Katha Review

Katha - Murder Mystery
Starring: Genelia, Prakash Raj, Arun Kumar and others
Director: Srinivas Raga
Music: SK Balachandran
Release date: 12 December 2009


The Genelia starrer film Katha comes from a well respected banner Just Yellow. Gunnam Gangaraju has proved that he has good taste with his earlier work. As such the expectations on Katha went up considerably. Let us see how film has turned out.


Story:

The film begins with Chitra (Genelia) coming to Araku. She takes up a job as a school teacher. Genelia meets Krishna (Arun Kumar) a writer and assistant director who is there to shoot a horror film.



Genelia acts strangely and it is a mystery why she stays alone away from her family. Chitra and Krishna become friends and slowly fall in love. Chitra watches a girl being murdered. She however does not notice the killer as he has vanished in a jiffy. She lodges a complaint with the police about the murder.



Prakash Raj is the Circle inspector and Shafi is a constable. The two promise Chitra that they will solve the murder mystery. Chitra starts acting strangely and she reveals the reason for her phobias. Chitra’s father who was the principal of a college in Jharkhand has been brutally murdered for opposing rowdy elements in college elections. Chita’s mother and her two sisters are also killed by the goons.



Chitra has also undergone treatment for her mental instability for a year. Her past comes in handy for a ruthless criminal who starts haunting her and attempts to get her termed as a mad woman. The needle of suspicion points towards policeman Shafi.



Chitra continues to put pressure on the police to trace the body of the girl as well as nab the murderer. With the friend of Krishna being murdered and another attacked brutally, the plot thickens. Prakash Raj shoots down Sahafi saying that the man who has committed the murder.



Is Shafi the real murder? Or is there another person? This is the suspense element that unfolds on the screen.





Performance:



Genelia plays the disturbed and distraught girl to perfection. She is an apt choice and fits the bill of a teacher as well as a neurotic lady to the tee. Prakash Raj also comes up with a neat performance. Arun Kumar is okay. Raghu Babu as a co director and co producer does a routine comedy. The rest are okay.



The music is appropriate keeping in mood of the film. The photography is neat and the story simple and believable.



Katha is a murder mystery with a little bit of romance thrown in. The director manages to build up the suspense and retain it till the end. Katha is a murder mystery with some frightening scenes. Therefore the film will appeal to only those people who like films of this genre. For the rest, the film does not have much to offer.


Katha’s appeal is therefore largely restricted to just a particular section of the audience.