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 About Our Rating  Storyline: Manthra (Charmme) is an orphan and owns a house named Manthra Nilayam in which she wants to sell in order to clear her father’s debts. Nobody comes forward to buy the house because there is a rumor that this house is a haunted one. A professor strikes a deal with Manthra to purchase the house. The deal is that she has to get someone to live in the house for three months before his pay of money for Manthra Nilayam. Meanwhile she happens to meet Hero (Shivaji), a loyal associate of a local goon. Hero agrees to stay in the house with his friends for a small commission. Rest of the story is all about the mysterious happenings that occurred in that haunted house. Casting Performances:Charmme once again excelled with her natural performance as Manthra. She had done this role effortlessly with effective expressions. She is excellent in the last half an hour of the film. She is extremely glamorous in modern outfit. Overall, she is just perfect. Shivaji is the surprise package of the film. Hero role in this film is a new addition to his career. He changed his body language to suit the role of a reckless rowdy. Overall, he did a decent job. Kausha is ok. Chitram Sreenu and Vijay as associates of hero is up to the mark. Jeeva did very well in his limited role.  TECHNICAL ASPECTS Story - Screenplay & Direction: Basic story line of the film is very thin and it is a typical suspense thriller. First half of the film is filled with suspenseful moments and second half unveils the mystery. Director had succeeded in maintaining the suspense throughout the film. Screenplay is gripping. Direction is good at times. He presented the characters in a realistic way. Other Departments:  Music by Anand is mediocre. Background score is breathtaking. The sound design in certain scenes is applaudable and DTS mixing is best part. Photography by Sivendra is extraordinary. His camera work in night scenes is great and he used a special camera for this film. However, songs picturization is not up to the mark. Dialogues are good enough. Editing is fine but some scenes in the second half appeared to be needless. Overall, it’s a good effort from technical department. Production values are of high standards. Analysis:First half of the movie is interesting with balance amount of humor and suspense. Second half of the film is bit down. Charmme’s performance towards climax is commendable. Plus points of the film are directors taking, photography, background score, scariness and sound effects. The minus point of the film is second half which holds few faults. It is very difficult to narrate a horror story. Technically the film is fantastic. Overall, Manthra fares just an average film and might do well at multiplexes. |