and scary.
The other saving grace for the audience could have been an engaging love angle between Ashwin and Nandita but the director shows little interest in it. Director had a good opportunity to strike a chord with the Telugu audience since they have patronized unusual themes like ’Virupaksha’ but he should blame his sluggish screenplay, overdoes of gory scenes, and few rehashed stuff from earlier thrillers, if he fails to grab more eyeballs in the days to come.
The film starts as a gripping thriller as the police department is challenged with a series of kidnappings of girls in Hyderabad city, leaving citizens sleepless. Nandita, an IPS officer from Kerala, is entrusted with the job of nabbing the culprits along with younger officer Ashwin Babu and both set out on a mission. Eventually, the findings lead to the Hidhimba tribe, who lived during the British era and relished human flesh. Will the ex-lovers Nandita and Ashiwn reunite and how both resolve the mystery forms the rest of the story.
Ashwin who was seen in light-hearted roles in ‘Raju Gari Gadi’, couldn’t really pull off a challenging role. Nandita impresses as an upright cop, while Subhalekha Sudhakar is wasted in the CM role, while Rajiv Kanakala and Sahithi Avancha, and others fit the bill. Cinematography by B Rajasekhar stands out with breathtaking visuals and deserves kudos for imaginative lighting in gloomy sequences.
Composer Vikas Badisa sustains the tempo and mood with a perfect background score. Unfortunately, the director who relied on slam-bang action sequences ended up hurting the audience's senses more than the characters in the film. Jokes apart, a path-breaking plot goes wasted.
