Kalam starts off with the film's leads Gautham (Amzath) and his wife Deeksha (Lakshmi Priyaa) with their little daughter coming back from the US and moving into a new home. The magnificent home is special for a reason since it's been gifted to Gautham by his father Madhan (Madhusudhana Rao). However, the happy couple are unaware that the home was snatched from a zamindar by Madhan, who is involved in several illegal land grabbing activities. In no time, the couple start to feel the presence of supernatural elements in the house that begin haunting and tormenting them. In order to make a change happen, the couple bring in Neela (Pooja), an artist and a painter to redecorate the home interiors who backs off eventually because of the evil presence in the bungalow. However, she suggests the couple to consult a ritualist (Srinivasan) to ward off the evil spirits residing in the house. The film's crux revolves around whether he succeeds in warding off the spirits and if the couple continue to stay in the haunted house.
Kalam features very few characters. The film has very little to talk that can be debated for long. The actors in the film lack the experience to perform in a horror feature and that too in a film that lacks the horror elements. The film's pace is for the most part flat and at times rushes in to give the audience a feel of the evil spirit residing in the palatial bungalow. In addition, the scenes that have been billed as scary come off as just mere jump-scare attempts. The overall plot bears resemblance to Karthik Subbaraj's Pizza which had quite a similar theme.
Although the narrative in the film is a letdown, the feature does well in the technical department with cinematographer Mukesh’s camera angles staying in our minds even after the film has ended. In addition, the background score by Josh and Subish Chandran lend a saving grace to the lackluster narrative. Director Robert Raaj, although noble in his efforts could have focused a little more on building a narrative which would have helped the film eventually.
In short, Kalam is a feature that has horror that is too predictable.
Kalam features very few characters. The film has very little to talk that can be debated for long. The actors in the film lack the experience to perform in a horror feature and that too in a film that lacks the horror elements. The film's pace is for the most part flat and at times rushes in to give the audience a feel of the evil spirit residing in the palatial bungalow. In addition, the scenes that have been billed as scary come off as just mere jump-scare attempts. The overall plot bears resemblance to Karthik Subbaraj's Pizza which had quite a similar theme.
Although the narrative in the film is a letdown, the feature does well in the technical department with cinematographer Mukesh’s camera angles staying in our minds even after the film has ended. In addition, the background score by Josh and Subish Chandran lend a saving grace to the lackluster narrative. Director Robert Raaj, although noble in his efforts could have focused a little more on building a narrative which would have helped the film eventually.
In short, Kalam is a feature that has horror that is too predictable.
