Sharabha is a fantasy thriller film starring Aakash Kumar Sahdev and Mishti Chakraborty in lead roles. Napoleon, Jayaprada, Puneet Issar, and Nassar appeared in crucial roles. Ashwani Kumar Sahdev produced the film under the AKS Entertainment banner. N Narasimha Rao directed the film. Sharabha was released worldwide on 22 Nov 2018.
Sharabha Story
An evil tantric, Chandraksha (Puneet Issar), wants to free millions of ghosts and make them his slaves to take over the world. He performs special rituals for Chanda Bhairavi with human sacrifices for 17 consecutive years. However, after 18 years, the story switches to the present. His son, Rakhtaksha, performs 17 sacrifices to resurrect his dead father. As he sets his eyes on Divya (Mishti Chakraborty) for the final sacrifice, Sharabha (Aakash Kumar) comes to her rescue. Rakhtaksha identifies Sharabha’s mother (Jayaprada) and hints at a dreaded past. What is their past and how does Sharabha stop Rakhtaksha from succeeding forms the crux of the film.
Story Analysis
Sharabha undoubtedly has one of the most exciting scripts in recent times. There are many interesting aspects of the story and it has as much potential as that of Arundhati. However, the narration is terrible and takes the audience for granted in several scenes. There is a heavy mix of fantasy, thriller, romance, comedy, drama, horror, and devotional elements that the story keeps switching from one element to the other. Kodi Ramakrishna is a master of such scripts and blends genres effortlessly but Sharabha fails to make a point. The major problem is that there is no core theme.
The film starts as a fantasy thriller and then switches to a regular rom-com until the interval. The first half is decent with the usual fight-comedy-song sequences. The only purpose of many scenes and dialogues appears to just elevate heroism. The interval sequence is flat. The second half spoils the story with over-the-top performances, unnecessary graphics, and heavy melodrama. The climax is stretched beyond comprehension and feels like watching multiple films together. Overall, Sharabha’s story underplays where it is required and overdoes unnecessary things.
Performances
Aakash Kumar is miscast in the film. He rarely expresses anything in the film. While his body says something, his expressions contradict it. Although he failed to perform, the director is partly responsible for his poor execution. Mishti Chakraborty is good in her role. Jayaprada has an important role and she gives a strong comeback with it.
Napoleon is superb in flashback scenes but most of the audience may not recognize him. Puneet Issar perfectly suits his role as a tantric and his performance is good. Nassar has a comic role in the film. He impresses with his performance. Sayaji Shinde has a minor role in a couple of scenes.
Technical Analysis
Sharabha has an average script with terrible dialogues. A better screenplay would have improved the film ten times. A fairy tale kind of narration is directly adapted to the film without proper screenplay which spoiled the film to a great extent. The production values are decent but the money is overspent. While the sets and props remind us of low-budget films, the VFX is better than several high-budget films. The producer could have bridged that gap.
The cinematography is good but the music is average. The visual effects are top-notch. The editing is a lifesaver. The editor improved it a lot by scenic order and maintaining pacing. The direction is terrible. Despite a high budget, the film fails to leave a mark. Although there is scope to intensify scenes with plot devices like anticipation and a ticking clock, the director makes it flat.
Conclusion
Sharabha resembles many films from Bhairava Dweepam to Anji in bits and pieces. But it fails to engage the audience throughout the run-time. Overall, Sharabha has a great theme, average story, mediocre screenplay, and terrible direction.
Sharabha
Director: N. Narasimha Rao
Date Created: 2018-11-22 11:00
1.5
