Kathputali Movie (Nepali Movie) : Review: Sets New Milestone for Nepali Film Industry

 

Kathputali Movie review

You know those horror movies ranging from Bollywood to Hollywood where the protagonist is made as dumb as possible in obvious situations, and gets into trouble for making stupid decisions. And, the only factors in the movie are loud scary tracks and faces of ghost with a crappy storyline that doesn’t even make sense.

Well, Kathputali doesn’t have any of those and that is what makes it a masterpiece in Nepali film industry.

This movie is definitely one of the milestones for Nepali film industry in Horror Genre and cherry in the top for Horror movie fan like me. Now, obviously there are some aspects that could have been improved. But, besides those it’s a chef’s kiss.

 

Disclaimer:

1.     To all the people who only expects and wants to have scary experience with all the ghosts and scary scenes. Like those movies that only have scare and nothing else, not even a storyline. I definitely wouldn’t recommend you to go because you are only going to disturb and annoy other people who are really invested in the story.
2.      But, for those who want to watch a horror movie with a good story line that also reflects and represents Nepali history, costumes and believes. This is definitely a must watch.

 The good aspects:

The best thing I loved about this movie was the authenticity and the story to tell. From characterization to costumes to rituals that are shown here are authentic to Nepal. Being able to witness the rituals (that are still practiced and believed by people in Nepal) in a cinema hits different.

1)  Actors:

The casting team did a great job for this movie and all the actors justified their characters.

I was able to see the conflict between father and son on ideologies and struggle for power. A loving mother desperate to save her son and a revengeful character that was justified.

Usha Rajak’s acting as a Newari woman was phenomenal and natural. I literally became her huge fan. Mithila Sharma’s scene on the 2nd half where she has battle with ‘Jhakri’ with mantra’s was amazingly portrayed. No wonder from a veteran (always been her huge fan). Gauri Mall definitely had fewer scenes but she nailed every one of those.

Mahesh Shakya did a great job with his character. The acting was well done for the character that was asked of him. Neither overdone nor underdone. And, definitely not cringe which is a huge favor in a horror movie.

2) Characters:

I really loved how every character is made and placed in this movie. Every character has its own uniqueness and they do not drift off. Every placement, reactions and the setting of the characters makes sense. No one goes off making stupid moves.

The reaction and decision of the characters shown in this movie makes sense.  That is exactly how any human being would decide and react in real life, given the situation.

Hats off to script writer for not making characters stupid just for the sake of horror saga to continue.

3)  The story:

The story of this movie is one of its kind.

The 4 phases of possession were properly used in the story. Infestation, Oppression, Obsession and Possession. Though in this movie the 4^th phase is the final blow and also the climax.

This has a revenge story and the revenge makes sense. This story has its own flow, and also answers why the haunting and how the haunting. The finale of the revenge is logical. Nothing like those crazy revenge story without a track or sense. 

I can’t help but also notice how even the tiny details were added and executed in this movie. Like the generational self-indulging habit from father to son, that they were no different. Like how the protagonist was trapped just like how the wandering souls are trapped around the palace and why the protagonist was kept alive.

This story for me was one of the original and fresh to watch. Sampada Malla definitely knows what she is writing. It is a beautiful masterpiece.

The Bad Aspect:

The only bad aspect I saw in this movie was the screenplay. I will put all the blame in the screenplay. The jumps from one scene to another are abrupt. Sometime confusing as to whether it’s a dream or a past. This is an aspect that can be improved.

The 1^st half of the movie definitely builds up the story but is a little bit slow. So, have a little patience there, but it adds up in the 2^nd half for sure.

The scenes where the protagonist encounters the ghosts could have been made a little bit creepier and scarier which would also mess up with the psychology of the audience.

These bad aspect does drag the movie a bit but are obviously things that can be improved. 

Final Comment:

For me this movie is one of the best in Nepali film industry. Now, you may argue that this is more like a revenge story. But, with situations and scenarios that were brought up regarding haunting in this movie, I would definitely put it in the horror genre more than the revenge one for sure. Like anyone in the shoe of protagonist would be messed up and scared to death. Imagine being trapped in a huge palace with few people that you don’t even have idea whether to trust or not.

Note: I am not a movie critique or anything and all the review made above are my personal opinions. You can disagree with me all you want. I wasn’t going to make a review but the fellow audiences I had were very disrespectful towards the movie and very annoying which led me to make this review.

Thank You!