Watched Jatadhara starring Sonakshi Sinha, Sudheer Babu, Divya Khosla Kumar, and Shilpa Shirodkar in pivotal roles, and I can surely say I loved one thing about this film: that finally, after 132 minutes,
it ended. With that being the first thought, let’s break down what Venkat Kalyan & Abhishek Jaiswal’s directorial tried, and mostly failed to deliver.
Jatadhara:
The movie revolves around a folklore from the past, where wealthy men would use tantra-mantra to summon a pishachi (demon) to guard their gold and wealth from being looted. And every time they wanted it back, they had to make a sacrifice, whatever the demon demanded, from killing a hen or a goat to a human.
Now, in Jatadhara, Sonakshi plays Dhanpishachani, and Shilpa Shirodkar plays Shobha, a woman driven by greed who summons Dhanpishachani with the aid of a tantric. The demon demands the sacrifice of a child. When Shilpa’s character fails to meet the demand, every member of her family dies. That child grows up to become a ghost hunter, played by Sudheer Babu.
Review:
Why? What was the need? These are the exact questions everyone, along with me, sitting in those comfortable theatre seats, had for the entire cast, especially Sonakshi Sinha. The entire movie could easily have been a science lecture with the moral: “Energy can’t be created, can’t be destroyed, but can be neutralised.” There, I’ve just summarised the entire plot.
Drama in the film? Over the top. Dialogues? Cringe. Acting? Yet to be found.
With Jatadhara, blaming the script alone wouldn’t be right. The problem runs deeper: when you deal with folklore, it’s not just about telling a story; it’s about telling it with conviction. These tales already exist in our culture, rich with mystique and meaning. What’s missing here is the belief that makes the unbelievable feel real.
It’s not like we don’t have such stories in India. The Maddock Horror-Comedy Universe is a perfect example of how a movie full of fictional characters can be made; it thrives on fiction and folklore, yet remains convincing. Because when you make the audience believe, they willingly suspend disbelief. Jatadhara never earns that faith.
Let’s talk performances:
While Sonakshi Sinha has been credited as the lead in the film, it could easily be described as an extended cameo. Her character, supposedly meant to be scary and give you sleepless nights, only delivers some unintentional laughter, and at times, cringes, thanks to the annoying sound she makes by grinding her teeth.
Shilpa Shirodkar decided to have a second inning with Bigg Boss, and then chose this script after finishing her stint on the reality show, quite a questionable choice. The character had no depth whatsoever.
Sudheer Babu plays Shiva, a ghost hunter who doesn’t believe in ghosts. He roams around haunted places to prove a point that ghosts don’t exist, only to suddenly encounter the spirits of his real parents. Shocked by this, he starts believing in spirits and decides to defeat Dhanpishachani to end an ancient curse. In the process, he gets killed, then suddenly lands on Kailash Parvat, meets Lord Shiva, and starts performing tandav! Like, what even? Did that make sense to you? No? Exactly, neither did it while watching.
Divya Khosla Kumar’s role as Shiva’s love interest is equally paper-thin. The two accidentally meet in a palace and suddenly can’t live without each other, head over heels, with zero story buildup.
Technical aspects:
Visually, the film tries to impress with dark, shadowy frames and special effects, but it’s the inconsistent CGI and rushed sequences that undermine the effort. The background score also tries to heighten the tension, but ends up feeling loud and distracting in most places rather than immersive. The editing feels uneven, too, with abrupt transitions that make some scenes unintentionally comedic.
Final verdict
Jatadhara promises horror but delivers only exhaustion. The movie doesn’t just need changes; it needs a complete rewrite, with character arcs more sharply expressed and jumpscares actually scary, because right now, if endurance were a genre, this film would ace it.
