Ashwin Babu, who rose to fame with the ‘Raju Gari Gadhi’ series of movies, is back with his latest movie ‘Hidimba’, in which he plays the lead role. The movie is releasing in theatres on 20th of this month. Nandita Swetha is the female lead in this movie. The promotional posters of this movie have created a buzz among the audience. But how is the movie?
Story (Hidimba Movie Review): Girls are disappearing mysteriously in Hyderabad city. As sixteen missing cases are registered, IPS Adya (Nandita Shweta) is transferred from Kerala to investigate the case. Will Abhay (Ashwin Babu), who was handling the case till then, cooperate with the new officer Adya? Or not? Who is Boya (Rajiv Pillai), a henchman of Kalabanda, a notorious gangster? What is his backstory? How is this case related to Hidimbas, a cannibalistic tribal community? How is this case connected to the disappearance of women in Kerala for several years? Who is the last surviving member of the extinct Hidimba tribe? What did they finally discover? The rest of the movie reveals these answers.
Analysis (Hidimba Movie Review): A tribal community that eats humans, missing girls in the city, a very raw and rustic approach… there are intriguing elements. To be honest… the story and plot of ‘Hidimba’ are novel. But… the narration is like a regular routine movie. The first half of the movie is like a normal investigation. However… the non-linear screenplay adds some interest.
The crux of the story is in the second half of ‘Hidimba’. More importantly, it is in the climax scenes. Those twists and turns are interesting. But… until then, the story is simple. However, they managed to keep some interest by hinting that something big is going to happen later. The love track/song between the hero and heroine is short, but it still distracts from the main story. However, the grandeur is impressive on screen.
The action sequences are designed in a way that does not look inferior to star heroes. Ashwin Babu also performed well in these fights. However… the character design does not make the audience believe that the hero is that strong. Action scenes seem forced in the crime thriller story. Thrilling scenes are well written. It cannot be said that ‘Hidimba’ is bad. It cannot be said that it is good either. There is a feeling of something missing. Logic is very important for this kind of movies. The director has ignored those logics in many places. DGP tells Adya not to leave the city. She goes to Kerala anyway. They start with organ trafficking as a motive. Then they drop it completely. It was left hanging in the air. The director took a lot of liberty in terms of screenplay and writing and made the film. Cinematic liberties were taken to extremes.
The background of the Hidimba tribe is horrifying. But… that story was told only after the interval. Later, they could not sustain that excitement as much. The major plus point of the movie is cinematography & music. Every frame and visual is good. Background music and sound design elevate the scenes. Watching the movie, one can understand that there was no compromise in the production.
Actors Performance? : Ashwin Babu impresses more in action sequences than in normal scenes. Both the Kalabanda fight and the fight shot in Kerala are good. He did justice to the action scenes. He also acted well in key scenes. Nandita Shweta’s dressing style and acting are good in the role of IPS Adya. Makarand Deshpande fits perfectly in his role. Raghu Kunche, Sanjay Swaroop, Shizju, Srinivasa Reddy, Rajeev Pillai and others have played their roles well.
Verdict: ‘Hidimba’ tells a new point that has not been seen on Telugu screen before. They have tried to tell a story that is different and daring. But…the director failed to narrate it engagingly. Ashwin Babu’s hard work is evident on screen. Parts of it are good. But, when seen as a whole story or a movie, one feels that something is lacking. It leaves us slightly disappointed. The pre-climax twist is shocking. The climax hints at a possible sequel.
