The season of remakes continues . After the highly dissapointing Laxmi, comes Durgamati , a remake of telugu hit Bhagamatie, starring the supremely talented Anushka Shetty and helmed by Ashok. The bollywood version is presented by the same makers, along with Akshay Kumar , who himself starred in Laxmi. But Durgamati suffers exactly where Laxmi failed as well – a banal screenplay and poor execution

Horror thriller as a genre has never been exploited well by Bollywood , but with films like Stree and to a certain extent Tumbaad, we felt we are slowly getting into the zone of churning out solid and interesting horror films with a tinge of comedy and thrills. But with back to back films like Durgamati and Laxmi, guess we are back to basics – antiquated treatment marred with insipid thrill elements.

Durgamati is wrapped up as a package of all this and more – ominous shrieks, incessant thunder, boisterous hoots and a shrill attempt to scare , which unfortunately, just doesnt work. A scene to scene remake of the original , Durgamati narrates the tale of Chanchal Chauhan ( Bhumi Pedneker) , a former aide of minister Ishwar Prasad ( Arshad Warsi), who is under suspicion of corruption and stealing of temple idols. Presently incarcerated for killing her fiance ( Karan Kapadia), Chanchal Chauhan is the only channel through which evidence can be garnered against the minister. A group of CBI folks led by Satakshi Ganguly ( Mahie Gill) decide to shift Chanchal from jail to a decrepit haveli , which as per the local villagers, is severely haunted by the spirit of Durgamati.

Purely from a commercial standpoint, the story of Durgamati holds a lot of promise, and the narrative starts impressively. But as it unravels, the loopholes begin to appear – loud acting, crass dialogues and a forced attempt to scare the audience. The scary bits doesnt work, and are jaded throughout. The film though enjoys good visuals , it is hampered by a jarring background score . But the weakest track in this film is the protagonist itself . Anushka Shetty as Bhagmatie in the original was absolutely outstanding. Her riveting performance elevated the uneven film to a crackling thriller . Bhumi Pedneker as Durgamatie tries hard, very hard, but she is no match for Anushka Shetty. Her valiant attempts as a convincing Durgamatie – rolling her eyes , flipping the sari and screeching monologues – fails to captivate .

Arshad Warsi as the minister plays well, bringing a required gravitas which adds up to his demanour. Mahie Gill looks bloated, and is completely unconvincing as a bengali officer who keeps mouthing to her team ” I dont like negativity” . Jisshu Sengupta as the supporting police officer is efficient .

Fraught with erratic scenes and a convoluted screenplay , Durgamati tries really hard to startle but flounders badly . At over 2 hours 35 mins, watching this film is a test of endurance. I am going with a generous 2 out of 5 for Durgamati – the myth. I would recommend viewing the dubbed version of the original. Watching Anushka Shetty as Bhagmatie is a total paisa vasool!

POPCORN ENTERTAINMENT RATING – 2/5