Durgamati Review is all about disgraced IAS officer Chanchal Chauhan’s life who is taken to an empty mansion for questioning by higher authorities. There she gets possessed by the mansion’s ghost and will not leave until she takes her revenge. Chanchal Chauhan an IAS officer featuring Bhumi Pednekar is a few days away from getting married to her fiance Shakti Singh featuring Karan Kapadia.
The plot of the movie shows that they are connected as Chauhan is questioned in an abandoned building which is said to be cursed. After reaching the venue, Chauhan claims that she is a physical avatar of a ghost named Durgamati but the question is who was she. Ashok G’s retelling of 2018 Tamil and Telugu film Bhaagamathie in Hindi is very outdated and boring.
Bhumi Pednekar is a lonely officer who paints a sad picture and the viewers immediately want to know her backstory. But when her personality shifts from a meek and gentle girl to a revengeful queen who keeps on praising herself she becomes a devi whose heroism and plight makes you shocked and surprised. She has a complete makeover with her proper hair and sari draped like a Hindu Goddess.
It is a complete misfire of themes like redemption, revenge, political conspiracy and women empowerment. Durgamati proves to be very disappointing when it comes to horror as a shadowy presence in the room, a scary neck coming out of nowhere and moving of the hairs are very old and have been seen in many films. The background music of Jakes Bejoy is very dramatic and old which worsens the situation of the director.
Though Bhumi is a natural actor, she looks out of the element as a ghost in this movie. Karan Kapadia has a Swades type moment as he is in the US but returns to Panna village only to help in the upliftment of the people. He is an angry and straight shooter as Shakti and has only limited screen time. It would have been great if he had got more screen space.
Arshad Warsi as Ishwar Prasad tries to change the nation through fair and honest means and gives a great performance. ACP Singh is played by Jisshu Sengupta and even though he makes a brief appearance but he charms effortlessly. Politics today is like hooliganism to some and egalitarianism is a new concept for some.
