Since
Kakuda
is
made
for
OTT,
the
film
might
find
its
audience
of
horror
fans
but
it
is
not
particularly
scary,
and
not
the
least
bit
funny,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
In
a
country
full
of
folklore,
superstition
and
myths,
a
well-made
horror
film
is
likely
to
work,
as
the
recent
hit
Munjya
showed.
The
now
popular
horror-comedy
genre
(Stree
heralded
it)
makes
sure
that
the
scares
are
toned
down
and
tempered
with
humour,
so
that
the
audience
is
not
grossed
out
or
put
off
by
gore.
Munjya
Director
Aditya
Sarpotdar’s
film
Kakuda
follows
the
same
template
—
rural
setting,
supernatural
creature
terrorising
residents,
resolution
of
the
problem.
However,
this
one
has
far
less
impact,
perhaps
because
it
lacks
an
emotional
connect.
It
seems
a
bit
callous
about
violent
death
(a
father
rehearses
his
son’s
funeral!)
In
a
north
Indian
village
of
Ratodi,
where
a
skeleton
serves
as
a
scarecrow,
houses
have
a
peculiar
architectural
feature:
A
small
door
next
to
the
main
entrance.
If
a
male
resident
of
a
household
does
not
open
that
small
door
by
7.15
pm,
he
develops
a
hump,
and
dies
13
days
later,
believed
to
be
killed
by
the
curse
of
heavy-breathing
Chucky-like
mini
monster
(Mahesh
Jadhav).
So
men
rush
back
home
to
make
the
deadline.
Like
Stree,
it
satirises
the
standard
instruction
given
to
women,
to
get
home
before
dark.
The
villagers
are
quite
blasé
about
this.
Women
dress
in
their
finery
and
gather
to
sing
when
an
unfortunate
man
is
so
affected.
Indu
(Sonakshi
Sinha)
is
in
love
with
a
halwai
named
Sunny
(Saqib
Saleem)
from
Ratodi
but
her
eccentric
father
(Rajendra
Gupta
with
a
silly
hairstyle)
does
not
approve
of
any
suitor
who
does
not
speak
English.
So
Indu
and
Sunny
elope
to
get
married.
He
is
delayed
on
his
way
home,
and
invites
the
curse.
A
sensible
Indu
tries
what
no
other
villager
did
—
take
Sunny
to
a
city
doctor
—
but
it
doesn’t
help.
There,
she
runs
into
Victor
(Riteish
Deshmukh)
who
calls
himself
a
‘ghost
hunter’.
Victor
has
a
funky
hairstyle,
dresses
like
he
were
going
on
a
jungle
safari
and
gets
offended
if
anyone
calls
him
a
tantrik.
He
enjoys
interacting
with
ghosts
and
ghouls
and
helping
the
living
get
rid
of
them.
While
Sunny
sulks
and
waits
for
inevitable
death,
Indu
and
Victor
go
about
figuring
out
who
Kakuda
was,
and
why
he
targets
the
men
of
the
village.
These
sequences
are
portrayed
with
rather
elementary
animation.
It’s
always
more
effective
to
have
many
more
frightened
faces
on
screen
when
a
malevolent
spirit
is
on
the
loose,
so
there’s
Sunny’s
friend
Kilvish
(Aasif
Khan),
the
kind
of
character
who
exists
in
films
to
be
on
call
by
the
main
lead
at
all
times,
and
Indu’s
spooky
twin,
who
is
around
just
to
be
possessed
by
Kakuda,
and
speak
in
a
growl-y
voice.
All
films
of
this
genre
demand
suspension
of
disbelief
but
the
really
effective
ones
come
up
with
a
credible,
or
at
least
interesting
backstory
for
the
ghost.
Kakuda
is
just
weird
and
the
attempt
to
make
the
curse
comic
does
not
hide
its
awfulness.
Riteish
Deshmukh
plays
Victor
with
such
relish
that
without
him,
the
film
would
have
deflated
quickly.
The
other
actors
look
dutifully
scared
or
aghast
as
required
by
the
scene.
Saqib
Salim
is
stuck
looking
forlorn
while
others
play
ghostbusters.
Kakuda
has
a
paint-by-numbers,
catch-the-trend-before-it-fades
feel
to
it.
Since
it
is
made
for
OTT,
the
film
might
find
its
audience
of
horror
fans
but
it
is
not
particularly
scary,
and
not
the
least
bit
funny.
Kakuda
streams
on
ZEE5.
Kakuda
Review
Rediff
Rating:
