Moksha (Telugu) Review

OK, so it's a horror movie that revolves around an introverted boy with a knife fetish, a girl who goes into heat every time he's around, a really quiet girl who only comes out at night, and her really intense father - all of them Grade-A candidates for being the perpetrators of horror. Perhaps that is why it takes so long to figure out who the ghoul is.

The story doesn't help either. You see, at first you think it is Srinu (Rajeev Mohan), whose only outlet to frustration from being bullied in college is stabbing a tree with a little knife he carries everywhere. He even has a notice board at home, on which he pins up newspaper cut-outs of gruesome murders.

But then, you meet the new girl next door, Moksha (Meera Jasmine). Real cute, but kinda fishy. Also, she's the only person who'll be friends with Srinu. Did we mention her father (Nasseer)? The security guard at the same building, he's scary as hell, overly protective of his daughter, and just as mean. Moksha's little flashbacks, however, tell you of a time when her father was a kind and gentle man who spoiled her rotten, quite literally too, as you'll find out later.

And where does Rahul Dev come in in all of this? He actually plays some kind of creepy tantric who seems to have a thing for this skank (Disha Pandey) who has a thing for Srinu, who in turn has a thing for a Moksha, around whom a lot of people keep dying.

Like with any "horror" movie worth the sidey neighbourhood it is shot in, the raison d'etre for this one ends when you find out who's doing the killing. The ride leading to the climax is pretty okay, too. It just gets a bit twisted when you prefer the killer to the "killee". Typical slasher-flick fare, the victims are either skanks or sleazebags, and you feel zero sympathy for them.

Also, thespic capabilities of the highest order couldn't save this lame "camping in the woods" tale. And while Meera Jasmine and Nasser are certainly better than just good, the only expressions they got to wear in Moksha are the ones worn by the friendly neighbourhood tree. The rest of the cast goes from boring to unbearable, pretty quickly at that.

The camerawork and the production values are reminiscent of those "ghost story" movies of the early '90s - cheesy and cheap, and you wouldn't be surprised to see a woman in a white saree walk out of a mist. And, the music goes really well with the camerawork and the production values.

The only thing going for Moksha is the fact that, no matter how bad the rest of the movie is (and it can get really bad), once you start watching it, you really can't get up without knowing whodunit. So, do yourself a favour, don't even start.

P. S. If you're not going to do yourself the aforementioned favour, do yourself another favour - do not watch it in Sri Mayuri. There are bedbugs there.