Kalinga Review

Kalinga (2024) Movie: What's Behind

Kalinga has attracted the audience as a movie coming with very scary and intense and interesting content. The film featured and helmed by Dhruv Vaayu is releasing on 13 September 2024. Let us findout what impact the film made on movie lovers.

Kalinga (2024) Telugu Movie: Story Review

Kalinga story is about the mysterious happenings in the village and how the protagonist gets involved in it and comes out of it overcoming the clear and present danger. Lingam (Dhruva Vaayu), a determined orphan, earns his living by selling liquor in a small village. His life takes a turn when he falls deeply in love with the charming Paddu (Pragya Nayan). However, their love faces an obstacle in the form of her father (Muralidhar Goud), who disapproves of their relationship.

To prove his worth, Lingam accepts a daunting challenge from Paddu's father: retrieve the family's lost land papers from the clutches of the powerful and feared village head, Patel (Aadukalam Naren). Patel is known for his ruthless control over the village and its affairs, making this task nearly impossible.

As Lingam embarks on his mission, the village is gripped by fear due to a series of mysterious and deadly incidents. Anyone who dares to cross the village borders ends up dead, leading to whispered rumors of a supernatural force at play.

Lingam soon discovers that his quest for love is intertwined with these eerie occurrences. The deeper he delves into Patel's grip on the village, the more he uncovers about the strange happenings—and his own unexpected connection to the supernatural events.

What begins as a simple task to win his love soon turns into a thrilling fight for survival, where Lingam must confront not only Patel but also the dark forces that plague the village.

Dhruva Vaayu's Kalinga: Artists Review

Dhruva Vaayu is good in his role. He showed good bodylanguage on the screen and tried to entertain viewers with his expressions and looks. He enacted few stunts and did romantic scenes to please the viewers. Pragya Nayan did not get much scope to show her acting talent. In couple of scenes she treated viewers with glamor treat. Lakshman Meesala made his presence felt in the role of his friend. He showed good mannerisms on the screen.

Muralidhar Goud played the typical role of the female lead's father and he is good with his performance. Aadu Kaalem Naren is good but he is underutilized. He turned out to  be a mere caricature on the screen. Tanikella Bharani is good in a cameo. Balagam Sudhakar,Shiju Abdul Rasheed,Balagam Sanjay Kumar played their roles accordingly.

Telugu Thriller Kaling: Technicians Review

Kalinga story penned by Dhruva Vaayu is a horror thriller. Dhruva Vaayu attempted to captivate the audience with a blend of thrilling and horror elements set against a rural backdrop. The film begins on a promising note, drawing viewers in with references to Hindu scriptures, which immediately piques interest. But, the routine and predictable elements could have been avoided for a more intriguing narrative.

The storytelling too oscillates with the director frequently shifting between eerie, supernatural elements and the rustic village setting. But, this shift is handled well without disrupting the flow and culminating in a twist delivers a surprise.

The second half follows a similar trajectory. On the downside the flashback sequence could have been handled well. The narrative too has repetitive scenes involving the protagonist and his sidekick. The climax, is handled well and delivered the desired impact. The story had the potential to elevate itself, in addition to that, the impressive execution in terms of script, screenplay, and direction significantly added to the intrigue. 

On the technical front, Vishnu Sekhara's music is impressive, but the songs serve as speed bumps. But they are situational, and are in sync with overall tempo. Akshay Ram Podishetti's cinematography is commendable, capturing the rural setting effectively, the VFX is decent, fitting the film's modest budget. Naresh Venuvanka's editing leaves much to be desired. The dialogues are decent, and the production values are solid.

Kalinga: Advantages

• Dhruva Vaayu
• Initial Stages
• Few Scenes

Kalinga: Disadvantages

• Few Illogical Scenes
• Slow Narration

Kalinga Movie: Rating Analysis

Altogether, Kalinga turns out to be a horror thriller that fairly engages the viewers.  Dhruva Vaayu introduced a promising and intriguing plot with Kalinga, and executed satisfactorily. The core concept had potential, and blending romance, rural conflict, and supernatural elements, providing a new kind of experience.

The story which had the ingredients for an engaging film, even though it lacks proper character development, ultimately delivers desired result. A more refined approach to the storytelling, could have significantly elevated the final product.

Taking all these factors into consideration, Cinejosh rates Kalinga at 2.25 stars. The film has benefited from an intriguing plot and impressive creative choices.