Movie Review : Hidimba Review

'Hidimba' Movie Review!

Cast: Ashwin Babu, Nandita Shweta, Makarand Deshpande, Raghu Kunche, Sanjay Swaroop, Srinivasa Reddy, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Rajeev Kanakala and others.

Music: Vikas Badisa

Cinematography: B Rajasekhar

Dialogues: Kalyan Chakravarthy

Producer: Gangapatnam Sridhar

Writer - Director: Anil Kanneganti

It is the time of small films right now and one film which attracted a lot of people with its teaser and trailer is 'Hidimba'. Starring Ashwin Babu and Nandita Shweta in the lead, the movie is arriving with a lot of buzz on social media. Let us see if the movie matched the expectations or not.

Story:

Police officer Abhay (Ashwin Babu) is struggling to solve a peculiar case where a lot of girls go missing in Hyderabad city. At the same time, his ex-girlfriend Adya (Nandita Shweta) who is an IAS officer heads a special team formed by the government. Both of them work together in order to solve this case of kidnapping. They catch a criminal named Boya suspecting that he is the culprit. They rescue all the girls and believe that they solved the case successfully. But they find out that the girls they rescued are not the ones whom they are searching for. The kidnappings keep happening despite Boya being arrested. Adya and Abhay once again start investigating the case. A lot of shocking facts come to light. What are they? Who is behind these kidnappings? Will the police catch the criminal? All these questions will be answered in the movie.

Analysis:

A thriller movie should keep the audience on the edge of their seats. A lot of questions need to be asked and the mystery needs to be held till the climax through a lot of twists and turns. The concept should be novel as well and 'Hidimba' has all these elements. Despite the lack of commercial success, Anil Kanneganti made good films like 'Asadhyudu' and 'Mr. Nookayya'. He took a lot of time and worked very hard on the script of this film. He tried to present this film in a very raw manner. He should be appreciated for wanting to show something different to the audience. But he failed to present the film in the exact way he has written on the paper. The movie needs to be more gripping and the core point of the movie may be indigestible for the audience. Not everyone may take it well. But if could survive the rawness and over-the-top narration, the twists and backdrop make 'Hidimba' a decent watch.

Not many would be interested in watching a film that has a small hero like Ashwin Babu in the lead and a flop director like Anil handling the microphone. But the trailer made the audience interested in the movie. The weird attire and their behavior created curiosity among the viewers. 'Hidimba' is their story. Anil Kanneganti wrote the story about a 'Hidimba' tribe who eat humans for a living. This tribe who existed before independence is the main part of the story. The director wrote the film in an interesting manner and the audience are glued to their seats as long as their story is being shown. We get goosebumps when these scenes are going on. But you need to be strong enough to withstand all the violence and bloodshed which will be shown in the movie. The movie runs in an interesting manner from the start of the Hidimba tribe's story to the very very end. The makers create fear among the audience and create curiosity as well. The twist at the pre-climax is a major highlight. People who are used to thriller movies might guess it beforehand but a lot of people will be shocked with it. The climax is quite interesting as well.

But the way 'Hidimba' starts and the treatment of the pre-interval is unimpressive. Girls getting kidnapped and police investigation scenes look very ordinary. There is an episode revolving Kaala Banda area and they are too over-the-top. The romantic track between the hero and heroine is also quite irritating. The chemistry between Ashwin Babu and Nandita did not work out. They just don't feel right together. Hero's character is not presented well. Starting from the fights, all the scenes were dealt in an over-the-top manner by Anil and there are a few other minus points too. Though the runtime is short, the first half has a lot of lag but things take a positive turn when the story shifts towards the 'Hidimba' tribe. Had the film been dealt in a calm manner with less vulgarity and violence like a lot of Malayalam thrillers, 'Hidimba' would have been amongst the top thrillers. 'Hidimba' scores on the concept front and people who like different cinema can have a look at it.

Performances:

Ashwin Babu worked hard to don the violent look that is required for the character. But he failed to overcome the shortcomings in his action. Ashwin tried to do justice to the role which appears ordinary in the beginning but gains significance as the movie progresses. His acting during the climax went a bit overboard. Nandita Shweta did justice to her role. She appeared more glamorous in this flick compared to her previous flicks. She stunned the audience with liplock and intimate scenes. There are no complaints regarding her acting skills. Makarand Deshpande's performance is fantastic. Noone other than him could have done justice to such a role. Sanjay Swaroop, Raghu Kunche, Srinivas Reddy and others are okay in supporting roles while Sijju and Rajeev Kanakala are impressive.

Technicians:

The effort of technicians is visible in 'Hidimba'. The movie gave a chance to showcase their brilliance. The story did not give a lot of scope for songs but Vikas' wonderful background score showcased his specialty. It played a key role in getting the audience involved in the proceedings. But he too went a bit overboard at places as the sounds are a bit strange at times. The sound design is quite good. Rajasekhar's cinematography is interesting as he gives a different feel to this movie. The visuals during the action portions, 'Hidimba' background and Kerala episodes came out very well. The production values are good and the makers spent well on a small film. This film proves that director Anil Kanneganti has a lot of stuff. He wrote the story on a never seen before point on the Telugu screen. His work can be seen on the screen. His script work scores a lot of brownie points. Bit his over-the-top style works against the movie. He should have toned down the vulgarity and violence too.

Verdict: 'Hidimba' - Intriguing Point Narrated With Few Flaws!

Rating: 2.5/5

Disclaimer : This Review is Just An Opinion of One Person. Please Do Not Judge The Movie Based On This Review And Watch Movie in Theater