- Date of Release: 12 July 2024
- Genre: Comedy, Horror
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Zee5
Kakuda
Introduction
The rise of the horror-comedy genre is real but the quality is going down by the minute. This is particularly true for the latest offering from Hindi cinema, Kakuda, a film that is an absolute wash out as far as the horror-comedy elements are concerned. This was particularly surprising given that Aditya Sarpotdar was at the helm of it after the stupendous success of Munjya, which wasn’t a great film too but it definitely did well in creating an ambience of horror with a folklore touch to the proceedings. Kakuda, which was shot before Munjya, has no such luck, flirting the viewers with a promising premise before getting completely draped in the Vikram Bhatt school of horror which basically comprises of a VFX ghost that is neither scary nor funny. In fact, you would also question the actions of the characters that is borderline silly and irritating even as I sat in my seat waiting for the trauma to end. I will not mince any words in my review given how substandard the storytelling was, a part of it wherein I just felt that the writers are going around in circles with the story barely moving an inch. So then is Kakuda worth your time, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Kakuda follows the story of a woman who joins hands with a ghost hunter to break a curse enforced by a terrifying spirit on her husband. Will they succeed? The story here is absolutely substandard and the most basic level of horror-comedy if ever there was one. This is true particularly because the story doesn’t have the basic ingredients of a horror-comedy which is horror and comedy. This was me watching the events of the film unfold without twitching a single muscle on my face, even as the drama became such a slog with every passing minute. I repeatedly have said that the horror-comedy genre is more to do with the writing and staging which would further propel the film to new heights. In fact, even if one of the genres is successfully implemented, you will find your set of viewers who will patronize the film which was the case with Munjya that definitely clicked with its horror setup. But if you falter in both the genres, there is no saving the film which unfortunately is the case with Kakuda. The screenplay standing at a shade under 2 hours felt like an absolute slog wherein even the basic mystery of the ghost was such a letdown thereby making the overall such a drab watch.
The drama begins on a good note with its opening sequence that follows a man rushing to get to his house in time before the onset of a ghost that would terrorize the village on Tuesdays. The catch here being that each household would have to keep a smaller door open before the ghost arrives or else the consequences would be the worst! The events are chilling with the focus being on the legs of the ghost that has flies buzzing around it, thereby painting a terrifying picture. The same has traces of comedy wherein a person is shown to be infected, only to die after 13 days, even as the villagers fight on to live another day! Soon, you are introduced to the characters featuring Indira and Sunny who are madly in love and decide to get married. Unfortunately, the day of their wedding coincides with the day the ghost roams in the village, ultimately leading to tragedy. And it is left upto Indira to find a way to break the curse imposed on her husband.
After the initial promise, the fizz in the screenplay completely vanishes. If the entire love story lacked any bit of soul to engage in any kind of emotions for the couple, the comedic elements dry out inexplicably even while the traces of horror remain low and a bit of the same stuff served at the start of the film. To give you a perspective, at no point did I find myself to be at the edge of my seat while watching the proceedings. In fact, I was surprised at how frivolous the entire setup turned out to be, particularly because you had the pressure of a silent timer ticking away, given that a character was cursed and would die off in a few days. The introduction of the ghost hunter too seemed to be convenient and insipid, both at the same time that followed a familiar trope of ‘Ghost Antennas’ to detect the spirit in the village, and sketching an image using charcoal to get to the bottom of the mystery. Ho hum!
The writing never really raises the stakes in the drama despite having a couple of characters along the way which are mysterious. The drama unfolds at the same wavelength, and the wavelength is so low that you begin to fidget in your seat, waiting for the proceedings to end. Even the partial revelation of the mystery at the halfway mark following a convenient set of events, had me completely disinterested. Amidst the chaos, certain sequences did show some promise like the one featuring Indira’s twin sister walking away in the night, only to be followed by the main protagonists. But even such sequences just did not end well, only momentarily offering some artificial excitement but to no avail. The final revelation was more of the ghost from the Vikram Bhatt horror universe culminating in a final act that was simply atrocious and painstakingly poor. I was actually surprised on how this film was greenlit from the writing standpoint too, for it had nothing new to offer except age old trauma originating from bad movies. Needless to say that the screenplay is weak and fails to leave a mark.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are weak and borderline cringe worthy with the lines trying to be wannabe cool but never making a mark. The BGM needed to be theme based, which would play out at important junctures in the screenplay to evoke a sense of fear but again that was missing wherein the notes were forgettable and failed to leave a mark. The cinematography is adequate showing some levels of promise to begin with but slowly tapering away with frames that are more silly than scary. The editing just doesn’t account for the multiple lags in the drama that eventually contributes towards the drama being drab and a slog! Director Aditya Sarpotdar is a generally a good director who understands his craft. But here he misses the mark with even the staging of the drama. He isn’t able to rise above the substandard writing of the drama, while serving a horror-comedy that is so cold and drab, that it fails in both genres. From the world building to the characterization, nothing quite clicks in this drama that slowly becomes a slog. The direction isn’t the best here and that is all I can say on a very gracious note but I am sure this is a minor blemish in Aditya’s otherwise impressive filmography. He is sure to bounce back with a bang(going by what I saw with Munjya which was shot after Kakuda).
Performances
When the writing is weak, the performances will never be able to save a sinking ship, which is the case here. The only actor that does standout is Aasif Khan as Kilvish who has a brilliant knack of finding even the most remote traces of humour in an otherwise sorry film(the Tiger Zindo Hai line clicks just because of his comic timing). Saqib Saleem as Sunny is just about decent even as most punches in his character just do not land. Sonakshi Sinha as Indira(and also her twin) is good although I didn’t quite feel an emotional pull that was required in her character, given her actions of trying to save her husband from a curse. Riteish Deshmukh as Victor has a sense of vibrancy around him but is not given good lines at all to showcase his acting prowess. The impact of his performance falls flat despite the actor putting in enough effort to elevate his act.
Conclusion
Kakuda is a masterclass in how not to make a horror-comedy. The drama lacks exactly in those two genres – horror and comedy, while contributing significantly to the trauma emerging from its proceedings thereby resulting in a watch that was nothing short of a slog! Available on Zee5.
