After the remake of Laxmii, which hit the OTT few days back, Durgamati is another remake which premiered on Amazon. Let us find if the horror-drama flick is worth-spending time and effort.
Durgamati tells the story of Chanchal Chauhan (Bhumi Pednekar), accused of killing her husband, also being interrogated by the CBI officer Satakshi Gangulyy (Mahie Gill) for the 12 stolen temple idols in the last 6 months. As the interrogation might lead to public debate, Chanchal is transferred to a haunted palace near Panna village which reveals the ghost of former queen, Durgamati.
Directed by Ashok, Durgamati is a remake of Telugu film, Bhaagamathie, starring Anushka Shetty, which was made by Ashok himself. As you step into the movie, you are greeted with superstition and blind-faith and of course folks who does not believe in ghost. The good thing is that Durgamati has lot of things going initially which will keep you engaged but the moment the main plot is revealed in the middle of the film, the horror drama loses the focus and sadly never recovers.
The second half of Durgamati is laid back while the climax starts making sense and this is where Durgamati scores. At the end of watching Durgamati, you will feel that you are watching some old 90's cinema with typical masala ingredients to make it a blockbuster movie. Cinematography and art direction are fantastic. Durgamati suffers from poor editing which could have been trimmed to make it more impacting. Visual effects are hilarious and larger than life. Action scenes are fine. Dialogues are average. Songs are just about okay.
Bhumi Pednekar carries the film on her shoulder. The brilliant actress is just improving with each film and after Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Durgamati will be another feather on her cap this year. Arshad Warsi was just about okay as I felt he could have done grey character with more impact. Mahie Gill looks absolutely stunning but has less screen space. Jisshu Sengupta gave a honest performance in his role.
Overall, Durgamati was a typical masala entertainer which had it share of moments to keep you engaged - 2.5/5
