Lanka - Movie Review

'Lanka' movie was released today. Let's find to know whether it's worth watching or can be given a miss…

What's the Story?

Swathi (Ina Saaha) a National Award-winning actress is in Hyderabad on a professional assignment. In the initial moments itself, it becomes clear that hers is a troubled life. But who is after her is not clear. All that we see is that she is scared for her safety. She gets fearsome nightmares and hallucinations, making the audience wonder if some supernatural danger is upon her. When a young short filmmaker sees her, he finds her to be very beautiful. Not knowing that she is a famous actress in Malayalam, he tries to convince her to act in his short film. She finally accepts his offer. 

As it happens in most horrors/thrillers, they (read Swathi, the director, the hero who is played by Sathya, and DoP who is played by Sudarshan) move to a bungalow which looks suspicious. There is a strange character living in that house and it's Rebecca Williams (yesteryear screen diva Raasi), who starts to observe Swathi keenly and strangely right from the first day. Very soon Swathi becomes close to Rebecca, reading a book on Telepathy. But in a few days, the actress goes missing and none else but Rebecca knows about it!. 

What Works!

'Lanka' has a good technical output to make it visually pleasing. Sricharan Pakala doesn't go for loud BGM. After watching a horror like 'Shivalinga', this one is a total contrast. The cinematography (V Ravi Kumar) scores well. The shots in the bungalow and the police investigation room are impressive. The element of a lonely woman (read Rebecca) coming with a past of her own is interesting. Comedians Sathya and Sudarshan manage to draw some laughs here and there. 

What Doesn't Work!

Leaving aside the emotional touch in the story line, 'Lanka' is all about being convoluted. Before even what kind of danger the heroine is facing is told, she being a monophobic is revealed. That problem eats up much screen space, which it is not integral to the story. If the heroine's nightmares are problematic, even the hero has a day dreaming sequence, thanks to the fact that he loves the girl. And his love story is totally forgotten later!

There comes a story that Rebecca narrates to the police. The story itself turns out to be an artificial element. The dialogues spoken by Raasi's character are difficult to understand at times. Here too, there was no need for such complexity in language. And it's not as if she was a German language teacher in the past!

Nalla Venu's character is a totally misfit. 

Performance Score

The performances are generally good. Raasi is convincing as a self-absorbed, psychological woman who smells of peculiarity. Ina is convincing as a damsel in distress. The guy who played the director is good-looking. Leena Sidhu, who plays a cop with a penchant for speaking in affected English irritates. Sathyam Rajesh is forgettable. 

Final Verdict

'Lanka' was supposed to be a crime thriller. The element of scientific thriller was smuggled into with no proper rational. Some good technicality and performances aside, the film falls flat because of its old-fashioned narrative style.