With filmmakers on the lines of Mysskin, so aware of their technique and what they can add to an ordinary story or a genre that's crying for reinvention, films like Pisachi end up feeling such personal products that the flaws don't seem to matter much. It breaks a few stereotypes and also follows some. The background score as natural and organic as the sequence unfolds. But, the ghost still is mischievous with her occasionally loud quirks. Pisachi is often that, some tinkering with the preset patterns and still bearing a resemblance. As a film, it works just about fine, but there are too many elements embedded for us to look at it beyond a surface level-cinema.
Mostly shot in the indoors with the frames consistently embracing a yellow tinge, Pisachi settles for the easier thrills initially before the introduction of the heavily indulgent strokes. The protagonist comes across as a violinist to the likes of Ilayaraja. After witnessing an accident that shakes him internally, he goes astray in a recording studio. Amidst a subway, he empathizes for the destitute, the blind, some beggars and a strayed girl. Just like the victim in an accident who didn't find any takers, he has a soft spot for them and then, his life undergoes a drastic change. However, in his house, a spirit has some other ideas.
Unlike the average horror-comedy film, like the recent Chandrakala or a Geetanjali, where ghosts are merely threatening objects, here the spirit is of a very pretty face. In fact, the protagonist who feels tormented, looks drearier of the two. He has long-hair and an unkempt beard. The early part of Pisachi has the director paying a tribute to an Exorcist-alike sequence. He later introduces us to an interesting character, though vague in sketch, who finds ways to lend money from people and gives him a superb sequence to toy with. He brings us to a role of a specially-abled child with equal poise.
Later, we see some confidence from the maker, like Ram Gopal Varma in his heydays of filmmaking, put together a delicious mix of horror, philosophy and dark humour. Although, Aamir Khan's Talaash was better in approaching this model of a narrative, there's a lot to appreciate in Pisachi for its underplaying mystery that accommodates enough space for some soul and intelligence too. The production values leave a lot to be desired, but the film is a director's baby. Spare some thought for the near-supernatural sprinkling he does, the non-news-making cast, the colour-play and how he assembles his strengths, we won't quite mind the scale (or the lack of it) or the friendly ghost! Oops, did I give the plot away? But, does it matter?
Three stars Review by Srivathsan NOther Related Posts
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Filed under Horror, Telugu
Tagged as Harish Uthaman, movie review, Mysskin, Mysskin's Pisachi, Naga, Pisachi, Pisachi Review, Prayaga Martin, Radha Ravi, Review of Pisachi, Telugu Pisasu, Telugu Pissasu
