A popular belief in the Kannada film industry today is that if you include a ghost in your film it will be successful. Kalpana 2 , which is a remake of Raghava Lawrence’s Kanchana 2 , might have thought of cashing in on this trend. In fact, the film, like its original, has not one but three ghosts. But, as it turns out, more isn’t so much merrier. It is almost as if the devil, after being cast in too many films of late, has gotten a bit tired to work his or her magic on screen again.
Moreover, there isn’t anything spectacularly new that the film offers within the genre. Ghosts in an abandoned house form the setting — a much abused trope in the horror genre. Kalpana 2 is a poorer lookalike of its original. Sample this: the opening sequence of the film is literally lifted from the original. And towards the end, right after a rather loud climax, a voice-over finishes the film for us. So between the half-hearted opening and closing bits of the film is a portion that Raju has shot with Upendra, Avantika Shetty and Priyamani and that is what differentiates Kalpana 2 from Kanchana 2 . What differentiates the Kanchana/Kalpana series is the fact that it attempts to stitch horror and comedy together. One was looking forward to see how both the director and the actors would strike a balance between the scare and the laugh. But Kalpana 2 ’s comedy bits are rather lame and again come across as utterly clichéd. Overall, Kalpana 2 does seem as if all your senses are under attack as it fails to make you laugh or be afraid.
Kalpana 2 (Kannada)
Director: R. Anantha Raju
Cast: Upendra, Priyamani, Avantika Shetty, Tulasi Shivamani, Chitra Shenoy
