Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/bhaagamathie-movie-review/
The latest incarnation of the haunted-house movie is titled Bhaagamathie – and it’s at least a little different from others of its ilk. It’s a haunted-palace movie. The police force, though, prefer to call the mansion a guest house. It’s in the middle of a forest, and it’s where a convict named Sanchala (Anushka Shetty, whose statuesque presence does more for these parts than her performance) is being taken for interrogation. (The police suspect that this former IAS officer knows something about antiques being smuggled out of the country.) As Sanchala is being taken there, an ominous crow trails them. The weather report warns of a storm ahead. The insides of the location are filled with dim lighting, ear-shattering music, and – you’d better be sitting down for this – cobwebs. Someone is heard muttering, “Adhu guest house illa. Ghost house.”
Soon, people are being tossed around like puppets. (Literally!) Is Sanchala possessed by the spirit of a queen? A tantrik is brought in to find out. He says there’s only way to ascertain that there are two souls inside Sanchala’s body, and that’s to check if she’s giving off a bad smell. He isn’t talking about BO. But something else stinks, and it’s the lip-sync. The film is meant to be in Tamil, but half the actors seem to be speaking in Telugu.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2018 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Vivek narain
January 27, 2018
Being associated with Fiona Broome, i can safely say that such tangible signs as implied in this movie are never found, even by the most dedicated ghost hunters.
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MANK
January 27, 2018
. Anushka Shetty, whose statuesque presence does more for these parts than her performance
Yup, she isn’t much of an actress, but what fantastic screen presence and such a beautiful woman. I find her the most attractive of all contemporary indian actresses. The classically beautiful Indian female star in the mold of a sridevi and more specifically like Hema malini- where you are willing to over look the limitations in their acting skills in lieu of their regal screen presence and star aura. Just makes her perfect for parts like Arundhati and devasena.
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kaizokukeshav
January 28, 2018
After watching the interview in the link below, I think the art director Ravindar Reddy has put a lot of thought to create the feel. He took the non-CGI route to create the set and it looks ambitious for a movie without a star hero.
Baradwaj Sir, can we see some interviews with Art directors any time ?
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Pavan
January 28, 2018
I would recommend Ashok’s Pilla Zamindar instead of Bhaagamathie. I agree that the latter had a good plot and was ambitious, but it pales as an experience before the former (for me) which was great to see for its simplicity and the slapstick humour. Having said that, it is to Anushka’s credit that I found Bhaagamathie really interesting. What an aura!
Link below (with subtitles):
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phaneendra201
January 28, 2018
I liked Pilla Jamindar except for climax. Climax seemed to be preachy. Otherwise it is a good movie.
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Anand Govindarajan
January 29, 2018
Baddie, I saw the movie in Telugu and seemed to like it. Whatever was obviously tacky in Tamil due to dubbing issues, was not distracting at all in Telugu. However, I would have loved to see Anushka as the evil character – gosh what sort of avenues that sort of characterization could have opened for her and for female leads in general in the south. Something of a Mankathesque climax.
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