Mohana Movie Review

Where does one begin with Mohana? For starters, you could say this: If there is a movie equivalent of facepalm, then Mohana is that one. As a film, it is cringe-worthy, from start to finish, displaying no evidence of basic craft or even storytelling flair. It is supposed to be a horror film, but there are zero scares — only innumerable scars, for us, the viewers. The set-up involves Power Star (Power Star Srinivasan), a popular star, going on a journey after a shoot. A co-actress, Swapna (Mascara Asmitha), hitches a ride, but their car stops at a godforsaken place in the middle of the night. The driver leaves to find a mechanic and Swapna and Power Star enter a lonely bungalow nearby. Of course, the place is haunted.

To narrate just these events, director Ananth takes the entire first half, and we are left with putting up with Power Star Srinivasan’s ‘acting’ for almost an hour, with no break — an experience that will scar one for a lifetime. And in the second half, we get a flashback — the ghost, Mohana’s (Kalyani Nair) story. Turns out Mohana was part of a drama troupe, and they were all murdered by the village’s big shot, Paramasivam (Naan Kadavul Rajendran), who lusted after her.

There is talk about sexual harassment in the acting profession and the hard life of theatre actors, but the film lacks even a tiny bit of smartness to convey this message through a convincing story. Rajendran and Srinivasan have been funny in small doses in some films, but here, they are so grating. The amateurishness in the making makes you begin to look favourably upon even mega serials. At a time when deserving films are fighting to get screens, it is a wonder that such films not only manage to get made, but also find theatres!