Kumari

An amazing concept, but fails to impress in execution.

First 15 minutes of the movie, I was very hopefull that this is going to be a nice movie. The concept of the folklore story was very exciting. The movie nicely establishes the plot but failed to emotionaly invest me in the story. The visuals were amazing. The cinematography by Abraham joseph was a big positive. Aishwarya lakshmi was good. The songs were nice, especially the one introducing kumaris character. Amazing set designs. The technical department did a great job. All the actors who came as extras did a good job.

As a fantasy movie, the movie fails to set the rules in the world. So feels pretty inconsistent in most parts. Shine tom chakos character did not work for me (his sound modulation didnot work either). Could have focused on writing a little more.

Good effort, nice concept, but misses the mark somewhere.

It's been years since a horror fantasy mystery (like Ananthabhadram) in Mollywood. Kumari may not be a watch for all but for me it was a bliss ✨. Apart from small trails and non understandable dialogue delivery of Shine Tom Chacko It was a pure joy of wonderful screenplay ,music and great performances of all the cast. Everyone was beautiful in every screen notably the main cast . Eventhough ,it was a beautiful theatre experience it was underwhelming to see vacant seats on the third day of release . It is a must watch for all those who love to hear stories of the land and to escape from the real world to a world of mysticism ,witchcraft which hasn't lost its relevance even today...

I'm confused on so many levels about this movie. On the one hand, the visuals and the music together make a great atmosphere throughout the movie making the horror fantasy feel of it almost perfect. On the other hand, the dialogues are horrendous with a stage drama-like style to them and the direction of the actors seems to make it worse. It's only when the actors deliver something beyond the dialogue, some things they are already comfortable with outside of this movie, that the acting works very well. Shine Tom's recent unhinged interviews now feel like an extension of this character. Either you will love it or you will hate it. I loved his performance in this movie so much that no one else deserves a mention about their performances after his one in this movie.

There is an attempt to use folklore and bring it to a western sensibility without losing our perception of such folklore. That aspect is clearly inspired by Tumbbad but it doesn't really translate beyond the basic idea and some creature designs used. Due to this attempt, there are a lot of things in the movie that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but the movie doesn't really want us to think that deeply either.

Overall, I think Kumari is a decent attempt despite its shortcomings as a horror fantasy. It could've been easily a better experience just by trimming around 30 minutes out of the movie.

By making Ranam and Kumari, placing both films on extreme ends of the spectrum in the visual landscape and making both of them aesthetically stunning yet lacking something in the writing department, Nirmal Sahadev proves his aesthetic sensibilities and the need for a better screenwriter for his stories.

Barring a few scenes, the movie is refreshing and with a lot new and chilling ideas. Aishwarya Lakshmi as Kumari is really terrific. She excels in many scenes.

Apart from her, Shine Tom Chacko, Swasika Vijay and Surabhi Lakshmi make their presence felt.

The background score by Jakes Bejoy is pulsating and a couple of songs are really good.

Nirmal Sahadev's story is a heady mixture of fantasy and horror. As the director, he did a clean job of presenting an eminently watchable movie, if you can excuse him for a few boring scenes.

The locations are very good and carefully chosen by the movie team. Overall, a paisa vasool movie.

Sorta went into this blind but Kumari turned out to be a great watch for me.

Let's talk plot.

Eons ago, a goddess that came to earth and found herself so fascinated by the world, she chose to remain on earth.

She subsequently falls in love with a human and gives birth to two children, Chathan and Gari Devan. The children were disfigured, looked nothing like humans or gods but had great powers. When their fighting began destroying earth, the goddess subdued them by limiting Chathan's presence to the mountainous forest, Gari Devan's to the underground and returned to her otherworldly home. Humans come to realize their powers and begin worshiping the demi-gods.

Kumari is a young woman who leaves home by way of arranged marriage. Her husband is the lonely, disappointing second born son of the village lord and 12th generation descendent of an evil lord who killed a forest child that Chathan was fond of. Chathan seeks revenge for the child's death by cursing the entire village. To rescue the village and more importantly, maintain his power, the evil lord calls upon Gari Devan to lift the curse. The price this salvation called for was the sacrificing of the lord's firstborn child and to maintain it every 12th generation would have to make the same sacrifice.

When the elder son fails to produce offspring and Kumari falls pregnant, the husband gets the future lordship and the power goes to his head. Kumari learns of the plans to sacrifice her baby and has to find a way to save her child.

So, yeah, I thought this was a good film. The pace was good, it held interest and the practical effects were well done. The second act of the film was lacking something. Maybe it was simply the dialogue but the story was a little muddled at times. Otherwise, no complaints here. I say give it a look if fantasy bordering on fairytales is your thing, check it out.