Durgamati is a tepid, low on energy and many a times unintentionally funny remake of Bhagamathie. It lacks all the trappings and worthy moments that the original was high on.
The movie is, for the most part, a scene by scene copy of original. However the screenplay lacks the tension. Direction is lazy, to put it subtly. The performances are really below par. You will have to really endure some hamming and over the top acting by a most of the supporting cast.
Some scenes/characters which are modified from the original, probably to scare you more end up being silly and funny. For instance the watchman of the mansion, crippled with no hands. The idea was probably to create an impact that the constable felt someone touching his hands but when he asked the watchman to open the gates, he showed his helplessness saying he had no hands. It was meant to be shocking. But did the writers even think how did the watchman go inside the mansion and close the gates, if he had no hands. First and foremost why on earth would someone even employ him for guarding a mansion.
The weakest link of Durgamati is its leading lady. Who neither gives a feisty performance nor has the screen presence and elegance that Anushka Shetty so effortlessly infused into the original. You would struggle not to break into a guffaw when Bhumi Pednekar transforms into Durgamati and tries to deliver roaring dialogues. They end up being funny.
Jishu Sengupta is good but wasted in an underwritten role. Mahie Gill fails in leaving a mark. Her inconsistent Bengali accent and intonation is irritating. Arshad warsi is good in the beginning. However towards the end, his character starts to look caricaturish. Karan Kapadia is good and leaves a mark. He needs to work on his dialog delivery, though. Others are just about okay.
Skip this one. Watch Bhagamathie, instead, which is also available on Amazon Prime with subtitles.
14 out of 20 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
