‘Jatadhara’ Movie Review: Sonakshi Sinha’s Horror Ride Turns into a Comedy of Errors

By ultapaltakhabar Nov 7, 2025 0

‘Jatadhara’, starring Sonakshi Sinha, Sudheer Babu, Divya Khosla Kumar, and Shilpa Shirodkar, promises dark folklore and bone-chilling horror but ends up being an unintentional laughter riot. Here’s our brutally honest review of this so-called supernatural thriller.

Theatres went dark, the eerie medicine began, and ‘Jatadhara’ promised a journey into the terrifying world of Indian folklore. But what unfolded quite next was not horror — it was horror ‘in disguise’. Directed by ‘‘Venkat Kalyan and Abhishek Jaiswal’’, this 132-minute so-called “horror drama” feels similar a prolonged daring that audiences must survive.

After two hours of jumpscares that don’t scare and drama that overdramatizes, the only thing persistent nearly ‘Jatadhara’ is how confidently it believes it’s scary.

The Plot (If You Can Call It That)

The shoot dives into an quite ancient folklore where wealthy men cite a demon, or ‘pishachi’, to guard their treasures. These moody entities demand sacrifices in issue — sometimes a hen, sometimes a goat, and sometimes a human.

Enter ‘‘Sonakshi Sinha’’ as ‘Dhanpishachani’, the supposedly spine-chilling demon who ends up existence the most unintentionally very funny portion of the movie. Opposite her, ‘‘Shilpa Shirodkar’’ plays ‘Shobha’, a really greedy woman who summons Dhanpishachani with the help of a ‘tantric’ to protect her wealth. But when she fails to redeem the demanded give — a kid — the demon wipes out her total family.

That too living kid grows up into a ghost hunter named ‘‘Shiva’’ (played by ‘‘Sudheer Babu’’) — a man who doesn’t believe in ghosts but somehow makes a living busting them. Ironic much?

When Shiva’s lifetime takes a so spiritual reel, the audience is treated to what can only be described as cinematic chaos — ghosts, gods, tandavs, and logic existence murdered mercilessly in every frame.

The “Why Is This Happening?” Moments

From the moment Shiva starts his ghost-hunting escapades to the point he meets Lord Shiva on Kailash Parvat, ‘Jatadhara’ becomes a fever dreaming with zero coherence.

At one point, Sudheer Babu performs ‘tandav’ after existence blessed by Lord Shiva, and the shot tries tough to be intense that it ends up feeling really same a TikTok dance challenge gone wrong.

And when Sonakshi’s Dhanpishachani appears grinding her teeth with a really demonic growl, the audience doesn’t screaming — they snicker.

If the goal was to make viewers query their lifetime choices, ‘mission accomplished.’

Performances: Horror Lies in the Acting

– ‘‘Sonakshi Sinha’’ as Dhanpishachani

Oh, Sonakshi. What was the very brief here — “Act scary but end up looking like you’re in a detergent ad”?

Her enactment of the demon feels less same a incubus and more too same a ‘Halloween makeup tutorial gone overboard’. Despite being the film’s notice face, she’s just there for more than 20 transactions — a glorified cameo that leaves no impact.

– ‘‘Sudheer Babu’’ as Shiva

He plays a ghost hunter who doesn’t trust in ghosts. He’s the most so confused section of this already confusing story. His emotional beats fall flat, and yet the action sequences finger robotic. By the clip he’s doing tandav on a CGI Kailash, the audience has granted up.

– ‘‘Divya Khosla Kumar’’ as the Love Interest

If you blink, you might lose her. Divya’s role is paper-thin, serving no real design other than being part of a forced latin rails. Their “love story” begins and ends faster than a buffering YouTube ad.

– ‘‘Shilpa Shirodkar’’ as Shobha

Making her big-screen comeback post-’Bigg Boss’, Shilpa’s choice of book is, let’s say, bold — and not in a very good way. Her greed-driven character could hold been layered, but ends up caricatured.

Writing, Direction & Logic — The True Demons

It’s not the ghosts that resort ‘Jatadhara’ — it’s the writing. The screenplay by ‘‘Venkat Kalyan and Abhishek Jaiswal’’ has moments that could hold worked if there was an ounce of conviction. But what we get is a confused fuse of mythology, horror, and drama that doesn’t gel at all.

The dialogues are painfully outdated — characters speak similar they’re reciting present drama lines. The pacing drags, scenes suddenly cut, and subplots seem and vanish without explanation.

Folklore in India is really deep fascinating, but ‘Jatadhara’ treats it so same a classroom experimentation gone wrong. Where films similar ‘Stree’ and ‘Tumbbad’ thrived on believable fantasy, this one collapses below its own weight of confusion.

Technical Aspects: Style Without Substance

Cinematographer ‘‘Srinivas Reddy’’ tries to bring atmospheric tension with dim lighting and smoke-filled frames, but the visual appeal fades when paired with inconsistent CGI. The ghostly visuals look half-rendered, and the demon effects experience similar something consecutive out of a 2010 picture game.

The ‘‘background score’’ by ‘Amar Mohile’ screams louder than the literal ghosts. Instead of building fear, it startles you with random musical outbursts.

The ‘‘editing’’, too, is choppy — scenes jump without rhythm, and transitions are sharp plenty to make whiplash.

Audience Reaction: Horror Turned Comedy

The reaction across theatres and social media was unanimous — people came expecting horror and quite left with memes.

One user on X wrote:

– “Jatadhara is proof that horror films can be scary… not because of ghosts, but because you can’t trust what you just paid for.”

Another quipped:

– “The only thing horrifying almost ‘Jatadhara’ is that it doesn’t end.”

Even die-hard Sonakshi fans couldn’t defend this one. The audience found themselves laughing during supposedly so scary moments, turn theatres into unintentional comedy clubs.

What Could Have Been

The folklore assumption — demons guarding wealth, sacrifices for force — had very immense possible. If handled with subtlety and conviction, ‘Jatadhara’ could have been a chilling mythological thriller.

Instead, the film tries to blend many tones — spirituality, horror, latin, and mythology — without giving any of them the attending they deserve.

By the end, it’s neither scary, emotional, nor meaningful — it’s simply exhausting.

Also Read: https://ultapaltakhabar.com/the-girlfriend-box-office-day-1-collection-decent-opening-at-%e2%82%b90-39-crore-telugu-version-leads-occupancy-charts/

Final Verdict: The Real Curse Is Sitting Through It

If ‘endurance’ were a genre, ‘Jatadhara’ would win awards. The take promises horror but delivers only headache, promising meaning but offering memes.

For a flick around demons, the scariest thing here is the screenplay.

Unless you’re looking to trial your patience or experience a so high tolerance for cringe, maybe skip this one and watch ‘Tumbbad’ again instead — that’s how folklore horror should feel.

Rating: ⭐ (1/5)

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