Athidhi Review: A Show So Confused That It Tries To Scare You With The Most Unconvincing Ghost Only To Offer A Vague Woke Speech In The End

Cast: Venu Thottempudi, Avantika Mishra, Venkatesh Kakumanu, Ravi Varma, Bhadram, Gautam Aditi, Chanakya Teja, and ensemble.

Creator: Y.G. Bharath

Director: Y.G. Bharath

Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar.

Language: Telugu.

Runtime: 6 Episodes, Around 40 Minutes Each.

Athidhi Review: What’s It About:

One mysterious night, a stranger lady knocks on the door of a wealthy man who lives with his disabled wife. A fable of a ghost creating havoc at night in the village runs parallel, only to add a ghost buster to this mix as he comes to the same mansion. Twists take us through a ghost mystery to a heist to social messaging.

Athidhi Review: Script Analysis:

It is 2023, and people are still confused about how to establish a ghost and create a story that respects the genre and also turns out to be entertaining. Athidhi, which can be easily termed as ‘why not let strangers in,’ especially in the dark midnight, tries to be so woke that it ends up being a preachy class that is not even intriguing, forget spooky. There is so much packed in these six episodes still; there is nothing.

Written by Y G Bharath, Adithi, meaning guest, is not even a half-baked idea but a very vague one that is illogical in with the word go. A man keeps on letting people in his mansion, even if he has an intention to do some harm to them; the people entering that house are not feeling anything creepy about the easy welcome. Adhithi tries to look very clever when it sensualizes a ghost-like person in the weirdest way, only to turn the story upside down and in a predictable way. Like the twist was visible with her entry itself.

It’s like you know what is about to happen. You know these people are signing up for a night that will be a ghostly all-nighter. Some will die, some will learn a message, some will free a spirit, and others will just exist. The show is so uninterested in making this done-to-death storyline any enjoyable because you can see a legit three-act structure with no attempt to make it organic at all. Add to that the show is set in a house with nothing much happening outside; it looks like a school stage play.

Adhithi barters nothing for nothing and leaves you with nothing because there is literally a bare minimum to hook your hopes to. A woke message that is presented so haphazardly makes it way to the climax but for no use.

Athidhi Review: Star Performance:

Venu Thottempudi headlines the show and is in almost all the frames. He walks around with such an uninterested demeanour that after a point you, as an audience, want him to change at least the only expression he has on his face. 10 emotions 2 expression, is his motto, and he criminally sticks to it like his paycheck will be reduced if he acts.

Avantika Mishra has to be the most inconsistently written villain in the longest time. They name her Maya, squeezing out every last drop it subtlety. The actor tries hard to be one like those Bhatt heroines who looked hot while being scary or scared, but that needs a Bhatt to direct, too.

Everybody else is one-tone characters that enter the show like a school play and create a show at par with a school play.

Athidhi Review: Direction & Music:

Bharath as director, brings nothing new to the table. He tries every horror film staple troop, from sensualizing the women, to adding a heist angle, to a ghost with a cause. But the sad part is that nothing lands at all.

Nothing, from music to the camera work to costume, is fresh. Everything looks staple and never creates any impact.

Athidhi Review: Last Words:

Why someone would invest in making a show like Adithi is beyond my understanding. But they made it; now it’s on you to tell them we deserve better.

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