In a normal scenario, we throw around terms like telepathy and intuition to explain happy coincidences. It could be a call from a dear one who seems to have read our mind and has the precise answers. An intuition can make us sense something amiss and avert a situation or maybe be prepared to tackle it better. Telepathy and intuition are deeper studies in psychology.
Sri Muni’s Lanka uses a few aspects of telepathy, albeit in an eerie situation. Swati (Ena Saha) plays a Malayalam actress shooting in Hyderabad and clearly in distress. She’s so afraid to be alone that she gets morbid dreams while left on her own in a hotel room. Then, she meets someone who reads her mind and helps her overcome her fear, drawing strength from principles of telepathy.
Swati, along with a crew of a short film, spends a few days at Rebecca’s (Raasi) abandoned house. An unlikely bond develops between Swati and Rebecca, the latter urging her to trust telepathy.
Sri Muni’s storytelling throws in a fair amount of chills and thrills to keep the horror element alive. A troubled past, a woman who is happy to believe that her children are still alive and a girl running away from an impending mess all make you sit up and think some thought has gone into weaving this story. The intrigue factor makes you look past the somewhat bawdy jokes that come in through Shakalaka Shankar.
Ena Saaha befits the part of a vulnerable girl and Sai Ronak portrays the mix of amateurishness and passion for cinema in an aspiring filmmaker. The narrative also comments on how anyone and everyone sets out to make short films with the hope of making it to the large screen someday.
The plot gets murky and interesting when Swati goes missing. But soon enough, the narrative gets tedious with needless twists and turns. Also, when quite a bit of screen time is devoted to a cooked up story intended to mislead an investigation, it also misleads the audience and ends up looking preposterous.
Lanka is the work of a fairly good technical team, helped by Ravi Kumar’s cinematography and Sricharan Pakala’s music. Raasi makes an impression in the central role in spite of mostly talking in riddles. Initially, it adds to the eerie atmosphere warranted of a horror film but eventually gets tiresome.
Lanka
Cast : Raasi, Ena Saha, Sai Ronak
Direction : Sri Muni
Music : Sricharan Pakala
