It is really appreciated that "Andhaghaaram" opts for psychological suspense, ignoring the special effects, jump scares that have become a fashion in recent times. A clever, riveting supernatural, part psychological drama that fits many genres into one film which pays off in the end. Disguised as a "Supernatural" film but this is actually a revenge driven drama towards the end with frequent character shifts that are fast. The film blurs the lines between reality & fiction to deliver a psychological shock & that will someday have the respect it truly deserves. It does not register or decipher what is happening but follows imaginary stimuli. In this way, reality, and fiction merge, they can no longer be differentiated. Darkness is a popular film element, and it comes across as striking.
If one releases oneself from the expectation that there must be a 'thrill' behind the gripping opening where a patient pulls trigger on Dr Indran (Kumar Natarajan) and series of suicide follows. There are no questions left on closer observation when the final title begins. In addition to the quality of the content, there is a formal implementation that works on the story in the smallest detail right from the beginning till the credits roll. And then, we are introduced to Selvam (Vinoth Kishan), a blind librarian, a MEDIATOR helping people in the library whose roots hold a mysterious past. Then we meet Vinod (Arjun Das) a cricket coach who lives in a flat. Unfortunately, things are not going well in his life and there is a sense of guilt that prevails. It is difficult for him to cope with the death of his best friend. The room where he stays is a great setting and at the same time a reflection of his conflicts and unstable character. The environment creates eerie shadows from which indefinable noises emerge all the more clearly in later part of the film. He has a landline to communicate with the outer world and like a puzzle rummaging in the streets for smoke breaks that doesn't look like one at first. And then there is this stranger who keeps calling him to his landline number. Vinod goes crazy because he thinks he is tapped or blackmailed. From then on, Vinod hears strange noises, voices and rumbling in his house. It brings him to the brink of a nervous breakdown. The strange occurrences lead him to believe that there is a psychological problem, and he is advised to fix an appointment with a psychiatrist. Having someone unknown call you and never being able to find them with this as the backdrop the film introduces more threads in the screenplay.
What follows is a great mystery and I asked myself whether this topic of Darkness vs Light could fill an entire film. After all, the tension had to be maintained for nearly 3 Hrs and I think the film does that quite cleverly, but it takes some time to get going.
On the other hand, the film convinces with a dense atmosphere and good camera work that shuttles back and forth between flashbacks during the narrative. Still, "Andhaghaaram " is a very interesting film, which is not entirely conclusive and leaves few questions. It almost looks like a cinematic experiment in genre crossover. If you like horror films to be clear and unambiguous, you won't have much fun here. Anyone who loves suspense and supernatural horror will be in good hands in this film. Kudos to the entire team of Andhaghaaram for this indie gem.
