| Movie Name | Jatadhara |
| Release Date | November 7, 2025 |
| Cast | Divya Khossla ; Shilpa Shirodkar ; Indira Krishnan ; Rajeev Kanakala in Anando Brahma (2017). Rajeev Kanakala ; Subhalekha Sudhakar |
| Producer | Prerna Arora, Umesh Kumar Bansal, Shivin Narang, Aruna Agarwal, Shilpa Singhal, Nikhil Nanda, and Zee Studios |
| Review | 2/5 |
According to science, every face you see in your dreams has appeared before your eyes at some point in your life. The mind cannot create a new face on its own. Based on this intriguing idea, Telugu cinema has produced a pan-India film whose climax even awakened Lord Shiva, seated in Kailash. I’m talking about Jatadhara.
This film, 15-20 minutes longer than two hours, can easily be seen in Hindi dubbing. While it’s a horror suspense thriller, it takes on a supernatural edge in the second half, and
by the end, it takes on a spiritual path. To take it there, Sonakshi Sinha has been included in the film’s cast, appearing in the most bizarre role of her career. This is the story of a ghost hunter, a man who has no faith in spirits, ghosts, spirits, and devils. Therefore, his life’s mission is to eliminate the fear of them all.
But then he learns of a strange house in the village where someone is selectively killing the villagers. Who is she? A witch who protects a house
which, according to the villagers, sits atop an ancient treasure. You will become rich. But this house is cursed by a witch, awakened by human greed. But she can only return at will, and if she wishes, she can turn the entire village into a crematorium. So, what is the witch’s desire? As soon as our ghost hunter goes to the village to find out, he clearly understands. There are many things in this world that even science cannot answer. Otherwise, who can stop a human from going into an empty house and plundering a treasure worth billions?
Now you might be wondering what all this has to do with Lord Shiva. Why is he sitting in Kailash and witnessing this entire drama with his own eyes? Shiva’s third eye opens when the life of someone who trusts him is in danger in the battle between humans and demons. A climax that proves that Shiva is everything. There’s a world of difference between thinking of a good film and making one, the biggest proof of which is evident in Jatadhara itself.
A great idea, filled with fear, suspense, and the presence of Mahadev himself, ends up becoming just a TV serial because the film’s presentation is so amateurish. My ears yearned to hear a single word from Sonakshi Sinha, but for two hours, she doesn’t have a single dialogue. She just laughs and makes weird sounds with her teeth. On the other hand, the film’s lead actor is directly related to the superhero in Rajamouli’s next film, and even Rajamouli would have an attack after seeing his performance in this film.
A short story has been stretched out, with forced songs, a pointless love angle, and a beautiful witch who turns a horror film into a comedy. The storytelling is very simple and straightforward. There are no twists or turns; you just need to use your brain a little. The past story, narrated in a TV serial style, takes away the fear. If you want to see true horror, another film from the Telugu industry, Kishkinda Puri, released a few days ago.
It has an amazing twist and two or three scenes that will make you scream. Just hearing the name Jatadhara, the Lord Shiva who comes to mind when you appear in the climax, will be fun. Beyond that, the remaining two hours will be wasted. A one-star out of five is half the story idea and half the Shiva appearance in the climax. The negatives are numerous. The slow pace, the serial-like editing, the acting, and the horror feel are simply unreal.
Sometimes I wonder if Rajamouli made a mistake with Baahubali. Otherwise, at least we wouldn’t have to watch all this pan-India. I was trapped. You can escape. Take care. Bye-bye.
