Bhoothakaalam Review: A stereotypical yet intriguing horror tale
“Bhoothakaalam” means the “past”, but also a “ghost” in Malayalam. At its core is a mother-son relationship which gets frayed as the movie progresses. Revathy plays Asha, a widow and kindergarten school teacher who suffers from clinical depression, and Shane Nigam is Vinu, a pharmacy graduate, who’s unable to find a job. The third member is Asha’s mother, who passes away in her sleep within the first 10 minutes of the film.
According to the reports, the film will start streaming on a popular OTT platform from December 25 onwards. Bhoothakaalam is a Drama movie and the movie digital rights are acquired by Telugu leading OTT hi in russian platform and the more details will be available soon. Revathi will play the mother of Shane Nigam in this mystery drama thriller. If we talk about the directorial work, it is done by Rahul Sadasivan.
That can only be achieved through silence,” says Sadasivan. Later, both Asha and Vinu get trapped in the house amidst horrific happenings. They are ultimately unsure as to the exact nature of what happened in the house, but decide to reconcile and vacate the house.
Following the death of a family member, a mother and son experience mysterious events which distort their sense of reality and make them question their sanity. It told the story of a novelist who had moved into the home of a woman who was killed by drowning. Vincent threads romance and horror into the plot that was both scary and charming. In the following decade, AG Baby-directed Lisa released to rave reviews, telling the story of an introverted, young woman whose life turns upside down when a dark spirit enters her body. Malayalam cinema has been making waves in the OTT space this last year or so.
The film had its worldwide premiere through SonyLIV on 21 January 2022 to widely critical acclaim. Revathi won her first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film during a career spanning 39 years. ‘Ullasam’ was directed by Jeevan Jojo and the film was touted to be a full-length comedy entertainer with several feel-good elements. The film had the actress Pavithra Lakshmi as the female lead. The film hit the big screens on July 1 this year and had mostly mixed reactions from netizens although they hailed Shane Nigam’s terrific performance in the movie. Mollywood actor Shane Nigam is trying different roles nowadays and the recently released film ‘Ullasam’ brought out a cool and funny version of the ‘Bhoothakalam’ and ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ actor.
Shane Nigam, who has also produced the film, articulates the agonies and confusions of a man interrupted. Revathi, restrained and unfailingly impactful, is flawless as the mother who wages a war on many fronts. Bhoothakaalam opens with a pre-credits sequence that establishes one crucial link that Asha and Vinu have with the past – an old, dementia-afflicted grandmother who needs 24X7 care.
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“The death of a family member and the mysterious events that follow distort the sense of reality of a mother and son”. The situation further exacerbates their frayed mental states. It is this foundation on which filmmaker Rahul Sadasivan starts building the horror part of the movie, even as the unsuspecting audience is slowly pulled into some spine-chilling sequences.