Jhamkudi follows the story of a small village in Gujarat forbidden from celebrating Navaratri owing to the curse of a witch whose folklore continues to live on. This, until a series of incidents accounts for rules to be broken while haunting begins again. Would the locals get to the bottom of the mystery? The story here might seem eerily similar to the Hindi film Stree but at the same time this template warrants for an exciting watch given that the writers get the ambience of the area just right. The elements of horror and comedy are meticulously sprinkled and balanced really well in a screenplay standing at just over 150 minutes, that makes for a rather entertaining watch. I found myself uncannily engaged in the narrative that did sport the right amount of mystery while having a good sense of world building and decent characterization. 

The writers were on the money right from its opening sequence that features a character listening to Garba on her phone even as the viewers are told that the village immerses itself in darkness during the festival of Navaratri. This, until the character is inexplicably dragged from her bed, only to disappear in thin air. This opening sequence was backed by another startling sequence that set the ball rolling for the legend of Jhamkudi to take over the minds of the viewers. The writers do well in creating a world that adds to the flesh and bones of the legend of Jhamkudi even as people from the village begin to disappear attributing to her ‘curse’. This, until you are introduced to the protagonist amongst a host of other characters who get together to decipher the mystery. 

The proceedings are interesting and engaging while balancing the comedy and horror elements in the drama rather well. The comedy in spirit(pun not intended) is the regular situational comedy backed by sharp one-liners that does manage to make you chuckle and at times laugh. This, while the horror is filled with a few stray jumpscares that are quite well done. The victory for the writers lays in the fact that the tension in the drama is intact right throughout even when it chooses to venture into the route of a family drama that briefly pauses the momentum. But the self awareness of the writing is pretty much on point that frequently shifts the focus back on the village where the curse of Jhamkudi seems to be pretty much intact. 

The fun begins in the second hour wherein the group assembles to nab the ‘real’ Jhamkudi. It is here that the script undergoes multiple twists and turns while raising the stakes of both the horror and comedy as a genre, both of which contribute to the engagement of the drama. I must say that the writing opts for a familiar route even as you find yourself immersing deep in the second hour but I was pleasantly surprised at the treatment provided, wherein the writers always had an additional trick up their sleeves right throughout. This is true halfway through the second hour, or the elaborate Garba sequence following it, or even the climax that was interesting but a little too straight forward and simplistic. The outro though throws in another twist and by then I knew that this might just be the start of a brand new, homegrown franchise coming from the incredible Gujarati Film Industry. Overall, the screenplay is well written and definitely makes for an enjoyable watch.