Director Yogesh Munisiddappa's movie "Chandrika" starring Jayaram Karthik (JK), Kamna Jethmalani and Srimukhi in the lead roles has garnered mixed reviews from critics.
The horror movie, made in Kannada and dubbed in Telugu, was released in both the languages on 25 September.
"Chandrika" has a thin storyline and predictable screenplay that copy the template of "Apthamitra", critics allege.
Arjun (Karthik Jayaram) is an artist and philanthropist and his wife Shilpa (Srimukhi) is his biggest source of inspiration. He buys his guru's deserted haveli, which is haunted by a damsel-soul in distress. Shilpa is possessed by the spirit, which wants to teach Arjun a lesson. How Arjun saves himself and his wife from the spirit will form the crux of the story.
Arjun, Kamna Jethmalani , Sri Mukhi, Sathyam Rajesh, Tagubothu Ramesh, LB Sriram and Girish Karnad have performed wonderfully. But Srimukhi steals the show.
The film has good production value. Music and cinematography are the big attractions in the technical front, say the critics.
"Chandrika" has been rated an average of 2.56 out of 5 stars.
We bring you some Kannada and Telugu film critics' verdicts and ratings for the film.
Chandrika is a poor attempt to copy the template of Apthamitra. It, however, copies only the ghost part and not the logic part. Not that you expect any logic in a supposedly horror film, but you at least need to be scared!
Chandrika comes with a wafer-thin story line. A few novel scenes could have redeemed the film.
Chandrika fails to impress the audience due to its routine story line and slow narration. The glamour quotient of the female leads is the only saving grace for this film which ends up as a fearless horror drama.
Chandrika reminds of Apthamitra and follows a similar trajectory in screenplay. The film can be watched by the entire family as it has UA certificate. Go enjoy and get scared and entertained.
