Aishu Ka Safar ...

I love this movie....this is da story of it.......

Arundhati (Anushka) is the great grand daughter of the Raja of Gandalwal Kootai Mahasamsthanam. Arrangements are being made for her marriage. Arundhati visits her native place before marriage. Her beau (Arjan) asks her to come to the fort of Gandalwal, where she faces a horrible experience. Learning the history from an aged servant maid Chandramma (Manorama), Arundhati comes to know that she is a look alike of her great grandmother Arundhati/Jekkamma (Anushka).

Jekkamma is an expert in painting, dancing and martial arts(essential skills for princesses of Gandalwal Kootai Mahasamsthanam). She has an elder sister who is married off to her father's nephew Pasupathi (Sonu Sood). Pasupathi a womaniser rapes the women he likes and kills those who objects. Jekkamma's sister commits suicide and the people of Gadwal thrash Pasupathi severely and tie him to his horse. Though Gandalwal celebrates his death thinking he is dead, he is saved by Aghoras(saints who practice dark arts and are canibals). Pasupathi masters the tantrik arts and returns to Gadwal to exact his revenge.

Pasupathi unleashes carnage as he uses his powers to torture innocent people. Jekkamma performs a special dance mixed with martial arts to lull Pasupathi and then cuts off his tongue(thus ending the incantations) and pins his hands(it took 45 days to shoot this song). She spares him from killing to prevent him from becoming a 'pretatma'(a demonic poltergeist). Pasupathi is buried alive in a tomb and powerful 'yantras'(defensive spells) with inscriptions from Vedas and holy scriptures are put on it to prevent the 'pretatma' from coming out. Jekkamma then as a final countermeasure sacrifices her own life by going through intense torture. She is burnt alive and her bones are fashioned into a dagger. The one weapon that could destroy Pasupathi forever.

After this revelation through flashback, a worker in a trance, unknowingly breaks the tomb and releases the 'pretatma'. The revenge drama ensues again. Anwar (Sayaji Shinde) who treats patients through sorcery tells her that she is none other than Jekkamma and asks her to fight Pasupathi. From the portrait of Jekkamma which was painted by Jekkamma herself during her last days before leaving the fort(there were secret writings on the potrait that only she could read after the pretatma is released), Arundhati comes to know that her great grandmother had prepared a 'weapon' with her own bones and had kept it with some tribals. Anwar and Arundhati proceed to procure the weapon and in this process Anwar meets with an accident and falls off a cliff.

Arundhati, believing that Anwar is dead and is left with no option returns to the fort to surrender herself to Pasupathi, to prevent the death of her family members. Anwar, who survives the fall, collects the weapon and hands it to Arundhati. The tribals who crafted the weapon for Jekkamma tell Anwar that the weapon has to be soaked in Arundhathi's blood before it can be used otherwise it will not be able to kill a pretatma. Arundathi tries to kill Pasupathi using the weapon without being soaked in the blood but it does not work. Before Anwar tells the secret about the weapon being soaked in blood, Pasupathi kills him. Without any option, Arundhati tries to kill herself with the same weapon and in the process the weapon gets soaked in her blood. The Dagger glows bright and the power incantations inscribed on it glows with energy and Arundhati kills Pasupathi.

The director has used a one line story but then he has been masterly in keeping the audience engaged throughout. The presentation was tremendous and the narrative was equally gripping, the script had no flaws and the screenplay was absolutely impressive. The dialogues were written with vigor, music really sank well with the story and gave some melodious tracks. Cinematography was mesmerizing and captured the angles and sets really well. A special mention goes to the graphics department without which the film would not have been so grand. Editing was crisp, costumes were grand and rich(which I really loved..i am bugging my mom to buy those clothes 4 me). The other departments have contributed equally well to add value to the film.

Anushka has come out with a revelation that she has a true actress inside her, she fitted the role of Jekkamma spot on and looked like a perfect royal lady. She reminds of the yesteryears beauty Jayaprada in that get up. Sonu Sood was equally competent and he has expressed enough venom in this role and was perfect fit. Sayaji Shinde was excellent, he brought in a lot of life and energy with his dialogues and performance, Satyanarayana was neat, Manorama was mature, the others like Ahuti, Chalapathi Rao, Annapurna were upto the mark. Subhashini was scary enough to drive the wits away. Baby Divya was a show stealer.

The film happens to be a complete mix of graphics, sentiments, spirituality, occultism and most importantly it has kept the audience engaged throughout the length of its movie despite the lack of commercial elements or comedy. While the first half goes about with the present day scenario and the evil attempts, the second half gets into flashback and contains some major scenes. Technically, it has been made with high magnitude and that should ensure the film's success. The horror effects also help. A very refreshing movie.